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A political prisoner serving a life sentence in Bahrain has died after contracting COVID-19, the interior ministry and activists said on Wednesday, as the tiny Gulf state fights a surge in infections.
Western-allied Bahrain has come under pressure from human rights organisations over prison conditions including overcrowding, poor sanitation and lack of medical care.
Since an outbreak of the disease in Jau, Bahrain s main prison, in March, families have been holding small protests demanding the release of political prisoners and better conditions. There was a violent confrontation between guards and prisoners in April after detainees protested against conditions.
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The European Commission said on Wednesday it would take part in the Czech Republic s lawsuit against Poland at Europe s highest court over the expansion of the Polish Turow open-pit brown coal mine near the two countries border. I can now confirm that the Commission has today submitted its request to intervene before the Court of Justice of the EU in Case C-121/21 Czechia v Poland, a spokesperson said.
The Commission said in December that Poland had committed some infringements of European Union law that the Czech Republic had claimed in the case. Those included incorrectly applying EU laws requiring it to consult the public and neighbouring countries over extending the life of the mine.
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Albanian President Ilir Meta delivers a speech during a news conference in Tirana, Albania June 10, 2019. REUTERS/Florion Goga/File Photo
Albania s parliament voted on Wednesday to sack President Ilir Meta over statements which the ruling party said advocated violence and violated the constitution.
Some 104 of parliament s 140 deputies voted for Meta to be dismissed more than a year before the end of his term, the first time this has happened in Albania since the multi-party system was introduced in 1991.
The Constitutional Court, whose approval is needed to formalise parliament s decision, is expected to rule within three months.
The Socialist Party, which was re-elected in April, has accused Meta of fomenting violence by siding with opposition parties in alleging before the parliamentary election that it would be rigged.
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People pray following a vigil after four members of a Muslim family were killed in what police describe as a hate-motivated attack at London Muslim Mosque in London, Ontario, Canada, June 8, 2021. REUTERS/Carlos Osorio/File Photo
Canada will soon unveil measures to crack down on online extremism following the killing of a Muslim family, a crime that police said was inspired by hate, a government minister said on Wednesday.
Four members of the family were killed on Sunday when a pickup truck jumped the curb and ran them over in London, Ontario, 200 km (124 miles) southwest of Toronto. read more
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An undated handout picture shows Italian ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo Luca Attanasio, who was killed in an attack on a United Nations convoy in eastern Congo, posing for a photograph. Italian Foreign Ministry/Handout via REUTERS
A United Nations employee has been placed under investigation by Italian prosecutors looking into the murder of Italy s ambassador to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and two other people, a judicial source said on Wednesday.
The unidentified employee is a Congolese citizen and works for the U.N. s World Food Programme (WFP). He is under investigation for allegedly failing to take sufficient precautions to prevent the fatal attack on Feb. 22. read more