A Tunisian court sentenced presidential candidate Ayachi Zammel to six months in prison on charges of falsifying documents, his lawyer said. This is the second prison sentence against him in a week, days before the presidential election.
The verdict highlights rising tensions ahead of the election, amid opposition and civil society groups' fears of a rigged election aimed at keeping President Kais Saied in power.
People took to the streets over the last weeks after lawmakers proposed a bill to strip the administrative court of its authority to adjudicate electoral disputes, a move that the opposition says would discredit the October 6 election, and pave the way for Saied to secure a second term.
Zammel was sentenced to 20 months in prison last week on charges of falsifying popular endorsements.
"It is another unjust ruling and a farce that clearly aims to weaken him in the election race, but we will defend his right to the last minute", Abdessattar Massoudi told Reuters.
Zammel was among only three admitted candidates competing for the position of President alongside incumbent Saied and Zouhair Magzhaoui.
Political tensions in the North African country have risen ahead of the October 6 election since an electoral commission named by Saied disqualified three prominent candidates this month amid protests by opposition and civil society groups.
At least 24 people were killed and 93 others wounded when Israeli airstrikes hit a mosque and a school sheltering displaced people in the Gaza Strip early on Sunday, the Hamas-run Gaza government media office said.
Russian air attacks on Ukraine kept the eastern half of the country under air raid alert for more than five hours, Ukraine's military said early on Sunday, with Moscow launching several waves of strikes targeting Kyiv and other cities.
Massive consecutive strikes hit Beirut's southern suburbs from late Saturday into Sunday, sending booms across the city and sparking flashes of red and white for nearly 30 minutes visible from several kilometres away.
Over 80 police personnel have been injured in clashes with supporters of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan taking part in a march near Islamabad, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said on Saturday.
Ukraine will present its "victory plan" at a regular meeting of its allies at Ramstein in Germany on October 12, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a post on Telegram on Saturday.