14 January 2022 The Guardian WeeklyGlobal report 7
The big storyp10 15 UAEEmiratis wrestle with new
Saturday-Sunday weekend
Employees and schoolchildren
juggled work and studies with
weekly Muslim prayers on the fi rst
ever working Friday in the United
Arab Emirates, as the Gulf country
switched the weekend to Saturday
and Sunday.
Some grumbled at the change
and businesses were split, with
many moving to the western-style
weekend but other private
fi rms sticking with Fridays and
Saturdays, as in other Gulf states.
The UAE made the surprise
announcement about the
weekend switch for the public
sector in December as it grappled
with rising competition in
international business from other
Gulf countries. Government
bodies and schools will operate
four-and-a-half days a week,
closing at noon on Fridays.16 PAKISTANFirst female supreme court
judge widely welcomed
Pakistan’s top judicial commission
nominated a female judge to the
supreme court for the fi rst time in
the country’s history. The move
to pave the way for Justice Ayesha
Malik, 55, to join the court has
been widely praised by lawyers
and civil society activists and now
goes to a parliamentary panel for
approval. The decision has not
been without opposition, with one
group of lawyers threatening to
strike if Malik joined the supreme
court bench. The nine-member
commission turned down her
appointment last year, but this
time the panel of judges voted fi ve
votes to four in Malik’s favour.18 NORTH KOREA‘Hypersonic missile’ test
launches draw criticism
North Korea test-fi red a suspected
ballistic missile on Tuesday that
may have been an improved
version of a “hypersonic missile” it
launched only last week, in a move
designed to increase pressure on
the US amid stalled nuclear talks
and mounting economic problems
for the regime. The missile
travelled more than 700km to
a maximum altitude of 60km,
according to initial estimates, and
at a top speed of Mach 10, or 10
times the speed of sound, South
Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in
a statement.
The launch drew immediate
condemnation from Japan.20 AFGHANISTANTaliban bans women from
communal bathhouses
Women in Balkh and Herat
provinces have been banned from
communal bathhouses.
The tradition is for many people
the only chance for a warm wash
during bitterly cold winters.
Women, who use the bathhouses
for ritual cleaning and purifi cation
required under Islamic law, said
this was another example of the
Taliban tightening its grip and
infringing their basic rights. They
fear the ban will be extended.
Women in the city of Herat, where
only 39% of neighbourhoods have
adequate water and sanitation,
reported some bathhouses had
already closed.19 MYANMARNew four-year jail sentence
for Aung San Suu Kyi
Aung San Suu Kyi was sentenced
to four years in jail by a military
court over various off ences,
including illegal possession
of walkie-talkies, in the latest
judgment in a series of cases that
could lead to her spending the
rest of her life in detention. She
has been held by the military
since 1 February, when it ousted
her democratically elected
government. The 76-year-old has
since been targeted with a slew
of charges that her lawyer has
previously described as absurd.
There has been scarce
information about the
proceedings in any of her trials,
which cannot be accessed by
media or observers. Her lawyer
has been prevented from speaking
to journalists and it is not known
where she is being held.17 NIGERIABandit attacks leave 200
dead in ethnic violence
At least 200 people are believed to
have been killed in villages in the
north-western state of Zamfara , in
deadly attacks by armed bandits
in the region.
Gunmen, themselves fleeing
from airstrikes by the Nigerian
army, attacked villages for days,
opening fire and burning homes
between last Tuesday and
last Thursday. Some residents
returned to the villages last
Saturday after the military
organised mass burials. The state
government said 58 people had
been killed but far higher death
tolls have been reported.
Several bandit groups have
waged attacks from hideouts
in forests that span central and
north-west Nigeria and parts of
Niger. The heavily armed groups- many made up of ethnic Fulanis
- have carried out thousands of
abductions, killings, thefts and
acts of sexual violence.
The groups emerged from
a historical conflict between
largely Fulani pastoralists and
farmers of varying ethnic groups,
over access to water and land and
the boundaries between private
farmland and grazing areas.
DEATHSSidney Poitier
Oscar-winning
actor who broke
down racial
barriers in
Hollywood. He
died on 6 January,
aged 94.
Tribute, page 33Peter
Bogdanovich
Film-maker
known for The
Last Picture Show
and Paper Moon.
He died on 6
January, aged 82.Marilyn Bergman
Oscar-winning
lyricist who, with
husband Alan,
wrote The Way
We Were and
Windmills of Your
Mind among other
hits. She died on 8
January, aged 93.Michael Lang
Co-creator of
1969 Woodstock
music festival. He
died on 8 January,
aged 77.Craig Ruddy
Artist known
for his paintings
of leading
Indigenous
Australian figures.
He died on 4
January, aged 53.Lawrence N
Brooks
The oldest second
world war veteran
in the US and
believed to be the
oldest man in the
country. He died
on 5 January, aged
112.