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WTO Head Abruptly Resigns
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The head of the World Trade Organization (WTO) abruptly resigned last Thursday, hampering the group’s ability to foster international cooperation during a worldwide recession.
In a surprise announcement, Roberto Azevedo said that he would step down on August 31, a full year before his term was supposed to end. A lifelong Brazilian diplomat, the 62-yearold has headed the WTO since 2013 and was slated to be replaced in August 2021.
Azevedo said in a statement that the move was “a personal decision” and highlighted the organization’s role in forging a more effective global economy. “The WTO may not be perfect, but it is indispensable all the same,” he said. “It is what keeps us from a world where the law of the jungle prevails, at least as far as trade is concerned.”
The surprise announcement will further hurt the WTO’s effort to promote global trade during the worldwide economic downturn caused by the coronavirus. Located in Geneva, the WTO works to remove global trade barriers and promote business opportunities on an international level.
In recent years, the WTO has come under severe criticism from populist politicians around the world, including U.S. President Donald Trump. The leader has alleged that the organization serves to promote Chinese interests and is responsible for millions of U.S. jobs disappearing.
Since 2019, the U.S. has blocked the appointment of new judges to the WTO’s appellate court in a show of displeasure and has pushed it to make widespread reforms. The U.S., along with Japan and the European Union, wants the organization to work to counter China’s growing economic clout and alleged bullying behavior.
When queried about his response to Azevedo’s departure, Trump said that he “was okay with it” and launched into an anti-WTO tirade. “We’ve been treated very badly... They treat China as a developing nation; therefore, China gets a lot of the benefits that the US doesn’t get,” he noted.
Iran’s Policy Led to Doctors’ Deaths
A new report sheds light on how Iran’s public denial of the coronavirus outbreak within its borders resulted in the deaths of hundreds of doctors and other medical personnel.
With 118,392 current cases and 6,937 deaths, Iran has been hit particularly hard by the coronavirus. The Islamic Republic has become one of the world’s epicenters of the virus, with some estimates putting the actual number of deaths as ten times higher than the official figures.
According to the Associated Press investigation, Iran’s coverup of the true scale of the disaster, combined with a lack of sufficient equipment such as masks and gloves, resulted in doctors being devastated by the virus. The report, which was based on interviews with 30 doctors employed in Iran, presented a damning picture of a country whose desire to prevent the public from knowing the truth resulted in disaster.
After the increasing number of verified coronavirus cases erupted in early February, Iranian authorities refused to admit that something was wrong. Preventing the media from reporting that true state of affairs, special hospitals built to house coronavirus patients were kept secret and were manned by the Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).
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