The world at a glance NEWS 9
28 May 2022 THE WEEKTehran
Colonel assassinated: A senior officer
in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard was shot
dead in Tehran last Sunday, in what is
widely believed to have been a targeted
assassination by Israeli intelligence.
Colonel Hassan Sayad Khodayari was
fired on multiple times by two gunmen
on motorbikes as he sat in a car outside
his home. Khodayari was a close aide to
General Qasem Soleimani, the Quds Force
commander killed in a targeted US air
strike in Baghdad in 2020; and according
to intelligence sources cited by The Times,
he had himself been involved in planning
attacks on Israeli targets in Europe, Africa
and Latin America. Tehran blamed the
“terrorist act” on “elements linked to
global arrogance” – a reference to Israel
and the US; and at Khodayari’s funeral,
crowds chanted “death to Israel”.
Bahir Dar,
Ethiopia
Abiy tightens
grip: Around
4,500 people have
been arrested in the
northern Ethiopian
region of Amhara, as part of what
critics have described as an increasingly
authoritarian crackdown on dissent.
Among those detained were several
journalists, and Brigadier General Tefera
Mamo, a regional commander who had
criticised Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s
strategy against rebel forces in Tigray.
Tefera, who has backed the federal forces
in the region, had also accused members
of the PM’s party of being motivated by
money. The PM says his “law enforcement
operation” is designed to “protect citizens”
in the multi-ethnic nation, which has a
long history of separatist and sectarian
conflicts, and ensure its “survival”.Pyongyang
Millions have “fever”:
North Korea’s state
media revealed this week
that 2.8 million people- more than 10% of
its population – have
experienced an
unidentified “fever” since
late April, presumed to
be Covid-19. Pyongyang
insists that only 68 people
died of the illness, which
would be an implausibly
low death rate if it is
Covid. The country
has few vaccines or
treatments, and the regime
has not so far responded
to offers of medical
aid from South
Korea and
the US.
Kabul
TV ban: Female
newsreaders in
Afghanistan
have been
ordered to
cover their
faces on air.
Earlier this month,
the Taliban
ordered women
to wear head-to-
toe coverings in
public, leaving only their eyes visible.
However, TV channels only complied last
weekend, following specific warnings. One
presenter, Yalda Ali, posted a video of
herself putting on a covering, captioned:
“A woman being erased, on orders from
the virtue and vice ministry.” Female
broadcasters say they can’t communicate
from under a veil; some men have taken to
wearing masks on air to show support.Colombo
Default: Sri Lanka has formally defaulted
on its foreign debt repayments for the first
time in its history. It is the first sovereign
borrower to default in the Asia-Pacific
region since Pakistan in 1999. Sri Lanka
owes about $51bn to foreign bondholders
and bilateral creditors including China,
Japan and India, but has run out of money.
Its central bank announced that it had
formally defaulted last week, after the
deadline passed for scheduled repayments
of $78m. Colombo has begun talks for an
IMF bailout, but it has no finance minister,
and barely has a functioning government.Canberra
Labor back in power: Scott Morrison suffered a
crushing defeat in Australia’s general election on
Saturday, ending almost a decade of conservative
rule. Labor’s Anthony Albanese – who was raised
by a single mother in public housing – was sworn
in as PM two days later. However, both his party
and Morrison’s conservative Liberals lost vote
share owing to a surge in support for Green
candidates and “teal independents”. The latter are
mainly women who ran on a blue-green platform, calling for action on climate
change, gender equality and corruption. The teals were particularly successful in urban
seats held by Liberal candidates; and the vote was largely seen as a referendum on
Morrison himself. The former PM had been accused of refusing to take climate change
seriously, even as Australia was struck by devastating bushfires and floods.
Albanese (pictured) has promised more ambitious emissions targets, and could
find himself forced to take yet more radical action if he has to rely on Greens or
independents for support. With results still pending in four seats, he was one seat
short of the 76 required for an overall majority in Parliament.