Reuters World News Summary

Iran says it will execute man convicted of spying on Soleimani for CIAAn Iranian who spied for U.S. and Israeli intelligence on slain Revolutionary Guards commander Qassem Soleimani has been sentenced to death, Iran said on Tuesday, adding the case was not linked to Soleimani's killing earlier this year.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs. Coronavirus may have spread in Wuhan in August, Harvard research shows, but China dismissive

The coronavirus might have been spreading in China as early as August last year, according to Harvard Medical School research based on satellite images of hospital travel patterns and search engine data, but China dismissed the report as "ridiculous". The research used satellite imagery of hospital parking lots in Wuhan - where the disease was first identified in late 2019 - and data for symptom-related queries on search engines for things such as "cough" and "diarrhoea". U.N. expert says some are 'starving' in North Korea

A United Nations human rights expert voiced alarm on Tuesday at "widespread food shortages and malnutrition" in North Korea, made worse by a nearly five-month border closure with China and strict quarantine measures against COVID-19. Tomas Ojea Quintana, U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, urged the U.N. Security Council to reconsider sanctions imposed on the isolated country over its nuclear and missile programmes, so as to ensure food supplies. Oil India reports fire at Baghjan well in Assam

An ongoing gas leak at state-run oil and gas explorer Oil India Ltd's Baghjan well in the eastern India state of Assam caught fire on Tuesday, the company said in a statement. Oil India suspended operations at the well in its Baghjan oilfield on May 27 after an uncontrolled gas emission, which has since been ongoing. With healthcare in focus, Cyprus reopens for visitors

Cyprus reopened its airports on Tuesday after almost three months of lockdown, hoping its record in dealing with the coronavirus pandemic and a pledge of free medical treatment for any COVID-19 cases will lure tourists back to its beaches. Heavily reliant on tourism, Cyprus announced a lockdown soon after its first cases on March 9. By Monday, it had recorded 970 cases and just 18 deaths, and its daily count of new infections was down to a handful. London's statues from 'bygone' imperial past to be reviewed, mayor says

London mayor Sadiq Khan has ordered a review of the capital's statues and street names after the toppling of the statue of an English slave trader by anti-racism protesters triggered a debate about the demons of Britain's imperial past. A statue of Edward Colston, who made a fortune in the 17th century from trading West African slaves, was torn down and thrown into Bristol harbour on Sunday by a group of demonstrators taking part in a wave of protests following the death of George Floyd in the United States. Iran says it will execute man convicted of spying on Soleimani for CIA

An Iranian who spied for U.S. and Israeli intelligence on slain Revolutionary Guards commander Qassem Soleimani has been sentenced to death, Iran said on Tuesday, adding the case was not linked to Soleimani's killing earlier this year. On Jan. 3, a U.S. drone strike in Iraq killed Soleimani, leader of the Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force. Washington blamed Soleimani for masterminding attacks by Iran-aligned militias on U.S. forces in the region. Malaysian prosecutors drop corruption charges against Najib ally

Malaysian government prosecutors withdrew corruption charges on Tuesday against an ally of former premier Najib Razak, whose party returned to power in a new coalition three months ago after having lost the last election amid massive graft scandals. The Kuala Lumpur High Court acquitted Musa Aman, a senior figure in Najib's United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) and former chief minister of Sabah state in Malaysian Borneo, after the prosecution dropped all 46 charges of alleged bribery in timber concession deals and money laundering. Exclusive: Obscure Indian cyber firm spied on politicians, investors worldwide

A little-known Indian IT firm offered its hacking services to help clients spy on more than 10,000 email accounts over a period of seven years. New Delhi-based BellTroX InfoTech Services targeted government officials in Europe, gambling tycoons in the Bahamas, and well-known investors in the United States including private equity giant KKR and short seller Muddy Waters, according to three former employees, outside researchers, and a trail of online evidence. Britain says Brexit political declaration is not a treaty

Britain said on Tuesday that the political declaration it agreed with the European Union is not a treaty and so there are differences of interpretation over it and the bloc cannot set itself up as the ultimate adjudicator of those differences. The United Kingdom and the European Union agreed the 31-page Political Declaration, which sets out the direction of future negotiations, in October 2019. It is not legally binding. Japan's NHK removes video about U.S. protests after online outrage

Japanese public broadcaster NHK apologised on Tuesday and deleted from its Twitter account an animated video aimed at explaining the background behind U.S. protests for police reform, but which instead sparked online outrage for its depiction of African Americans. The 1:21 minute clip, which NHK had also broadcast on its Sunday evening programme "Sekai no Ima" ("The World Now"), featured a tough-talking black narrator citing the wealth disparity between black and white Americans and the economic impact from the coronavirus.