The world at aglance NEWS 9
19 February 2022 THEWEEKTobruk,Libya
RivalPMs:In amovethatfurtherhinders
Libya’sfragile hopesofatransitionto
stablegovernment,thenationalparliament
–basedin theeastern city ofTobruk –
hasappointed anewprimeminister,
eventhoughLibyaalready has one, based
in thenationalcapital,Tripoli.Abdul
Hamid Dbeibeh,PMoftheGovernment
ofNationalUnity inTripoli,whichis
recognisedbythe UN, hadbeentasked
withholding national elections last year.
However, the votewaspostponeddueto
disputes over theeligibilityofdivisive
candidatesincludingSaifal-Islam Gaddafi,
son ofthe latedictator.Politiciansand
militialeadersintheeast havenowlost
faithinthatprocess,and appointedtheir
ownPM,FathiBashagha,whoisbacked
byKhalifaHaftar,the militarystrongman
whocontrols muchof eastern Libya.
Khanewal,Pakistan
Blasphemylynching:More than 80people
inthePunjabprovinceof Pakistanhave
beenarrestedinconnection withthe
murder ofamanallegedto haveburned
pages from the Koran.Thevictim, aged
41, isthoughttohavehadmental
disabilities.Apoliceofficer told Reuters
that“villagers armedwithbatons,axes
andironrods”killedhim beforehanging
hisbodyfromatree.ImranKhan,
Pakistan’sprimeminister,ordered areport
intowhypolice failed toprotect theman,
whowasincustodywhenthemobseized
himandbeat him todeath.Theincident
is the latest inastringof killings related
to accusationsofblasphemyinPakistan.
Itcomestwomonthsafter aSriLankan
factory managerwas killedandset onfire
forreportedlyremovingposters bearing
thenameoftheProphetMohammed.Kampala
Policechief:
Uganda’s
dictatorial
president, Yoweri
Museveni,has
appointed the
country’sformer
chiefofmilitary
intelligence–amanaccused by theUS
government of committing humanrights
violations–asthe newchief of police. The
appointment of MajorGeneral Abel
Kandiho is seen as ashowofdefiance
against theUSand other Western nations,
whichhaverecently beencriticalofthe
deterioratinghumanrights situation under
Museveni,who hasbeeninpowersince
1986 .The last twoyearshave seenthe
worst wave of repressionfor decades, with
dissentruthlesslycrushed.InDecember,
Kandiho wastargeted by officialUS
sanctionsonthe groundsthat he
personallyoversawthe violentabuse
of politicalprisoners.
ChagosIslands
UKisformallychallenged:
Mauritiushasformally
challengedthe UK’s
sovereigntyoverthe
Chagosarchipelago,with
diplomats and officials
holdingaflag-raising
ceremony onthePeros
Banhosatollon Monday.
TheUK hasclaimed
sovereigntyof theBritish
IndianOceanTerritory
since 1814 ,andcontinues
toignore a 2019 rulingat
theInternational Court of
Justiceceding the islands
toMauritius.Itargues
theDiegoGarciamilitary
base, leasedby the
UK totheUS since
the1960s,
isvitalto its
interests.Beijing
Drugsrow:
KamilaValieva,
the 15-year-old
Russian figure
skatingprodigy,
was controver-
siallyclearedto
competeinthe
WinterOlympics
thisweek, despite
testingpositivefor
thebannedangina
drug trimetazidine.Valieva,the favourite
to win gold, claimedshemusthave been
contaminatedby her grandfather’sheart
medication.TheCourt ofArbitration for
Sport ruledin herfavour atanemergency
hearing,buttheOlympiccommitteesaid
no ceremony wouldbe held ifshe wona
medal while investigationswereongoing.Ashgabat
Transferofpower:Thedictatorial
president of Turkmenistan, Gurbanguly
Berdymukhamedov,istostanddown
after15years. He has called an election
nextmonth in whichhis son, Serdar,
will be theruling party’scandidate.
The 64-year-old president, knownin the
repressive, gas-rich nation as Arkadag,or
“Protector”, saidthat thecountry needed
“youngleaders”.
The eccentric
presidentis
knownforhis
venerationof
alabaisheepdogs,
asymbol of
national pride.
In 2020,he had
a5.7 metre-high
statueof an alabai
erected in the
capital, Ashgabat.Wellington
“Imported”protest:NewZealand’s PM
Jacinda Ardern hashit outatwhatshe
calledthe “imported”protestagainst
Covid restrictions and vaccinemandates
thathas seen thousands of demonstrators
gatheroutsideParliament Housein
Wellington.“I’ve seen Trumpflags on the
forecourt,I’ve seenCanadianflags on the
forecourt,” saidthe PM.“I think we all
wantthemtoleave.” Last weekend, police
used watercannon and loud musicplayed
on aloop–includingBarry Manilow,
JamesBlunt and theMacarena–asaway
of breakingupthe demonstration.