MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish Health Minister Carmen Monton resigned from her position on Tuesday after reports of irregularities in how she obtained an academic degree, becoming the second minister to quit since Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez took office in June.

Monton denied reports that there were irregularities in a master’s degree she received from a university in Madrid. </s> MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish Health Minister Carmen Monton resigned from her position on Tuesday after reports of irregularities in how she obtained an academic degree, becoming the second minister to quit since Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez took office in June.

Monton denied reports that there were irregularities in a master's degree she received from a university in Madrid.

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. </s> MADRID — Spain’s health minister has resigned over irregularities found in her master’s degree, the second cabinet member to be replaced in the just over 100 days since Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez came to power.

Carmen Monton announced her resignation late on Tuesday, a day after news website elDiario.es published irregularities in her 2011 degree on gender studies. Her final work, it later emerged, had chunks of text copied from websites and other works.

Sanchez, who became prime minister in June promising to root out corruption, lost a culture minister over a tax fine. His centre-left government has been marred by erratic policy-making, with several U-turns on cabinet decisions.

The resignation also puts pressure on opposition leader Pablo Casado, whose degree from the same public policy institute as Monton’s is under investigation. </s> Spain's Health Minister Carmen Monton leaves after announcing her resignation at the ministry in Madrid, Spain, September 11, 2018. REUTERS/Juan Medina

MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish Health Minister Carmen Monton resigned on Tuesday after reports of irregularities in how she obtained an academic degree, becoming the second minister to quit since Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez took office in June.

Spanish news website eldiario.es reported on Monday that Monton had been awarded grades without attending classes or having contact with professors when she obtained her master’s degree at Madrid’s Rey Juan Carlos university.

Broadcaster La Sexta said on Tuesday it had tracked down her final project and found it contained plagiarized passages.

Monton denied those reports but said she was stepping down anyway, to avoid the situation affecting the government.

Sanchez took power after toppling his predecessor with a confidence vote over a long-running corruption scandal.

Anti-austerity group Podemos said Monton had no option but to resign if she could not explain the situation.

Monton’s departure follows that of Maxim Huerta, who resigned as culture minister in June just a week after taking office, over a tax fine related to his income 10 years ago.

Rey Juan Carlos university has been connected with other recent scandals involving accusations that politicians held improperly obtained qualifications.

The previous head of the Madrid regional government and the head of the opposition People’s Party received academic titles there which attracted accusations of malpractice, which both denied. </s> The Tunisian Health Minister Abderraouf Cherif has resigned following the deaths of 11 newborn babies at a hospital in the capital, Tunis.

Tunisia's health ministry said evidence suggested they had all died from septic shock between 7-8 March.

Prime Minister Youssef Chahed said investigations have been launched into the state-run facility's medical, pharmaceutical and hygiene practices.

Mr Cherif's resignation comes just four months after his appointment.

In a Facebook post, Tunisia's paediatrics society said the infection may have been caused by an intravenous product.

The group also criticised "precarious conditions in which health professionals work".

Tunisia's public healthcare had a reputation as one of the best in North Africa, and medical tourism is a source of considerable revenue for the country.

But since the overthrow of President Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali in 2011, the system has been hampered by management and financial problems, along with recurrent drug shortages. </s> Manama: Tunisia’s health minister has resigned following the death of 11 babies at a maternity hospital in two days.

Prime Minister Youssef Chahed said that he accepted the resignation of Abdul Raouf Cherif who was given the health portfolio late last year in a cabinet reshuffle.

A government official said the minister handed in his resignation to the prime minister at an impromptu meeting on Saturday evening.

The babies died at the state-run Rabta hospital in the capital Tunis on Friday and Saturday

Chahed who made a visit to the hospital late on Saturday said that an investigation had been launched and pledged that those named in the report would be held accountable.

A report from the health ministry said the babies died from septic shock.

Radio stations reported that the prosecutor on Saturday evening questioned the head and staff of the section tasked with providing care for the babies as family members gathered outside the hospital seeking answers for the death of their babies.

An opposition party called for the resignation of the government, citing its inability to run one of the most critical sectors in the North African country.

Other parties called for a thorough probe while the country’s main trade union stressed the need to improve working conditions in the healthcare sector.

However, the situation deteriorated in the last eight years as the sector became plagued with social and professional problems. </s> Spain’s health minister, Carmen Montón, has resigned after becoming the latest senior politician to find her educational qualifications under scrutiny.

Montón stepped down on Tuesday night following a series of reports detailing irregularities in her master’s degree in interdisciplinary gender studies, which was awarded by King Juan Carlos University in Madrid seven years ago.

She insisted she had been “transparent and honest”, but an investigation by the online newspaper El Diario found discrepancies over her attendance and the marks awarded. Moreover, it emerged on Tuesday that Montón had plagiarised passages from Wikipedia and other websites in her final degree work.

The MP claimed she had done nothing wrong and, in an apparent reference to the opposition People’s party (PP) politicians who have faced questions over their degrees, said: “We’re not all the same.”

She paid tribute to Pedro Sánchez, the Socialist prime minister who appointed her after being sworn in three months ago, as she left office.

“Spanish men and women have a fantastic prime minister and I’ve informed him of my resignation so that this situation doesn’t get in the way,” Montón said.

Earlier that day, Sánchez had given the minister his backing. “She’s doing a great job and will carry on doing so,” he said.

The prime minister later tweeted his thanks: “In your 100 days at the helm of the health ministry, you have restored universal healthcare in our country and you’ve worked tirelessly to return and increase rights. Thanks, Carmen Montón, for your commitment to equality and social justice. Your brave decision does you credit.”

Montón is the second minister Sánchez has lost since he used a vote of no confidence to unseat his PP predecessor, Mariano Rajoy, amid public anger over the party’s corruption and cronyism.

In June, the culture minister, Màxim Huerta, resigned following media reports that he had avoided paying taxes while working as a TV journalist 10 years ago.

Pablo Casado, the new PP leader, has also faced questions over his academic record. Earlier this year, it emerged the postgraduate degree he claims to hold from Harvard had in fact been earned by attending a four-day course in Madrid. He has also admitted he was awarded a master’s degree in public regional law by King Juan Carlos University despite not being required to attend classes or take exams.

Spain’s supreme court is looking into Casado’s degree and will decide whether the investigations should continue. However, PP sources maintain that Casado’s case is very different from that of Montón, arguing their leader has not been accused of plagiarism or falsification.

In April, Cristina Cifuentes, the PP head of Madrid’s regional government, resigned after video footage emerged of her apparently being caught stealing two tubs of face cream seven years ago. Cifuentes had also been under pressure to quit over allegations of irregularities in her master’s degree from King Juan Carlos University. </s> Tunisian Health Minister Abdel-Raouf El-Sherif resigned Saturday after 11 babies mysteriously died within 24 hours in a hospital in the capital, state news agency TAP said.

The health ministry and state prosecutors began investigations into the babies' deaths, which most likely were caused by a blood infection, the ministry said.

Tunisians have complained about a decline in state services since the overthrow of Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali in 2011, which brought a democratic transition but also threw the country into an economic crisis.

Government critics say the public sector is rife with corruption. </s> Tunisia's health minister Abdel-Raouf El-Sherif has resigned following multiple investigations launched into the sudden deaths of 11 newborns at a state maternity hospital in the capital.

Prime Minister Youssef Chahed accepted El-Sherif's resignation, according to official news agency TAP, after the health ministry said 11 newborns were reported dead on Thursday and Friday at Rabta hospital in Tunis.

Chahed has ordered an investigation into the deaths and vowed to hold those responsible accountable.

Preliminary findings revealed that the deaths were "likely caused by septic shock resulting from blood infections", the ministry said.

The Tunisian prosecutor's office has also ordered the opening of a judicial investigation into the deaths.

The public health system in Tunisia has been hit by management and financial problems that lowered standards and caused drug shortages.

Tunisians have complained about a decline of state services since the overthrow of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in 2011 which has brought a democratic transition but also thrown the country into an economic crisis.
Health Minister Lucrecia Hernández Mack and her deputies announce Sunday they have resigned.