By the time Lee “Taqwaa” Bonner got out of prison in California, he had spent 30 years behind bars and was unsure where to go.

He stayed at a halfway house for three months but then had to find a home. Everywhere he went, doors were slammed in his face.

“I tried to move in with my younger sister, until (an official) informed me that I was putting her housing in jeopardy,” Bonner, 56, told Context.

Bonner’s sister lived in federally subsidized housing in Oakland, and having a convicted felon move in with her would have put her lease in jeopardy. His mother lived in a privately-owned apartment complex, but her lease had a similar provision.

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Multiple videos posted online showed a crowd gathered in the early hours of Monday in front of the Rajaei-Shahr Prison in Karaj near Tehran in an effort to prevent the executions of 22-year-old Mohammad Ghobadlou and 19-year-old Mohammad Boroughani.

The families of the two men were also among the crowd. “My child is sick, he has a medical file, but they don’t want to accept,” Ghobadlou’s mother can be seen shouting in one of the videos, which was verified by Al Jazeera.

Ghobadlou was sentenced to death for allegedly running over several members of the security forces with his car and killing one. In court, Ghobadlou cited a history of mental illness, but a state psychologist testified that he was aware of his actions.

Ghobadlou’s mother could be heard in one of the videos saying that the member of the security forces who died had not been killed by her son.

Boroughani was convicted of “moharebeh”, or “waging war against God”, for allegedly using a knife to kill a member of the security forces.

Both men have had their sentences confirmed by the Supreme Court and were reportedly moved to solitary confinement, prompting concerns by their families that they would be executed imminently. The judiciary has not commented on when the executions would be carried out.

Amir Raesian, Ghobadlou’s lawyer, said in a tweet early on Monday that he had filed another appeal, and claimed that the Supreme Court was obliged by law to halt the execution sentence pending review.

Iran has so far executed four men in cases linked with the protests, which began in mid-September following the death of Mahsa Amini, who was arrested by the country’s morality police for alleged non-compliance with a mandatory dress code for women.

Two men were hanged on Saturday, and two other executions were carried out in December, one of them publicly in Mashhad.

Amnesty International has said more than two dozen people could be at risk of execution in cases related to the protests.

Three more men received preliminary execution sentences, the official news outlet of the Iranian judiciary announced on Monday.

Saleh Mirhashemi, Majid Kazemi and Saeid Yaghoubi were sentenced to death for moharebeh after they allegedly used weapons to kill three members of the security forces in Isfahan on November 16.

Professional footballer Amir Nasr Azadani also received a total of 26 years in prison in the same case, and another man received a sentence of two years in prison.

A sixth arrested suspect was acquitted, according to the judiciary, which said the sentences can be appealed at the Supreme Court.

Iranians, including a number of celebrities, have condemned the executions. The Iranian national football team’s star striker Mehdi Taremi on Sunday tweeted that “justice won’t be served through the noose” and called for a stop to the executions.

Sporadic demonstrations also took place in Iran on Sunday to mark the third anniversary of the downing of Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752, which was hit by Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) missiles over Tehran in 2020 in an incident the authorities said was the result of “human error”.

Videos online showed protests in several cities to mark the occasion. The families of the victims on board the flight also organized demonstrations outside Iran, with a rally in Toronto attended by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

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On Sunday, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, or Lula, returned as Brazil’s president, marking a significant shift in the country’s politics for the politician who was sent to jail on corruption charges during the last campaign as a candidate as Bolsonaro went on to win the presidential elections.

In 2019, Lula was freed from prison after his convictions were overturned by the Supreme Court, allowing him to run again for office.

On October 30, 2022, Lula won in a tightly contested second-round presidential runoff, winning with 50.9 percent of the vote compared to Bolsonaro’s 49.1 percent, according to Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court.

However, this time around with a strong conservative presence in both chambers of Brazil’s legislature, Lula could face challenges when it comes to pushing through new legislation.

Following the ex-president Jair Bolsonaro’s tenure, on Sunday Lula pledged to lawmakers to rebuild the country, touching upon the importance of democracy that he said triumphed against the “violent threats” he said it had endured.

Lula faces the challenge of changing the fortunes of a politically divided nation, as following his second-round win in October, Bolsonaro supporters nationwide, angry with the election result, blocked roads across Brazil, pushing for the military to intervene.

The move by his supporters followed Bolsonaro ahead of the vote, casting doubt over whether he would respect the election results and questioning the country’s electronic voting system without providing evidence.

Lula also faces the threat of political violence, as on the day of his inauguration authorities detained a man found with a knife and fireworks trying to get close to the event and another recent arrest of an “ideologically” driven Bolsonaro supporter after the man planted explosives to sow “chaos” close to Brasilia’s airport but failed to explode.

Despite everything, the decision of the polls prevailed, reaffirmed Lula on Sunday – as some Bolsonaro supporters demonstrated his inauguration in the capital Brasilia.

In his speech to lawmakers, Lula has touched upon a range of policies from the need to drive small to medium size businesses in Brazil to the country’s need to focus on domestic production and avoid foreign imports.

The former metal worker described his “life mission” in politics to tackle food insecurity and to ensure all Brazilians can eat three square meals.

He also vowed to combat inequality and fight for the rights of women and Black people.

The long-standing leftist politician also called for more dialogue between the government and labor unions to help push through new labor legalization.

On environmental policy, Lula underscored the importance of the green energy transition and the indigenous ministry after the “injustices” the community has faced alongside the need to strive towards zero deforestation.

However, Lula faces the challenge of reversing an economic slump in Brazil, particularly after Bolsonaro has increased social welfare and capped fuel and energy taxes.

Internationally, Lula will have to strive to rebuild foreign relations following Bolsonaro’s hardline policies that left Brazil isolated.

In total Lula has announced 37 ministers in his cabinet from 9 political parties as he has formed close relations with centrists in the process.

However, there has been some criticism concerning gender parity despite an increase in women to his cabinet. In total 26 men hold positions compared to 11 women but his cabinet does black and indigenous representation.

Lula’s former political rival and candidate from the 2006 presidential election, centrist Geraldo Alckmin is now the vice president.

Ex-presidential candidate Simone Tebet, who competed against Lula in the first round of elections in 2022 and backed him in the second round runoff, becomes the Minister of Planning and Budget.

Marina Silva, an Amazon activist, takes over the environmental ministry – a position she had overseen from 2003-2008 until she resigned following a policy disagreement with Lula regarding the policy.

Sonia Guajajara, an indigenous person is Brazil’s first-ever minister for Indigenous peoples. She described her appointment on Twitter as “a historic moment of the principle of reparation in Brazil.” Carlos Favaro, a soybean producer becomes Brazil’s agriculture minister.

Another key position will be held by ex-Sao Paulo Mayor Fernando Haddad, who lost to Bolsonaro during the presidential elections in 2018. He becomes Brazil’s finance minister.

Lula was an influential figure amid the region’s “pink tide” era – when many Latin American countries pivoted politically to the left.

Among Lula’s supporters, he is best remembered for his commodity-driven social-welfare programs that helped raise some 30 million people from poverty.

The former union leader’s return marked a strong return to power for leftist leaders across the region in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Honduras, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela.

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The Russian army and separatists backed by it accused Kiev’s forces of striking the jail holding Ukrainian prisoners on Friday — a charge vehemently denied by Ukraine, which in turn pointed fingers at Moscow’s forces.

The Russian defense ministry said the jail in Olenivka in the separatist-held eastern region of Donetsk was targeted overnight with US-made advanced HIMARS rocket systems. It said in a statement “40 Ukrainian prisoners of war were killed and 75 wounded”.

Denis Pushilin, leader of the separatists, put the death toll from the alleged prison shelling at 47 people. A total of 193 people were held in jail at the time of the strike, Pushilin said in comments broadcast on Russian state television.

The Russian defense ministry said the Ukrainian prisoners included members of the Azov Battalion, who defended the Azovstal plant in Ukraine’s port city of Mariupol.

‘Bloody provocation’

Moscow claimed that the “bloody provocation of the Kiev regime” was designed to discourage Ukrainian troops from laying down their arms and surrendering. “This egregious provocation was carried out to intimidate Ukrainian servicemen,” the defence ministry said.

Pushilin, the separatist leader, claimed Kiev forces struck the jail because Ukrainian prisoners had begun to testify.

But Ukraine’s military said “the armed forces of the Russian Federation carried out targeted artillery shelling of a correctional institution in the settlement of Olenivka, Donetsk oblast, where Ukrainian prisoners were also held”.

“In this way, the Russian occupiers pursued their criminal goals — to accuse Ukraine of committing ‘war crimes’, as well as to hide the torture of prisoners and executions…,” the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said in a statement.

Moscow denies involvement in what Kiev describes as war crimes during what it calls its “special military operation”.

Around 2,500 Ukrainian fighters surrendered in May under relentless Russian attacks from the ground, sea and air after strong resistance.

The Azov Regiment and other Ukrainian units defended the steel mill for nearly three months, clinging to its underground maze of tunnels.

Meanwhile, in the south, Russian strikes on the heavily bombed city of Mykolaiv killed five people and wounded seven more, the regional governor said on Friday.

“Today, they shot at another area near a public transport stop,” Vitaliy Kim said in a statement on social media.

Mykolaiv, near the Black Sea, has seen roughly half of its estimated population of nearly 500,000 people leave and the city has been shelled daily for weeks.

It is the largest Ukrainian-controlled urban hub near the frontlines in the Kherson region, where Kiev’s army has launched a counter-offensive to regain control of the economically and strategically important coastal territory.

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