8 NEWS The world at aglance
THEWEEK19 February 2022WashingtonDC
Afghanmoney:PresidentBidenhassigned anexecutiveorder
releasing$7bnoffrozen US-heldfundsbelonging tothe Afghan
government–buton thecondition thathalf ofitisputtowards
the humanitarianeffortsin Afghanistan and half isgiven to
US victims ofterrorism,includingrelatives ofthosekilled in
the 9/11 attacks.Afghanistan’seconomyhascollapsedsince
the abruptUS withdrawal and TalibantakeoverinAugust,
triggeringahumanitariancrisis.Biden’ssolution isdesigned
toavoid recognisingtheTaliban’sclaim tothe money,andto
accommodatelegaljudgmentsmadebyUScourts infavour
ofvictims’groupsandagainst the Talibanandal-Qa’eda.
Afghanistan’sformerpresidentHamidKarzaicondemned
the retentionofhalfthe moneyforUS victims’families. “We
commiseratewiththem,”hesaid,“[but]Afghanpeople are
asmuchvictimsasthose families wholosttheirlives.”NewYork
Princepayssexaccuser:Prince
Andrewhasagreedanout-of-
courtsettlementwithVirginia
Giuffre,theAmericanwoman
whoclaimedthat theduke
sexuallyassaulted heronthree
occasionswhenshe was 17.
Thedukehasalways denied the
claims,andpreviouslyrequested
ajuryhearinginthelong-runningcivilcase.However,on
Tuesdayit wasannounced that thepartieshadsettled, andthat
Andrewhadagreedtopayanunspecified but“substantial
donationtoMsGiuffre’s charity”.
Inthesettlementdocument,whichcontained noadmission of
liability,Andrewagreedthathehad“neverintendedtomalign
Ms Giuffre’s character”andthat herecognisedshe had “suffered
bothasanestablishedvictimofabuse andasaresultof
unfairpublic attacks”.Healsopledgedto “demonstrate
hisregretforhis association”withthe lateconvicted
sexoffender Jeffrey Epsteinbysupportingthe“fight
against theevilsofsextrafficking”(seepage21).Ottawa
Wartimepowers:Canada’sprimeminister,JustinTrudeau,has
invokedemergencynationalsecuritypowersusedonlyonce
previously sincetheSecondWorldWartocrackdownonthe
anti-vaccineproteststhathave broughtparts ofhiscountryto
ahalt inrecent weeks.Thedraconianpowersavailabletothe
governmentunderthe EmergenciesActincludestoppingpublic
assemblies and blockades,towingaway trucksparticipatingin
“freedomconvoys”,and cuttingofffundingtoprotestingtruckers
by freezingtheir bankaccounts and voidingtheirinsurance.The
powerswerelastusedin 1970, whenPierre Trudeau(Justin’s
father) usedthe WarMeasures Act(asthe lawswerethencalled)
followingterrorist attacksbyQuébécoisseparatists.Justin
Trudeausaid thepowerswereneeded because the blockades
werepreventingcritical supplychains–includingfood–from
operating,and“endangeringpublicsafety”(seepage 1 6).Tallahassee,Florida
“Don’tSayGay”:Joe Biden hascondemned a“hateful”billin
Floridathatwouldbanthe discussion ofsexualorientationand
genderissues inprimaryschools. Dubbedthe“Don’tSayGay”
billby critics,thelegislationwouldallowparentstosue school
districts iftheybelieveateacherhasfailed tocomply.While ithas
beenapproved byaRepublican-controlledcommittee,it hasnot
yetbecomelaw;ifpassed,asexpected, itwillcomeintoeffect
fromJuly.Florida’s Republican governorRonDeSantis,whois
thoughttobelimberingupfor a2 024 presidential run, signalled
hissupportforthebilllastweek,sayingitwas“entirely
inappropriate”forteacherstodiscussgenderidentitywith pupils.
PeteButtigieg,the gayUSsecretary of transportation, said thebill
was“dangerous” andcouldharmchildren’s mentalhealth.Managua
Ex-rebeldiesin jail:HugoTorres,
one of thedozensofopposition
politicians jailed by Nicaragua’s
dictatorial presidentDaniel Ortega
in the run-uptolast November’s
sham election, hasdied in prison,
eightmonths after being arrested
on treason charges.His political
party, Unamos,said Torres hadbeen subjectedto “physical and
psychological torture”in jail. Torres (pictured),73, wasaformer
Sandinista guerillacommander whofoughtalongsideOrtega in
the 1970sleftistrevolution that overthrew thedictatorship of
AnastasioSomoza. In 1974,Torres ledaraidthathelpedfree
Ortega andother political prisoners from jail. But like many
former rebels,hebrokewith Ortega,whomheaccused of creating
“another dictatorship,nowmore brutal,more unscrupulous,
moreirrationalandmore autocratic” thanSomoza’s.Brasília
Destructiongatherspace:
Thenumberoftreescut down in
the Brazilian Amazonin Januarywas
five timesbigger than in thesamemonthlast year, whichwas
itselfthe highesttotal sincethe government startedcompiling
accuraterecords usingsatellite datain2015. Themassive surge
in deforestationis especiallyominous,environmentalists say,
because therainy seasonmakes it hardtoaccess dense forest. At
Cop26inGlasgow, Brazil’spresident Jair Bolsonaropledgedto
haltdeforestationbythe endofthisdecade, but in practicehis
weakening of legalprotections sincetakingofficein2019has
encouragedtheaccelerationof logging. This week,Bolsonaroalso
gavethe go-aheadfor moregold mines in theAmazonregion.