The world at aglance NEWS 913 February 2021 THE WEEKÜrümqi,China
Evidenceofatrocities:Uighurwomen
detainedatChineseinternmentcampsin
Xinjiangprovincehavebeensubjectedtoa
systematiccampaignofrape,sexualabuse,
tortureandforcedsterilisations,according
toaninvestigationbyBBCjournalists.
Drawingonfirst-handaccountsfrom
victimsandwitnesses,includingcamp
guards,thereportsuggeststhattheuse
ofsexualabuseandgangrapeasatool
ofrepressionismorewidespreadthan
previouslyunderstood,andhasledto
renewedcallsfromtheUN,theUSand
othersforinternationalobserverstobe
givenaccesstoXinjiang.TheUSState
Departmentsaiditwas“deeplydisturbed”
bythefindings. TheBidenadministration
hasendorsedadeclaration,madebythe
outgoingTrumpadministration,thata
genocideisunderwayinXinjiang.
Pretoria
Vaccinehalted:
South Africa has
halte dits roll-out
of theOxford/
AstraZeneca vaccine
aftertrial results
showed“disappointing” results againstthe
so-called South African strain. Known as
501Y.V2, thevariantwasfirstidentified in
apatientinthe Eastern Capein December.
The trialsfound thevaccinetobenot
effectiveinpreventing mild to moderate
casesof Covid caused by thevariant,
though itis notyet clear whether it
preventsserious cases.South Africa has
recorded 46,869 deaths fromCovid, the
highestnumber in Africa.The number
of excessdeath ssuggests the realfigure
couldbeuptothree timesthat. However,
hospitalisations anddeaths have fallen
sharply since the second-wavepeakin
mid-January, even without the vaccine.
HongKong
Securitylaw:Children
asyoungassixaretobe
givenlessons about the
newsecuritylawin Hong
Kong–andabout the
dangersofcolludingwith
foreignpowers–as part
ofan overhaulofthe
city’sschoolcurriculum.
Newteaching materials
forprimarypupilsinclude
ananimatedowlwho
explainstheneedfor
the(bitterly contested)
anti-seditionlaw.Schools
have alsobeen toldthey
must stop pupilsfrom
takingpartinpolitical
activities,and increase
monitoringoftheir
staff.Jerusalem
Controversial
ruling:Israel’s
PM Benjamin
Netanyahu has
accused the
International
CriminalCourt
of “pureanti-
Semitism”after it
determined–in a
ruling last Friday
–that it has
jurisdictionover th ePalestinian territories
occupied by Israel since 1967. Israel is not
amemberofthe ICC,but thePalestinian
Authority is, andso the decisionpaves the
way foran investigationinto alleged war
crimescommitted intheterritories.“We
will fightthis perversionofj usticewithall
ourmight,”said th ePM. Separately, he
appearedincourt to deny corrupt ion
chargesagainsthim.Chamoli, India
Glacierdisaster:Around600rescue
workerswere searching mud-filled ravines
and valleysinthe northern Indianstateof
Uttarakhandthisweekfor survivorsof
Sund ay’s glacierburst. ByWednesday, the
deathtollwas 32,withatleast 170 people
still missing. Disasterstruckwhen apiece
of aHimalayanglacier broke off,sending
adelugeofwater and debrisdown the
mountain, smashing into two dams asit
went .Many of the missingwere workers
at ahydro-electric plant. Reportedly,the
governmenthadbeenwarned that rising
temperaturesmadethe plantvulne rable.Yangon,Myanmar
Massprotestsagainst coup:Tensofthousandsof
people have takentothe streets ofYangon and
otherBurmese cities,in days ofprotestsagainst
lastweek’scoupand theimprisonmentofAung
SanSuu Kyi,the country’sdemocraticallyelected
leader.Thetakeover,on1February,cameonly
weeksafterherparty, the National Leaguefor
Democracy,easilydefeated themainarmy-backed
party inelections inNovember–avictorythejunta claims wasthe result ofvoter
fraud.Thelargestprotestswerein Yangon,Myanmar’sbiggest city and former
capital, but therewerealsomassdemonstrationsin thesecondcity,Mandalay, and
thecapital,Naypyidaw.
Inresponse,the junta,led byGenera lMin AungHlaing,declaredmartiallaw
acrosslargeparts ofMyanmar,introducedan8pmto 4am curfewand banned
gatheringsofmorethan fivepeopleinYangon andMandalay.However, the protests
werecontinuingthisweek,with policeusingrubber bullets,teargas and water
cannonto disperseprotesters. Thisweek,awomanwascriticallyinjuredat aprotest;
rights groupssaid sheseemedtohavebeenshotintheheadwithliveammunition.