 Hello and welcome to International Daily Roundup by People's Dispatch, where we bring you major news developments from across the world. Our headlines, Latin America witnesses major spike in COVID-19 cases over 4 million infected so far. Israeli forces conduct violent raids at Palestinian cultural institutes. Feminist groups protest rising famicide and violence against women in Turkey. And 45 people killed in a strike conducted by Afghanistan government. We begin with an update on the COVID-19 pandemic. Globally, the number of infections has reached over 15 million cases with around 620,000 fatalities reported as of today afternoon. The number of new cases reported yesterday was over 239,000. Latin America and the Caribbean are emerging as new epicenters of the pandemic. A new surge has been seen for nearly a month driven by the easing of quarantine restrictions and the lifting of restrictions on economic activities. As of July 22, the region had registered more than 4 million confirmed cases and 174,000 deaths. Brazil continues to be the worst affected in the region and the second worst in the world with 2.2 million cases and 83,000 deaths. Peru, Mexico and Chile are the next worst affected countries with more than 300,000 cases each. Colombia and Argentina are also witnessing a surge in new cases and deaths. The spike in the number of cases escalated a crisis in healthcare systems across the region. The healthcare systems are at the verge of collapse in countries such as Brazil and Chile, where the governments have refused to enact any containment measures. Meanwhile, Bolivia and Ecuador are facing shortages of beds and supplies. Several national reports have revealed that the cases and deaths are growing faster in the poorest neighborhoods in big cities. The residents face overcrowding, have limited access to portable water, cooking gas, healthcare services and lack of proper sanitation facilities. In our next story, Israeli security forces conducted violent raids at a number of renowned Palestinian cultural institutes in occupied East Jerusalem on Wednesday. The heads of three institutes were detained and charged with funding terrorism, according to reports. The arrest of directors Al-Suhail Khoury of the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music, Rania Elias of the Yabuz Cultural Center and Daw Dal Ghul of the Jerusalem Arts Network. Israeli police officers along with intelligence agents and tax investigators reportedly raided the homes of these directors before the arrests were made. Two of the three directors were escorted to the respective institutes, where they confiscated large number of documents and detained some employees. The Israeli police also charged the three with allegations of tax evasion and fraud. The Palestinian authorities' Ministry of Culture and Statement condemned the Israeli actions, saying that the raids are an attack on Palestinian culture and heritage. Senior PLO leader Hana Ashravi echoed the sentiment, stating that the raids are an attempt to erase the Palestinian presence and alter the demographic and cultural makeup of the city. The institutes raided by Israeli forces and Wednesday are considered among the most prestigious for the study and conservation of Palestinian culture and literary activities in Jerusalem. Thousands of students are enrolled in many of the branches of the Said Conservatory across occupied Palestine and Gaza. In Turkey, news of the brutal murder of a 27-year-old woman on Tuesday has led to thousands of women taking to the streets across the country. Demonstrations occurred in different cities, including Istanbul, to demand and end to the violence against women. In several places, the protests continued in Venice and more are scheduled for Friday. Several women also took to social media to express their anger against Femicide in the country. The murdered woman was a university student and was reported missing a week ago. The police have arrested her ex-boyfriend for the murder. The protests are being organized by We Will Stop Femicide platform, Ankara Women's platform and the platform to stop women's murder among others. Activists have pointed to a rising number of cases of violence against women in Turkey. According to the organizers, 135 women have already been killed this year, mostly by their family members or partners. Last year, at least 474 women were murdered, in most cases by their family members, relatives or partners. The recorded number of women murdered in Turkey has doubled since 2012, despite it being the first country to sign a European Council Convention to combat violence on women. The government, led by Rajab Tayyip Erdogan, has been accused of ignoring its own commitments under this convention, which is popularly known as the Istanbul Convention. Erdogan himself has been accused of making misogynist and anti-women statements from time to time. And finally, 45 people were killed in an airstrike in the eastern part of Afghanistan Wednesday. Of those killed, at least eight civilians and 37 were Taliban militants. The strike took place in Herat District's Kham-Zairat area. Jailani Farhad, the acting governor of Herat, said that the strike targeted six key commanders as a Taliban, while the civilian casualties were caused by a landmine blast. However, eyewitnesses of the incident gave a separate version, saying that the airstrike actually targeted a wedding party in the area, which resulted in 20 civilian injuries. Many eyewitnesses also said that the aircraft was seen targeting those who were fleeing, including women and children. On Wednesday evening, in another incident, at least 31 Taliban militants were declared dead in a gun battle with the government forces in Nangarar province. The clashes took place, and the Taliban insurgents tried to attack the nearby checkpoint in the area. So far, in the first six months of 2020, total of 1,213 civilians have lost their lives in the violence between the government and Taliban. Moreover, 1,744 more people were reportedly wounded in at least 880 incidents, as per the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission. That's all we have time for today to know more about these stories. Visit our website, People's Dispatch, or ORG, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Thanks for watching. Thank you.