ITALY: A court convicted the former chief executive of Italy’s main highway operator and 29 others today in the 2018 Genoa highway bridge collapse that sent vehicles plunging and killed 43 people.

Dozens of family members of the victims packed the courtroom as Chief Judge Paolo Lepri read the verdicts against 57 defendants, including former executives and officials.

The former chief executive of highway operator Autostrade per l’Italia, Giovanni Castellucci, was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

IRELAND: The debate around reunification should not be a question of what it would cost, “but what a united Ireland could create,” Ireland’s deputy premier Simon Harris said today.

Addressing the Irish parliament, he said he believes that there will be a referendum on unification in the future.

Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald thanked Mr Harris for his “constructive” comments.

“For me,” she said, “the question isn’t whether or not we can afford Irish unity. It’s really a question: Can we afford partition any longer?”

ALGERIA: A fire at an orphanage near the capital Algiers killed 11 children and injured 19 others today.

Algeria’s Civil Protection agency said the fire broke out around 3.30am at the two-storey childcare institution in Mohammedia. Authorities have not said what caused the fire.

Algeria’s President Abdelmadjid Tebboune expressed his condolences to those impacted by the fire which happened on Algeria’s National Children’s Day.

FRANCE: The National Assembly gave final approval on Wednesday night to a bill allowing adults with incurable illnesses to receive lethal medication, the culmination of years of debate over end-of-life care.

But the 291-241 vote in the lower house of parliament doesn’t mean the Bill immediately becomes law. There will be a review to determine if it complies with the French constitution.

The National Assembly approved the measure after backing it in three previous readings. French President Emmanuel Macron announced the legislation more than three years ago.