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EXPLAINER: Free courts at stake as EU mulls Poland funding

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WARSAW, Poland -- Poland’s prime minister recently asserted that the vast majority of Polish judges under scrutiny by a controversial judicial chamber were drunk drivers, rapists or thieves. That claim was quickly rejected by nearly 60 judges being investigated by the so-called Disciplinary Chamber at the Supreme Court of Poland. In an open letter to Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, they said none among them had committed crimes, and all were instead being targeted for defending judicial independence. Their fate — and the independence of Polish courts more broadly — is at the heart of a dispute with the European Union, which has withheld billions of euros in pandemic recovery funds to Warsaw over the matter. Here is a look at some of the key issues at play as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visits Warsaw on Thursday to discuss the matter. Recent Stories from ABC NewsTop Articles READ MORE A dad's anguish outside Texas school whileshooting unfolded WHAT LEVERAG...
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Journalist detained in China denied calls, partner says

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SYDNEY -- The Australian partner of a journalist who has been detained in China for nearly two years said Thursday she is being denied the chance to speak with her family and consular staff, and her health is declining due to a poor prison diet. Journalist Cheng Lei, an Australian who was born in China, was detained in August 2020 on charges of suspicion of sharing state secrets. In March, she was tried in Beijing, but Australian diplomats weren't allowed inside the courtroom. Since the trial, Chinese authorities have deferred announcing a verdict. Cheng, 46, had worked as a business journalist for Chinese state broadcaster China Global Television Network. Speaking about the case publicly for the first time in an interview with Australia's Sky News, Cheng's partner Nick Coyle said he was worried “big time” for her health and about the lack of access she was getting to her family and Australian consular staff. Coyle told Sky News that her regular 30-minute consular video...
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