BARCELONA: A Spanish court on Thursday lifted a coronavirus curfew imposed on most of Catalonia, including the capital Barcelona, leaving it in place in just a fraction of the northeastern region.
Catalonia’s government in mid-July imposed a nightly curfew between 1:00 am and 6:00 am in most municipalities to fight a surge in virus cases, and the region’s top court then gave the green light to extend it three times.
But on Friday, faced with a request by the regional government to keep the curfew in place in 148 municipalities, the High Court of Justice of Catalonia said the measure was “not justified” in 129 of them, because infection rates there had improved.
“In these circumstances, the measures are not so much justified on health grounds, but for reasons of security or public order,” the court said in its ruling to explain why it was turning down the Catalan government’s request.
The curfew is intended to discourage social gatherings on beaches and in parks, which had fueled a spike in cases of the highly-contagious Delta variant, especially among unvaccinated young people.
However the court did keep in place for one more week a ban on public or private gatherings of more than 10 people throughout Catalonia.
Like the rest of Spain, the region which is popular with tourists has seen its number of infections drop in recent weeks.
Catalonia’s infection rate stood Wednesday at 328 cases per 100,000 inhabitants over a 14-day period, below the national average of 378 cases, according to health ministry figures.
But the region still has 42 percent of its intensive care unit beds occupied by Covid-19 patients, the highest rate among Spain’s 17 regions.
Spain has fully vaccinated 64.1 percent of its population against the virus, one of the highest rates in Europe.
The average for the entire European Union is 55.5 percent, according to an AFP tally based on official government figures.
Spain court orders end to Barcelona virus curfew
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Spain court orders end to Barcelona virus curfew
- Catalonia's government in mid-July imposed a nightly curfew between 1:00 am and 6:00 am
- On Friday, Catalonia’s High Court of Justice said the measure was "not justified" in 129 out of 148 municipalities because infection rates there had improved
Indonesia reaffirms Yemen’s territorial integrity, backs stability efforts amid tensions
- Statement comes after Saudi Arabia bombed a UAE weapons shipment at Yemeni port city
- Jakarta last week said it ‘appreciates’ Riyadh ‘working together’ with Yemen to restore stability
JAKARTA: Indonesia has called for respect for Yemen’s territorial integrity and commended efforts to maintain stability in the region, a day after Saudi Arabia bombed a weapons shipment from the UAE at a Yemeni port city that Riyadh said was intended for separatist forces.
Saudi Arabia carried out a “limited airstrike” at Yemen’s port city of Al-Mukalla in the southern province of Hadramout on Tuesday, following the arrival of an Emirati shipment that came amid heightened tensions linked to advances by the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council in the war-torn country.
In a statement issued late on Wednesday, the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it “appreciates further efforts by concerned parties to maintain stability and security,” particularly in the provinces of Hadramout and Al-Mahara.
“Indonesia reaffirms the importance of peaceful settlement through an inclusive and comprehensive political dialogue under the coordination of the United Nations and respecting Yemen’s legitimate government and territorial integrity,” Indonesia’s foreign affairs ministry said.
The latest statement comes after Jakarta said last week that it “appreciates the efforts of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as well as other relevant countries, working together with Yemeni stakeholders to de-escalate tensions and restore stability.”
Saudi Arabia leads the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen, which includes the UAE and was established in 2015 to combat the Houthi rebels, who control most of northern Yemen.
Riyadh has been calling on the STC, which initially supported Yemen’s internationally recognized government against the Houthi rebels, to withdraw after it launched an offensive against the Saudi-backed government troops last month, seeking an independent state in the south.
Indonesia has also urged for “all parties to exercise restraint and avoid unilateral action that could impact security conditions,” and has previously said that the rising tensions in Yemen could “further deteriorate the security situation and exacerbate the suffering” of the Yemeni people.
Indonesia, the world’s biggest Muslim-majority country, maintains close ties with both Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which are its main trade and investment partners in the Middle East.
