Mahsa Amini: Tehran issues first death sentence for rioters

Today's headlines: the Taliban ban women from gyms and public baths; Mar Gewargis III Younan is the new patriarch of the Ancient Church of the East; in China, Covid-19 spreads faster than swabs and lockdowns, record number of contagions; the coup junta in Myanmar has sentenced 20 activists and opponents to terms of up to 225 years; Russian generals' families do business in Syria.

IRAN

Tehran issued the first death sentence for 'participation' in the 'riots' that broke out following the killing of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini at the hands of the morality police. The accused allegedly 'set fire to a building, disturbed public order and conspired'. Five others received sentences of between five and ten years in prison. The defendants may appeal.

AFGHANISTAN

After amusement parks, the Taliban banned women from gyms and public baths, marking a further step in the segregation of the sexes. Since August 2021, many have lost their jobs or are paid to stay at home, as well as being unable to travel without a man. A government spokesman justifies the ban on the grounds that 'trainers are male' and some gyms are 'mixed'. 

CHINA

Despite the zero-Covid policy based on mass swabs and rigid lockdowns, which have dealt a severe blow to the economy, the virus is running with a daily record of infections recorded in Beijing and other cities including the industrial hubs of Guangzhou and Zhengzhou. A decision to suspend the Shanghai Art and Design Fair on public health grounds is also reportedly in the pipeline. 

MYANMAR

Since coming to power in February 2021, the coup junta has sentenced 20 democrats, activists and opponents to prison terms of up to 225 years, and never less than 20 years. The charges range from terrorism to incitement to revolt. The 77-year-old leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has so far to serve 26 years; 30-year-old Kyaw Thet has the harshest sentence, 225 years; Hnin Maung 95 years.

MIDDLE EAST

The synod of the Ancient Church of the East, convened in Chicago on 12 November, elected Mar Gewargis Younan, bishop of the Eastern United States and Europe, the 110th Catholicos-patriarch, with the name Mar Gewargis III Younan. He succeeds Mar Yaqo Daniel, who was elected in May but resigned in August after only three months. Among the challenges is reunification with the Assyrian Church of the East. 

RUSSIA - SYRIA

The collaborators of Aleksej Naval'nyj spread information about the affairs of the wife of General Surovikin, commander of the Russian forces in Ukraine. The woman allegedly receives millions of percentages from the companies of the oligarch Gennadij Timčenko that are involved in the extraction of phosphates in Syria, a business opened thanks to the general's protection during the war.

ARMENIA - AZERBAIJAN

In Nagorno Karabakh the local Armenians are ready to liquidate the Self-Defence Army if the Russian peacekeepers move away from the lines of separation. This was announced by National Assembly leader Artur Arutjunyan, agreeing with the proposal of Yerevan Prime Minister Nikol Pašinyan to create a de-militarised zone with international guarantees.

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