The world at a glance NEWS 9
9 April 2022 THE WEEKJenin, West Bank
Attacks spiral: Israeli security forces killed
three Palestinian militants in the Occupied
West Bank on Sunday, the latest deaths in a
surge of violence ahead of the Muslim holy
month of Ramadan. In an official
statement, Israel said the men were shot
after opening fire on a counter-terrorism
unit that had been sent to capture them.
All were members of the Islamic Jihad
movement which claimed them as
“martyrs”. Last week, 11 people were
killed in three separate incidents. An Israeli
Arab with links to Islamic State killed four
people in the southern Israeli city of
Beersheba; days later, Isis claimed an attack
in which two other Israeli Arabs shot and
killed two police officers at a bus stop. A
27-year-old Palestinian then shot five
people dead in a crowded city in an
ultra-Orthodox suburb of Tel Aviv.
Sana’a
Truce announced: The warring parties
in Yemen’s seven-year civil war have
announced their first nationwide truce
since 2016, raising hopes of an eventual
peace settlement in the conflict. The
UN-brokered ceasefire between Houthi
rebels backed by Iran and a Saudi-led
coalition began last weekend, and will last
for an initial period of two months. The
deal, which came shortly after the start
of peace talks in Saudi Arabia, will allow
badly needed fuel imports into the
Houthi-held port of Hodeida, and
commercial flights will resume to the
capital, Sana’a. According to the UN,
the war has led to the deaths of nearly
400,000 people, many from hunger and
water-borne diseases. The vast majority of
the country’s 30 million people are now
dependent on aid for their survival.Tigray,
Ethiopia
Aid resumed: For
the first time in
almost four
months, food aid
has been delivered to
territory controlled by rebel forces in the
Tigray region of northern Ethiopia. The
arrival of the convoy of 20 trucks followed
the government’s announcement last
month that it had agreed a “humanitarian
truce” with the Tigray People’s Liberation
Front (TPLF). The UN has said that 90%
of the 5.5 million people in Tigray are in
need of food aid, and that 100 trucks a
day are required to meet their need. In the
past few months, Addis Ababa has been
repeatedly accused of blocking aid trucks
entering the war-torn region. In response,
it has accused TPLF of inflicting hardship
on its own people by mounting offensives
attacking key roads used by aid convoys.Shanghai, China
Lockdown anger: The
strict lockdown on
Shanghai was extended
this week, as Covid cases
continued to rise. With
25 million people now
confined to their homes,
delivery services have
been overwhelmed.
Residents have
complained about running
out of food and medical
supplies, and there has
been an uproar about
children being taken away
from their parents after
testing positive. Under
China’s rules, those who
test positive cannot
isolate at home if
non-infected
people are
present.Hong Kong
CEO quits: After
five turbulent
years, Hong
Kong’s chief
executive Carrie
Lam has
announced that
she will not seek
another term.
Lam came to
power pledging to
“repair a divided
society”, but swiftly came in for fierce
criticism for her support for Beijing’s effort
to exert more control over the territory.
Pro-democracy campaigners have called
for a directly elected CEO, but Lam’s
successor will be chosen in May by a
special committee made up of leading
pro-Beijing citizens and lawmakers.Islamabad
Crisis deepens:
Pakistan’s PM this
week requested
the dissolution of
parliament and
called early
elections, as he
continued to fight
moves to unseat
him. Last week,
a no-confidence
vote in Imran
Khan’s government was dramatically
blocked by the parliament’s speaker, after
Khan claimed that a US-backed conspiracy
was seeking to bring about a regime
change. In response, opposition leaders
accused Khan of treason, and called on the
supreme court to declare the block illegal.
The powerful military has distanced itself
from the PM, and it has been reported that
political allies are also deserting him.Colombo
Economic collapse: The entire Sri Lankan
cabinet stood down this week as protests
over the country’s economic collapse
continued. President Rajapaksa has called
for a unity government, but opposition
parties have refused to join, and instead
demanded his resignation. Rajapaksa and
his brother Mahinda, the PM, are widely
blamed for an economic and foreign-
exchange crisis that has led to power cuts,
soaring inflation and shortages of essentials
including medicines. Among the ministers
who resigned this week were two of the
president’s other brothers, and his son.