Kabul replaces sole female governor

KABUL • Afghanistan's only female provincial governor has been replaced by a man, an official said yesterday, in a blow to women politicians in the patriarchal country.

Ms Masooma Muradi had faced strong resistance from religious conservatives and political opponents since her appointment in 2015 as governor of Daikundi, a remote province in central Afghanistan. A spokesman for the directorate of local governance said Ms Muradi had not been assigned another job.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Tattooists need medical licence

TOKYO • A Japanese court yesterday fined a tattoo artist for operating without a medical licence. Police raided the studio of Mr Taiki Masuda in 2015, charging him with violating a law requiring anyone who carries out a medical procedure to have a formal qualification.

He received a court order to pay fines but requested a trial instead, hoping to prove that tattooing was an art and not a medical practice, reported Asahi Shimbun. The judge said it was "reasonable" to require tattooists to hold a medical licence to prevent health risks. Mr Masuda was ordered to pay a fine of 150,000 yen (S$1,800).

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Briton to appeal murder conviction

HONG KONG • British banker Rurik Jutting, who was jailed for life last year for the horrifying murder of two Indonesian women at his Hong Kong apartment, is seeking to appeal his conviction, his lawyer said yesterday.

Jutting's lawyer Michael Vidler said a hearing would take place at the city's Court of Appeal on Dec 12.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE