World News Roundup: Hubei reports 93 new coronavirus deaths; ICC trial in The Hague and more

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

China's Hubei province reports 93 new coronavirus deaths

The number of deaths in China's central Hubei province from a coronavirus outbreak rose by 93 to 1,789 as of Monday, the province's health commission said on its website on Tuesday. There had been a further 1,807 cases detected in Hubei, the epicenter of the outbreak, taking the total in the province to 59,989.

ICC trial in The Hague one option for Sudan's Bashir: minister

Sudan could send former leader Omar al-Bashir and other suspects to The Hague for trial before the International Criminal Court, but any decision would need approval from military and civilian rulers, the information minister said on Monday. Sudanese authorities said last week that they had agreed for Bashir and three other suspects to appear before the ICC, without giving details of how this could happen.

Family says government did not protect young girl murdered in Mexico City

Relatives of a seven-year-old girl murdered in Mexico said on Monday the government had failed to protect her despite their pleas for help, while President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador appeared to blame the crime on neo-liberal economics. Fatima Cecilia Aldrighett went missing on Feb. 11. Her body was discovered over the weekend inside a plastic garbage bag in Mexico City's Tlahuac neighborhood, only days after another murder of a young woman triggered angry protests.

Syrian forces consolidate control of Aleppo, airstrikes underway

The Syrian army said on Monday it had taken full control of dozens of towns in Aleppo's northwestern countryside and it would press on with its campaign to wipe out militant groups "wherever they are found". The advances were made after President Bashar al-Assad's forces drove insurgents from the M5 highway linking Aleppo to Damascus, reopening the fastest route between Syria's two biggest cities for the first time in years in a big strategic gain for Assad.

'Cancer does not wait': Children's medicine shortage stokes anger in Mexico

Hermes Soto, who turned 5 on Monday, will not be celebrating his birthday with friends. Instead, he is bracing for his 15th chemotherapy session to tackle a rare but aggressive form of cancer that threatens to kill him. For his mother, Esperanza Paz, the ordeal is compounded by fears of another round of shortages in the supply of the life-saving vincristine drug needed to treat soft-tissue cancer in her son's forearm.

U.N. envoy condemns use of birdshot against Iraqi protesters

The top United Nations envoy to Iraq condemned on Monday the use of hunting rifles loaded with birdshot against peaceful protesters in Baghdad and urged the government to ensure those demonstrating are not harmed. The U.N. Assistance Mission for Iraq said it had received credible allegations of protesters being targeted with hunting rifles, stones, and firebombs on the nights of Feb. 14-16, leading to at least 50 injuries.

Hundreds of Americans flown home from cruise ship, 14 with coronavirus

More than 300 American cruise liner passengers, including 14 who tested positive for coronavirus, were flown home to military bases in the United States after two weeks under quarantine off Japan. The cruise ship Diamond Princess, which with more than 400 cases has by far the largest cluster outside China, has become the biggest test so far from other countries' ability to contain an outbreak that has killed 1,772 people in China and five elsewhere.

'Every scenario on the table' in China virus outbreak: WHO's Tedros

The latest data provided by China on people infected with coronavirus indicates a decline in new cases but "every scenario is still on the table" in terms of the epidemic's evolution, the World Health Organization said on Monday. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general, said that a published Chinese paper on more than 44,000 confirmed cases provided insight into the age range of infected people, disease severity and mortality rates.

Libya's rival factions dig in for long conflict

Libya's combatants are readying for a long conflict, as foreign weapons flood in, eastern factions close oil ports and rival alliances wrangle over revenues from Africa's largest petroleum reserves. The moves signal deepening animosity in a war that could worsen regional instability and swell the flow of migrants from the Middle East and Africa almost a decade after Muammar Gaddafi's fall in 2011.

UK PM's adviser quits after backlash over contraception, IQ comments

An adviser to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson who had discussed the benefits of forced contraception quit on Monday, saying "media hysteria" about his old online posts meant he had become a distraction for the government. Earlier, Johnson's spokesman repeatedly refused to comment when asked about Andrew Sabisky, whose appointment drew widespread criticism after the Mail on Sunday newspaper reported statements made in his name online in 2014 and 2016.

(With inputs from agencies.)