Six In The Morning Wednesday 27 October 2021

 

Brazil senators back criminal charges against Bolsonaro over Covid handling

Brazilian senators have voted to recommend charging President Jair Bolsonaro over his handling of the devastating Covid pandemic.

A Senate panel backed a report calling for charges against Mr Bolsonaro including crimes against humanity, after 600,000 deaths from coronavirus.

The findings will be sent to the chief prosecutor, a Bolsonaro appointee.

The president has maintained he is "guilty of absolutely nothing" but the crisis has dented his popularity.

Israel set to approve 3,000 new settler homes in West Bank

The move appears to run contrary to the coalition government’s vow to reduce tensions with Palestine

Associated Press

Wed 27 Oct 2021 15.09 BST

A settlement monitor has said that an Israeli committee has approved about 3,000 new settler homes in the occupied West Bank, a day after the Biden administration issued its strongest condemnation yet of the proposed construction.

Word of the approval came from Hagit Ofran from the anti-settlement group Peace Now. There was no immediate confirmation from the defence ministry.

Israeli public broadcaster Kan also reported that about 3,000 units were approved.

EU fines Poland €1 million per day over judicial reforms

The European Court of Justice has fined Poland €1 million per day for ignoring an EU ruling that called for the country's Supreme Court disciplinary chamber to be suspended.

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ordered Poland to pay a fine of €1 million ($1.2 million) per day on Wednesday over its decision to ignore an EU ruling on Warsaw's judicial reforms.

The top EU court imposed the penalty as Poland has not suspended the disciplinary chamber of the Supreme Court. The ECJ had ruled in July that the chamber did not guarantee impartiality. 

Afghanistan: On patrol in Kabul, Taliban enforce law and order

After taking power in August, the Taliban now need to put in place a functioning state in Afghanistan. Official declarations and policies are scarce for now, but no doubt the most tangible sign of the Taliban takeover are the security patrols of thousands of former fighters who have poured into the capital. They're now police officers who are enforcing a strict interpretation of Sharia law. Our reporters Catherine Norris-Trent and Roméo Langlois were able to follow Taliban fighters on patrol in Kabul and also gain access to a hearing of an Islamic court.

African Union suspends Sudan over coup

The pan-African body says the suspension will be in place until the civilian-led transitional government is restored.

The African Union (AU) has said it suspended Sudan from all its activities after the country’s military overthrew the civilian-led transitional government in a coup.

The African Union Political Affairs Peace and Security on Wednesday tweeted the news of the suspension, an expected move typically taken in the wake of military coups.

In a communique, the pan-African body said the suspension would be in place until “the effective restoration” of the transitional authority steering the country towards elections.

'We live in fear:' Daughter of former Saudi official says kingdom attempted to lure her to consulate in Istanbul

By Emmet Lyons and Claire Calzonetti, CNN

Updated 1211 GMT (2011 HKT) October 27, 2021

The daughter of a former top Saudi intelligence official has told CNN that representatives of the Saudi government attempted to lure her to the same consulate where Jamal Khashoggi was murdered in Istanbul, as part of a series of threats against her and her family.

Hissah Al-Muzaini, the daughter of former Saudi official Saad Aljabri, told CNN's Christiane Amanpour on Wednesday that the kingdom encouraged her to go to the "consulate in Istanbul. They tried to encourage me to go there."

"I'm lucky I didn't go or else my kids wouldn't have a mum and dad," she said.