UK govt minister quits:
A British government minister resigned on Monday after an inquiry ruled that he misused his position to intimidate someone who was in a business dispute with his father.
Conor Burns quit as a junior trade minister after the House of Commons standards committee found he had made “veiled threats” that unless his father was paid he would raise the issue in Parliament.
The committee said that was an “abuse of his privileged status in an attempt to intimidate a member of the public” and said Burns should be suspended from Parliament for a week.
Burns, a longtime ally of Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson, said that “with deep regret I have decided to resign” as a minister for international trade. (AP)
Court delays Assange hearing:
WikiLeaks says its founder Julian Assange will have to wait at least until September before a British judge will hear a U.S. request for his extradition.
Assange, who faces espionage charges over the activities of WikiLeaks, is currently in Belmarsh Prison in London and is fighting the allegations.
Kristinn Hrafnsson, WikiLeaks’ editorin-chief, said in a video posted on social media on Monday that it was “completely unacceptable” that Assange has to spend another four months - and potentially longer - in prison.
By the time any hearing begins in September, Assange will have spent a year in remand after he was dragged out of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London.
Hrafnsson said Assange did not attend Monday’s hearing via video link because he was unwell.
Assange’s lawyers have been seeking to get him released on bail over fears for his health during the coronavirus pandemic.
A further administrative hearing is scheduled to take place on June 1. (AP)
Serbia to hold general election:
Serbia’s president has set June 21 as the date of a parliamentary election which has been postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The vote was originally scheduled for April 26 but was put on hold after a nationwide state of emergency was proclaimed in mid-March.
Aleksandar Vucic said on Monday that “after these difficult times we have to create a democratic atmosphere and select an assembly and government that will serve in the interest of the people.”
Vucic has announced that the emergency measures will be lifted later this week because the rate of coronavirus infections decreased sufficiently in the Balkan country. (AP)
Russians brace for quick surge:
Russian officials on Monday reported a steady rise in the number of the new coronavirus
infections that raises pressure on the nation’s health care system.
The government’s task force dealing with the outbreak reported 10,581 new
cases Monday, including 5,795 in Moscow. That has brought the nation’s total to 145,268, including 1,356 deaths.(AP)
Presidential poll impossible:
The Polish official in charge of organizing the country’s presidential election said Monday he doesn’t believe it can take place Sunday as planned because the legislation to authorize an all-postal vote hasn’t been approved yet.
While an official announcement hasn’t been made, Deputy Prime Minister Jacek Sasin said the government is considering moving the vote to May 17 or May 23 instead. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki made that suggestion also last week. (AP)