ALGERIA: Former police chief Major General Abdelghani Hamel was jailed yesterday for 15 years for corruption and “illicit enrichment.”

His wife, daughter and two sons also received sentences of between two and 10 years, along with fines, after they were convicted of enriching themselves with public funds by “signing contracts illegally and falsification of public documents.”

Algeria remains in political deadlock almost a year after the toppling of president Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

UNITED STATES: The number of new claims for unemployment benefits hit a record 6.65 million last week, the Bureau of Labour Statistics said yesterday, doubling the previous record of 3.3 million set just the week before.

The real jobless figures are believed to be much higher, as people in the gig economy and precarious employment are not taken into account. Many unemployment offices report staff being overwhelmed by the volume of applications.

HUNGARY: A group of 13 member states, including Germany, Greece and Ireland, have expressed deep concern that the use of emergency powers to deal with the coronavirus outbreak poses a threat to “democracy and fundamental rights.”

Nonetheless, the group said it was legitimate to use certain “extraordinary measures” to tackle the spread of Covid-19.

Their fears were prompted by Hungarian PM Viktor Orban recently shutting down parliament and granting himself indefinite power to rule by decree.

PALESTINE: Ten political prisoners started a hunger strike in Ofer jail yesterday in protest at the continued solitary confinement of two comrades, as well as the failure to take measures to prevent coronavirus spreading.

According to the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society, the group warned that more inmates would start refusing food if the Israel Prison Service fails to meet their legitimate demands.