From ’world at risk’ to ’world in disorder’, panel on epidemic handling notes

The death penalty against Iranian wrestler Navid Afkari has been deemed as being a cruel and inhumane punishment and has been opposed by the European Union. Afkari had been convicted of stabbing a security guard to death in 2018 during the anti-government protests. The Iranian state media reported the execution of the champion Greco-Romanian wrestler on Saturday.

After meeting with a cardinal who later tested positive for COVID-19, Pope Francis is under constant monitoring for symptoms of the disease. 63 year old Philippine cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle had a private audience with the Pope and on returning to Manila, the cardinal tested positive for the disease. According to the Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin, they are being prudent with the situation.

Ahead of the expected arrival of Hurricane Paulette, the residents of Bermuda have been warned about the damage it could cause and have been urged to prepare to ’protect life and property’. The hurricane is due to grow into a dangerous storm with it already carrying top sustained speeds of 75mph. Parts of the Bahamas and the American east coast will also be affected by Hurricane Paulette.

Michelle Bachelet, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights said that recent civilian casualties which occurred in Myanmar may amount to ’further war crimes’. She also said that ’no concrete measures’ on accountability had been taken three years after the exodus of Rohingya Muslims from the country. Civilian casualties have registered an increase due to fighting in Rakhine and the Chin states.

Russia’s main pro-Kremlin party, United Russia, has claimed victory in regional polls that took place Sunday in the country’s 41 regions. The polls were overshadowed by the poisoning of main opposition leader Alexei Navalny, pandemic-induced economic crisis, and protests in some regions. Opposition leaders and allies of Navalny said they have secured city council seats in Siberia.

The WHO has recorded a record one-day rise of 307, 930 in the number of new coronavirus infections reported over 24 hours, taking the total to almost 29 million. India reported the highest rise in the tally with 94,372 new cases, followed by the US with 45,523 and Brazil with 43,718. The agency said that deaths rose by more than 5,500, bringing the global total to 917,417.

Israel has announced a three-week lockdown starting Friday amid a second wave of surge in Covid-19 cases. 2,715 people were tested positive on Saturday. During the lockdown, schools, restaurants, malls, and hotels will shut down, among other businesses, and Israelis will have to stay within 500 meters of their houses but can travel to workplaces that will be allowed to operate on a limited basis.

The extradition hearing for Julian Assange will resume in London Monday after a COVID-19 test on one of the participating lawyers came back negative. It comes after the judge had earlier refused a request from Assange’s legal team to delay the hearing until after the US election. Assange is fighting American prosecutors’ attempt to extradite him to the US to stand trial on spying charges.

A fifth of carbon dioxide emissions come from multinational companies’ global supply chains, according to a new study led by UCL and Tianjin University. The researchers found that carbon emissions from multinationals’ foreign investment fell from a peak of 22% of all emissions in 2011 to 18.7% in 2016, due to industries becoming more efficient and shrinking volume of direct foreign investment.

The Philippines has deported a US Marine convicted of killing a transgender woman in the country in 2014. Lance Corporal Joseph Scott Pemberton was granted an absolute pardon by President Rodrigo Duterte. A court had found Pemberton guilty of killing Jennifer Laude in a hotel, outside a former US navy base northwest of the capital Manila. The case sparked debate over the US military presence.

The US called a decision by Beijing to impose restrictions on all American diplomats in China an ’escalation’. This comes as relations between the world’s top two economies have deteriorated in recent months. Earlier, China’s ’reciprocal restrictions’ came days after Washington announced new restrictions on staff working for Beijing’s foreign missions.

A group of 27 migrants have finally been able to disembark in Italy over the weekend. The migrants were rescued by a shipping tanker in the Mediterranean 40 days ago, but then the Maltese authorities prevented them from coming ashore. A humanitarian vessel took the migrants from the tanker, Maersk Etienne, on Friday and was then allowed to dock late Sunday in the port of Pozzallo, Sicily.

It has been the sixth week since, Belarus’s current leader, Alexander Lukashenko, is said to have fraudulently claimed re-election. This has resulted in the majority of the population taking part in protesting the election results by Lukashenko’s government. Recently, a rally 100,000 is said to have of taken place in Minsk, the capital of Belarus.

Negotiations between the Afghan government and Taliban commenced in Doha, Qatar began on Saturday, a day after the 19th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the U.S that triggered the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, Afghanistan’s peace council chairman Abdullah Abdullah, Taliban leader Mullah Baradar Akhund, and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo were scheduled to propose speeches. .

Iran has executed a wrestler accused of murder, defying international appeals for him to be spared. Navid Afkari, 27, was sentenced to death over the murder of a security guard during the anti-government protests in 2018. Afkari claimed he was tortured into making a confession. Earlier, US President Trump also appealed for mercy. Afkari’s brothers have been sentenced to prison in the same case.

China has returned five Indian nationals thought to have been detained when they wandered across the border. The youths, who India claims to be hunters from a state bordering China, went missing earlier this month. An Indian army spokesperson said that this was not uncommon given the long and at times unmarked border between the two countries.

On Friday, the Public Health Agency of Canada reported that the country has witnessed no new deaths linked to COVID-19 for the first time since March. Over 6 million people had been tested on Friday from which 2.1% were positive. According to a report by the John Hopkins University, Canada has 137,676 COVID-19 cases and 9,214 deaths as of Saturday.

Mali’s new military leaders have established an 18-month transition government until an election can take place, following last month’s coup. The interim government is expected to be led by either a military officer or a civilian. Ousted President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta fled the country last week. After the coup, West African leaders said they wanted a return to civilian rule.

On Friday, France recorded 10,561 new COVID-19 infections which marked the first time the country crossed the tally of 10,000 new cases in 24 hours. The number of deaths due to the virus totalled to 30,910. The spike in the number of cases comes along the same time as the country witnesses the ’Yellow Vest protest’ which advocates an anti-government movement.