Poland | Top court judges criticize pro-gov’t principal

Judges in Poland’s top court have written to their pro-government principal complaining that she kept some of them from handling cases. Seven out of the Constitutional Tribunal’s 15 judges wrote to their head, Julia Przylebska, to complain, Thursday. It comes on the heels of mass protests against new legislation that has forced the retirement of some of Poland’s Supreme Court judges. The judicial overhaul pushed by the right-wing ruling party, which has already affected the composition of the Constitutional Tribunal, has been widely criticized. The European Union, of which Poland is a member, has open unprecedented procedures against a perceived erosion of democracy in Poland. Przylebska insisted she was following regulations.

Kenya | Owners of dam charged for deaths of 47

Kenyan police are charging with manslaughter two managers of a private farm where a dam burst due to seasonal rains, flooding a village and killing at least 47 people. The two officials of the Patel Coffee Estates, the managing director and the general manager, appeared before a court in the town of Naivasha. The farm is in Nakuru County in Kenya’s Rift Valley. Police say the dam was substandard. The dam’s wall collapsed in May after heavy rains. Across Kenya, the rains are blamed for the deaths of 172 people through drowning.