NEWS 9Aleppo,Syria
Assadattacks:
The UN
warned that
“the biggest
humanitarian
horror storyof
the21st century”
is unfolding in
northwestern
Syria, and
demandedan
immediate
ceasefire.Inrecentweeks, the Russian-
backedAssad regimehas advanced
rapidly,consolidating its hold on Aleppo
andcapturinglarge partsof neighbouring
Idlibprovince. Itsforc es have targeted
hospitals, schoolsand refugee camps.
Some 900,000 peoplehave fled their
homes since December,leaving many
stranded insub- zero temperatures.The world at aglance22 February 2020 THE WEEKPansi,BurkinaFaso
Churchatrocity:Armedmilitantskilled
atleast 2 4peopleandinjuredafurther 18
inagunattackonaProtestantchurchin
Pansi, avillageinnortheasternBurkina
Faso,lastSunday.Itwasthelatestina
stringofjihadistattacksonchurchesand
otherciviliantargetsinthecountry.Pansi
liesinYaghaprovince,anespecially
volatileregionclosetotheborderwith
Niger.About60%ofBurkinaFaso’s 20
millionpeopleareMuslimandaquarter
areChristian.Ithaslongbeenarelatively
peacefulnationandwasconsideredtobe
resistanttoIslamistextremism,butithas
seenadeadlyspilloverofviolencefrom
neighbouringMaliinrecentyears.More
than1,800peoplewerekilledinjihadist-
linkedattacksinBurkinaFasolastyear,
andsome 7 60,00 0 peoplehavefledtheir
homes,accordingtoofficialfigures.
Juba
Locustplague:
Swarmsofdesert
locuststhat are
ravagingcrops and
grazing landacross
east Africa have spreadfurtherinland.
Kenya has seenits worst locust infestation
for 70 years;Somalia and Ethiopia their
worstin 25 years. Nowthe pests have
reached South Sudan, where 60% of the
population alreadyfacessevere food
insecurityas the countrystruggles to
emergefromcivil war. The UN food
agencywarned ofapotential foodcrisis if
the outbreakisnot brought undercontro l.
Desertlocusts can travelnearly 100 miles
perday andcaneat their ownbody
weightinvegetation. Large swarms, of 40
to 80 millionadults,canconsumeinone
daycrops that wouldprovide food for
35,000people.New Delhi
Criminalpoliticians:
India’sSupremeCourthas
condemnedthe“alarming
rise”of“criminal
candidates”inIndian
politics,and orderedparty
bosses toexplainwhyso
manyrecently elected MPs
have criminalrecords.In
2019 ,43%ofnewMPs
hadone,up from24%in
2004 .Theissue“comes
downtocold,hardcash”,
politicalscientistMilan
Vaishnavtoldthe BBC.
Candidateswho can fund
themselves(via“rents”to
theparty) areattractive
to bosses–and many
such candidates
have
criminal
records.Doha
Taliban-US “deal”:Aspokesmanforthe
Talibanhassaid thatapeace deal with the
US will be signedat aceremonyin the
Qataricapital,Doha, by theend of the
month. US media reportedthatPresident
Trumphad sign ed offonapeacedeal in
principle earlier this month,whichwould
agreethe withdrawal of UStroops from
Afghanistanafteralmosttwo decades.
And lastweekthe U Sdefencesecretary,
Mark E sper, said thetwo sides had
reachedapreliminary agreement.Despite
the Taliban’sannouncement,militant
attacks on militarytargets in Afghanistan
continued this week.Wuhan, China
Coronavirusspreads:Thenumberofpeople
infectedwiththecoronavirusCovid-19rose to
above 75,000worldwideonWednesday–allbut
1,000of themin China, wheremorethan2,00 0
people have died. Therehavebeenonlysix
fatalitiesoutside China.Ofrecent deathsreported
in China, well over 90% havebeeninHubei
province,wherethe outbreak beganin thecity
of Wuhan,givinggroundsforcautiousoptimism
aboutlimiting itsspread.However,theWHOwarnedthatreports ofadeclin einnew
casesshould betreated with caution, andthat “every scenarioisstillon the table”;
therewasconcern over outbreaksin Singapore,HongKong, SouthKorea andJapan.
Respondingto growingangeroverBeijing’shandlingof the crisis,PresidentXi
(above) sackedtheWuhanandHubeiparty bosses –and stated,inaspeechlastweek,
thathehadgiveninstructions onfightingthedisease asearlyas 7January.However,
thismerelyfuelled debateoverwhytheriskswere notclearl ycommunicatedto the
Chinesepublic atthatpoint. Data fromChinesehealthofficialsreleased thisweek
showed that 80%ofCovid-19caseshad been mild,and that thedeath rate was 2.3%.