Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa has announced his resignation following the detention of his chief of staff in a corruption investigation related to the administration’s handling of lithium mining and hydrogen projects. The move comes after prosecutors revealed that Costa himself was the subject of a separate investigation. Costa, who has led Portugal’s Socialist Party since 2015, maintains his innocence and expressed his trust in the justice system. President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa is expected to accept the resignation.
The corruption probe has led to the arrest of Costa’s chief of staff, Vitor Escaria, and named Infrastructure Minister Joao Galamba as a formal suspect. The head of the country’s environmental agency is also under suspicion. The investigation encompasses allegations of malfeasance, corruption of elected officials, and influence peddling, particularly regarding lithium mine concessions near Portugal’s border with Spain and plans for a green hydrogen plant and data center in the town of Sines, supported by the European Union. Arrest warrants were issued for the mayor of Sines and two executives from Start Campus, responsible for the hydrogen production project and data center. The Supreme Court is examining Costa’s involvement in the activities under investigation.
, an independent military force, and allied militias in Sudan raped several dozen women and girls in West Darfur’s capital, El Geneina, and those fleeing to Chad between late April and late June 2023, Human Rights Watch said today. The assailants appear to have targeted people because of their Massalit ethnicity and, in some cases, because they were known activists.){kind=link}