The United Nations issued a rebuke Saturday against Afghanistan’s Taliban-controlled central bank for remarks it made about cash entering the country for humanitarian work, calling the comments "misleading and unhelpful."
Driving the news: Afghanistan's central bank had tweeted earlier Saturday that a package of $40 million of humanitarian aid had arrived and been deposited in a commercial bank in Kabul. The tweet was accompanied by photos of stacks of cash.
Brazil's former Justice Minister Anderson Torres was arrested in Brasilia on Saturday over allegations he sabotaged security operations ahead of a group breaking into the capital and presidential palace, per Reuters.
The big picture: Torres, the former head of security in the nation's capital, was in charge of ensuring the federal district's safety when supporters of right-wing former President Jair Bolsonarostormed government buildings earlier this week.
TEL AVIV — Tens of thousands in Israel gathered in the pouring rain to protest against the Netanyahu government's plan to weaken the Supreme Court and other democratic institutions.
Why it matters: The plan, announced less than two weeks after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing government took office, has deepened political divisions and stoked fear among some that the heightened tensions could tear Israeli society apart.
The United Kingdom condemned Iran Saturday over the execution of Alireza Akbari, a former Iranian defense ministry official.
Driving the news: "The execution of British-Iranian Alireza Akbari is a barbaric act that deserves condemnation in the strongest possible terms," British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said in a statement. "Through this politically motivated act, the Iranian regime has once again shown its callous disregard for human life."
China officially updated its COVID death toll numbers Saturday, linking nearly 60,000 deaths to COVID-19 since early December, the Associated Press reports, citing the country's top health leaders.
Why it matters: These official numbers — which are likely smaller than the actual tally — doubles China's official COVID death toll since the disease was first discovered there in 2019, per AP.
Brazil's Supreme Court late Friday said it will investigate whether former President Jair Bolsonaro incited last Sunday's attack on Congress and other government buildings in the capital Brasília.
Driving the news: The prosecutor-general's office requested that Bolsonaro, who is currently in the U.S., be included in the investigation, citing a video he shared on Facebook two days after the attack, per AP. The video falsely claimed President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's election win was fraudulent.
The head of the UN nuclear watchdog agency is heading to Ukraine next week to establish a "continuous presence" at all of the country's nuclear power plants, according to a Friday news release.
Driving the news: The International Atomic Energy Agency is ramping up its efforts in the region to "help prevent a nuclear accident" from occurring amid Russia's ongoing invasion.
