The world at aglance NEWS 9

17 July 2021 THE WEEK

Mbabane,

Eswatini

Violentprotests:

The government of

Eswatini (the tiny

landlocked nationof

1.3millionpeople,

formerlyknownasSwaziland)has pledged

a“national dialogue” followingweeksof

violentprotests. Demonstrationsin

Africa’sonly absolutemonarchybeganin

May following thedeath ofalaw student,

apparently at thehands of police.Public

anger intensifiedinlateJune, when the

governmentbanned all “petitions” to

the king demanding democratic reform.

Around 60peoplehavebeenkilled in a

violent crackdown by security forces. King

Mswati III, whohasruled Eswatini since

1986 andisknown forhis lavish lifestyle

and15wives,hasnot beenseeninpublic

for severalweeks. Some unverified reports

suggest he hasfledthecountry.

Tokyo

Spectator ban:The

OlympicGames areto

takeplace largely without

spectatorsforthefirst

time,aftertheJapanese

government extendeda

stateofemergencydueto

ariseinCovid-19cases.

It’spossible,though, that

somesmaller venues,and

thoseoutside Tokyo,will

be exemptfrom the

spectator ban. Foreign

spectators had already

beenbarred from the

Games,whichbegin in

TokyonextFriday.Even

so,tensof thousandsof

athletes,officials,

journalistsand

sponsors

willattend.

LashkarGah,Afghanistan

Talibanoffensive:Talibanfightershave

encircledtencities acrossAfghanistan,

includingKandaharandLashkarGah in

thesouth,andMaidanShahrin the east

of the country –closetothe capital,

Kabul(seepage 22). Recentweekshave

witnessedanastonishing collapse of

Afghansecurityforces,andthe rapid

advanceof the Taliban.Inthenorth, the

insurgentscapturedkey bordercrossings

to Iranand Turkmenistaninasweeping

offensivelastweek.Thousands ofAfghan

soldiershavefledthecountryor

surrenderedtothemilitantsinanticipation

of the USandalliedwithdrawal.Earlythis

month, USforcesquietly left Bagram,the

centre ofitsoperationsin thecountry. The

insurgentsclaimtheynowcontrol85%of

Afghanterritory; thisisdismissedbythe

Kabulgovernment aspropaganda.

AddisAbaba

Electionvictory:

Ethiopia’s PM

AbiyAhmed

(right) has wona

landslidevictory

in parliamentary

elections.The

winfor his

ProsperityParty

securesAbiy a

five-year termand enables himtochange

the 1995 federal constitution, which he

blamesfor destabilisingthecountry.The

elections were held last monthand the

results announcedonSunday. Butno

voting tookplacein thenorthernprovince

of Tigray,whichisinthe grip of civilwar

andalooming famine. In Oromia, home

to athird of Ethiopia’s 117million people,

the main oppositionpartyboycottedthe

poll after its leader,Jawar Mohammed,

was jailedonterrorism charges.

Bangkok

Partial lockdown:The greaterBangkok

area,accounting forabout 50%of

Thailand’s economy,wasplacedunder a

partial lockdownonMonday, with shops

closed, anovernight curfewand curbs on

domestic travel. Thailand isoneofseveral

Southeast Asiannations, including

Indonesiaand Vietnam,whichhave seen

adramaticsurge in Covid cases fuelledby

the Delta variant.Thailand’scase numbers

and deaths hit new peaks this week. Its

reported death toll to date of fewerthan

3,000is dwarfedbyIndonesia’s,whichhas

nearlyreached70,000.

Johannesburg,SouthAfrica

Worstunrestsinceapartheid:Atleast 70people

have beenkilledin days ofprot ests, riotsand

lootingin SouthAfrica, sparkedbythejailing

last weekoftheformer president JacobZuma.

President CyrilRamaphosamadeaseriesofTV

addresses inanattempttocalmtheviolence,and

describedtheunrestas“unprecedented”in “the

history ofourdemocracy”.Thetwo provinces

affectedtodateareGauteng(where Johannesburg,the country’slargest city,is

located) andKwaZulu-Natal,Zuma’shomeprovince,where the citiesofDurbanand

Piet ermaritzburgwerebadlyaffected.OnMonday,tenpeople were killed ina

stampededuringlootingat ashoppingcentre inSoweto.Ramaphosadeployedthe

armytore-establishorder, and warned that theunrestwouldcauseshortages.

On29 June,Zumawas sentencedto15 months injailforcontemptofcourt;he

hadrefusedtocooperate withanenquiryintostatecorruption duringhis 2009-1 8

presidency.Hehandedhimselfintocustodylast week,butisappealing.Zuma’stime

inofficewastaintedbycorruptionscandals,buthe remainspopularwithmanySouth

Africans,especiallypoorerpeople. Unemploymentnowstandsatarecord32.6%.