The world at a glance NEWS 9
7 May 2022 THE WEEKNew Delhi
Blistering spring heatwave: Millions of
people in India and Pakistan are suffering
in an extreme heatwave, before summer
has even started. In April, northwest and
central India recorded average maximum
temperatures of 35.9°C and 37.78°C, the
highest since records began 122 years ago.
In Delhi, the mercury hit 40°C for seven
days in a row last month, while in
Jacobabad, in southeastern Pakistan, it
reached 47°C. Across the region, dozens
of people are believed to have died from
heatstroke, and India has been forced to
row back on its policy to reduce coal
imports to cope with the pressure on
electricity supplies caused by a surge in the
use of air conditioning. Schools have closed
in some states, and with high temperatures
expected to continue, there are fears that
this year’s wheat crops will fail.
Colombo
Political vacuum: Sri Lanka’s beleaguered
president, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, has
urged protesters to stop their regular
demonstrations against his government –
and join forces with him in a “pro-people
struggle”. The island nation is in the throes
of a devastating economic crisis, but
Rajapaksa, whose brother Mahinda is
prime minister, continues to resist intense
pressure to step down. Last week, millions
of workers joined a one-day general strike- the country’s first for 40 years – aimed at
forcing the brothers to quit. The president
has reshuffled his cabinet and proposed a
national unity government in an attempt to
calm public anger, but opposition parties
are refusing to join a government headed
by the Rajapaksas, who have dominated
national politics for years, and who are
accused of extreme mismanagement.
Pretoria
Damning verdict:
South Africa’s
former president
Jacob Zuma
“readily opened”
doors to enable his
cronies to “help themselves to the money
and assets of the people”, a judicial inquiry
has found. Chief Justice Raymond Zondo’s
1,000-page report, delivered last week,
detailed the findings of the fourth in a
series of inquiries into “state capture”.
Focusing on corruption at Eskom, the state
utility firm which supplies more than 90%
of the nation’s power, it found that Eksom
had struck irregular deals worth 14.7bn
rand (£743m), and concluded that Zuma
was involved in the wholesale loot ing of
the business in conjunction with the Indian
businessmen Atul, Ajay and Rajesh Gupta.
It is estimated that, in total, Zuma-era
corruption cost South Africa £69bn.Tokyo
Defence budget doubled:
Japan’s ruling Liberal
Democratic Party has
outlined plans to double
the nation’s defence
budget to about $86bn
over the next five years, in
the face of the increased
threat posed by China,
Russia and North Korea.
Under Japan’s postwar
pacifist constitution,
defence spending has
traditionally been kept
to about 1% of GDP. A
doubling to 2% – a course
long urged by the US,
a key ally – would
take Japan to
the benchmark
set by Nato
members.Naypyidaw
Prison sentence:
Aung San Suu
Kyi, the former
civilian leader of
Myanmar, has
been found guilty
of corruption at
a closed trial, and
sentenced to a
further five years
in jail. She had
previously been
given six years for various lesser offences.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) said the new
conviction, on “bogus” charges, reflects the
military regime’s determination to silence
her for good. “Destroying popular demo -
cracy in Myanmar also means getting rid
of [her], and the junta is leaving nothing to
chance,” said HRW’s deputy Asian director.Jeddah,
Saudi Arabia
Best of friends:
Turkey’s President
Erdogan publicly
embraced Saudi
Arabia’s Crown
Prince Mohammed
bin Salman on a
visit to Jeddah last
week, signalling
that the rift
between the two countries, caused by the
killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, has
been repaired. At a symbolic meeting, the
two leaders made no mention of the
tensions caused by the murder at the Saudi
consulate in Istanbul in 2018. Erdogan,
who is keen to attract foreign investment
to help Turkey’s ailing economy, said he
hoped to “open the doors to a new era”
in relations, increasing political, economic
and military cooperation.Auckland, New Zealand
Tourists back: Last month, New Zealand
reopened its borders to Australians; now,
after a Covid shutdown lasting more than
two years, it is welcoming tourists from
more than 50 countries, including the UK.
On Monday, there were emotional scenes
at Auckland airport as the first visitors
arrived, many for longed-for family
reunions. Until 2020, three million tourists
visited each year. Their return will provide
a welcome economic boost, but there have
been calls for measures to be taken to stop
the country’s beauty spots becoming as
crowded as they were before the pandemic.