The High Court of Australia decision means three of the politicians, including Mr Joyce, are disqualified from office. The others quit in July.

Australia’s constitution prohibits dual citizens from being elected.

Mr Joyce’s exit strips the government of its one-seat majority, but he could return through a by-election.

The deputy prime minister, who renounced New Zealand citizenship in August, has pledged to re-contest his lower house seat.

“I respect the verdict of the court,” Mr Joyce said immediately after the verdict.

“We live in a marvellous democracy, with all the checks and balances they have given us all the freedoms we see. I thank the court [for] their deliberations.”

The other four politicians – Fiona Nash, Malcolm Roberts, Larissa Waters and Scott Ludlam – had been elected to the Senate.

Another two politicians under scrutiny, senators Matt Canavan and Nick Xenophon, were ruled to have been validly elected.

The dual citizenship saga has captivated Australian politics since July, prompting dozens of MPs to publicly clarify their status.

What did the politicians argue?

During three days of hearings, the government told the court that only Mr Roberts and Mr Ludlam should be disqualified, arguing the others did not knowabout their dual citizenship when they were elected last year.

Mr Roberts claimed he had tried to revoke his citizenship. Mr Ludlam and Ms Waters, the only MPs to resign over the saga, did not offer a defence – arguing all seven should be ineligible.

What did the court say?

The seven-judge bench deliberated for two weeks before ruling that five politicians were ineligible as a “subject or citizen of a foreign power”, under to the constitution’s section 44(i).

The court ruled that Mr Canavan and Mr Xenophon were not dual citizens, according to the constitutional definition.

The court was not satisfied that Mr Canavan had attained Italian citizenship through descent, while Mr Xenophon’s class of inherited UK citizenship did not give him full rights and privileges.

What does it mean for the government?

With Mr Joyce disqualified, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s numbers slip to 75 in the 150-seat House of Representatives – meaning he is now overseeing a minority government.

However, Mr Turnbull could regain his 76-seat majority if Mr Joyce wins the by-election on 2 December. Mr Joyce is eligible to run now he is a citizen of Australia alone.

Under a minority government, Mr Turnbull will require support from independent MPs and minor parties to pass legislation in the lower house.

There will also be a cabinet reshuffle because both Mr Joyce and Ms Nash held ministerial portfolios.

The Labor opposition has claimed that decisions made by the two ministers are “under a legal cloud” and could be challenged.

What has been the reaction?

Mr Turnbull said he was disappointed in the court’s decision, but stressed that his government still had six more MPs than Labor’s 69.

“The decision of the court today is clearly not the outcome we were hoping for but the business of government goes on,” he said.

Labor criticised Mr Turnbull for not immediately suspending Mr Joyce and Ms Nash after they referred themselves to the court in August.

Labor deputy leader Tanya Plibersek vowed to scrutinise decisions the pair had made.

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Source: BBC

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Many died while trying to flee the Pedrógão Grande area, 50 km (30 miles) south-east of Coimbra, in their cars, according to the government.

Several firefighters are among the 59 people injured.

“Unfortunately this seems to be the greatest tragedy we have seen in recent years in terms of forest fires,” said Prime Minister Antonio Costa.

The death toll could rise further, he said.

Secretary of State for the Interior Jorge Gomes said that three people died from smoke inhalation and 18 people travelling in four cars died on the road linking Figueiró dos Vinhos to Castanheira de Pera.

Media in Portugal said the fire is no closer to being contained despite about 600 firefighters working to put them out.

Among the 59 injured was an eight-year-old girl with burns found wandering alone close to the fire, the Correio do Manhã newspaper reported.

Six firefighters are seriously wounded, national broadcaster RTP said, and two are reported missing.

The Correio do Manhã warned that many areas hit by the fire had not yet been reached by authorities, so the death toll was likely to increase.

About 60 forest fires broke out across the country overnight, with close to 1,700 firefighters battling them across Portugal.

The flames spread “with great violence” on four fronts near Pedrógão Grande, Mr Gomes said.

Spain has sent two water-bombing planes to help tackle the fires.

It is not yet known what caused the fire, however Mr Costa said thunderstorms could have been one possible cause.

Portugal has been experiencing a heatwave, with temperatures of more than 40C (104F) in some areas.

“This is a region that has had fires because of its forests, but we cannot remember a tragedy of these proportions,” said Valdemar Alves, the mayor of Pedrógão Grande, was quoted as saying by the Associated Press agency.

“I am completely stunned by the number of deaths.”

What happens next? Alison Roberts, BBC News, Lisbon

We have had large-scale fires before over the past couple of decades – this year is not unusual in that respect – but it is certainly unusual to have so many fatalities in one place.

There were very particular circumstances with the lightning strikes here – this fire started with a dry lightning strike. There has been rainfall elsewhere but there was no rain there, and this is a heavily-forested area.

Getting it under control depends not only on temperatures, which do seem as though they will be high, but on the wind above all. It is very much in the hands of Mother Nature.

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Source: BBC

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Stone, the elder of the award-winning Hiplife group says his decision to go solo on The Gifted is borne out of a need for him to express himself and give music lovers a hundred percent appreciation of his talent.

“The Gifted album is about giving all of me. When you are in a group like I am, you get to deliver half way – like my brother would do a verse and I do another. But when you do a solo album, you get to do all. You choose to sing a chorus, a hook, put in your verses and skill and you get to go all out,” he told Citifmonline.

“When you get to do a solo album, it’s easier, you get to pour yourself out full time. I feel I’ve been gifted with a lot of things like singing, rapping, metaphors, punchlines and a whole lot of things. Apart from that I do reggae, dancehall, afropop and I can attack any genre of music and still fit in right. I feel all these are gifts I have been given to share with my fans, that is why I’ve decided to release a solo album titled The Gifted,” he added.

Stone explained that working with Kuntakinte is fun but unable to give 100% when they work together since his brother would have to add on to what he does. However, he’s assured fans that his solo project would not affect the Bradez in any way and that they are working on their next album as a duo titled Conquer The World.

“Together with my brother I’m able to do a part of me but not the whole me. I can say that I usually do 80%. One thing people must know is that Bradez is not just a musical group, Bradez is family, it’s a lifelong thing. Like R2Bees, you might see Paedae or Mugeez but deep down it’s a movement. Bradez is like Black Eyed Peas where Will.I.Am can do a solo project one year and do a group project the following year. Same with Outkast where Andre3000 does solo stuff one moment and does a group thing the other. It is a solo project within the same camp,” he explained.

Video: Bradez – Conquer the world ft. Jai Amore

Stone’s upcoming solo album has about eighteen songs recorded. He plans to release them strategically to make the right impact in the industry. The first two in a series of five singles will be released on August 1 and the rest released on the first of the following months till they are all released.

The album features Kuntakinte, Stay Jay, M.anifest, Episode, Reggie Rockstone, Cabum, Okyeame Kwame, Dampoo, Lil Shaker, Ryan (Vodafone Icons) and has producers like Magnom, Garzy, Mike Mills, Peewezel, Ray (of Cash 2 and Ray) and other world class producers.

According to Stone, fans should “expect versatility, the best flows pregnant with proper punchlines and sensible songs. My aim is to bring joy and motivation to the world so I expect fans to be happy when they listen to my album and at the same time be motivated by it.”

Stone, born Kwaku Nsiah-Boamah, released a special freestyle eulogizing missing musician Castro on his birthday, Sunday July 13 2014.

Video: Stone – Birthday Castro Freestyle

By: Kojo Akoto Boateng/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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