International
Top figures in Covid fight leaving in WHO shake-up
| By AFP |
Two of the World Health Organization’s most senior figures in the fight against Covid-19 are quitting next week, according to a letter from the WHO chief seen by AFP on Tuesday.
Indian paediatrician and clinical scientist Soumya Swaminathan is leaving her post as the WHO’s chief scientist, while Mariangela Simao of Brazil is departing as the UN health agency’s assistant director-general for access to medicines and health products.
The pair were among the top WHO officials leading global efforts to coordinate the response to the pandemic since Covid-19 was first detected in China in late 2019.
They have been part of the WHO’s public-facing team in the search for vaccines, tests and treatments to combat the pandemic.
The departures were announced in a letter to colleagues written by WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus as part of a shake-up of his top team following his re-election for a second five-year term in May.
“I would like to express my abiding appreciation and respect to members of my senior leadership team whose appointments with WHO are coming to an end on November 30,” Tedros said in the letter.
“These distinguished individuals have my deepest gratitude for their commitment and contribution to the organisation over the last five years.”
Swaminathan and her team worked to keep up with and communicate the constantly-evolving science around Covid-19.
Simao often took the lead in explaining the search for vaccines and the WHO approval process for Covid jabs.
Also heading for the out door are former French health minister Agnes Buzyn, Tedros’s multilateral affairs envoy; and former British government minister Jane Ellison, who is leaving as executive director for external affairs and governance.
“The team has… helped steer WHO through a global pandemic that ravaged the health and well-being of the entire world and had a profound and ongoing impact on global public health,” Tedros said.
“Thanks to their leadership and expertise, these departing members of the senior leadership team made a truly positive difference, and their legacy is a strengthened and more agile, equitable, and resilient WHO.”
No announcements have yet been made on fresh appointments.
International
Report: Vatican mediation included russian asylum offer ahead of Maduro’s capture
The Vatican reportedly attempted to negotiate an offer of asylum in Russia for Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro before his capture by U.S. forces last Saturday, according to The Washington Post.
The U.S. newspaper reported that Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin spoke with U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See Brian Burch about a supposed Russian proposal to grant Maduro asylum. A source familiar with the offer said that what was proposed “was that he would leave and be able to enjoy his money,” and that part of the plan involved Russian President Vladimir Putin guaranteeing Maduro’s security.
Despite these diplomatic efforts, the United States carried out a military operation that resulted in Maduro’s capture and detention, along with his wife Cilia Flores, who are now being held in New York on narcoterrorism charges.
The Washington Post also noted that U.S. President Donald Trump may have invited Maduro to Washington for in-person discussions about safe conduct, an offer that Maduro reportedly declined.
International
Pope Leo XIV warns of rising “war enthusiasm” in global politics
“War is becoming fashionable again, and war enthusiasm is spreading.” Pope Leo XIV delivered a somber assessment of international politics on Friday, sharply criticizing the growing reliance on force by nations at a time when his country of birth is increasing military displays.
While offering New Year’s greetings to the diplomatic corps, the U.S.-born pope — who also holds Peruvian nationality — delivered one of his strongest speeches to date, denouncing the “worrying weakening of multilateralism” and the emergence of what he described as “war enthusiasm.”
From the outset of his address to ambassadors accredited to the Holy See, delivered in English, the pontiff lamented the rise of a “diplomacy of force, by individuals or groups of allied states,” at the expense of dialogue, warning that such trends threaten the global order established after World War II.
“Peace is no longer sought as a gift or as a good desirable in itself, or as the pursuit of ‘the establishment of an order willed by God, one that entails greater justice among human beings.’ Instead, it is pursued through weapons as a condition for asserting one’s own dominance,” the head of the Catholic Church said, without directly naming any country.
His remarks come amid ongoing conflicts between Ukraine and Russia and in the Gaza Strip, and against a broader international backdrop marked by European concerns over a potential U.S. takeover of Greenland, the autonomous Danish territory, a scenario that could threaten the cohesion of NATO.
International
One Dead and Nine Injured After Explosion in Southwest Madrid
The incident occurred at around 4:10 p.m. local time in the Carabanchel neighborhood, in the southwest of the Spanish capital, according to a spokesperson for emergency services.
One person, whose identity was not disclosed, was killed, and nine others sustained minor injuries, the spokesperson said.
When asked about the possible cause of the explosion, emergency services did not provide any details.
Images shared by authorities on their official X account show a partial collapse of the building’s façade.
In October 2025, the collapse of a building under renovation in central Madrid left four people dead.
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