WORLD IN BRIEF
MALAWI
Hundreds of people have been killed and tens of thousands displaced in Malawi’s southern region, including Blantyre, after Cyclone Freddy returned to land, causing floods and landslides. The cyclone dissipated on 15 March but the death toll was expected to increase as rescue workers searched for survivors. President Lazarus Chakwera has called for assistance from international donors. Freddy became a named storm on 6 February before hitting Madagascar and then Mozambique on 24 February before returning to the Indian Ocean and gathering strength. Its extraordinary journey makes it unofficially the longest cyclone on record, which experts attribute to the climate crisis.
NETHERLANDS
Protest party BoerBurgerBeweging (BBB), or Farmer-Citizen Movement, emerged as the big winner in provincial elections that indirectly determine seats in the country’s Senate.
BBB capitalised on anger in farming and rural communities over plans by Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s government to cut nitrogen emissions in half by 2030 to comply with EU regulations, which have severely affected the farming and construction sectors. The BBB was predicted to take the joint highest number of seats in the Senate and could help block legislation on reducing nitrogen pollution. Right-wing groups across the world have expressed support for the BBB and the elections reflect the backlash against the green transition.
ARGENTINA
Argentina’s annual inflation rate hit 102.5% in February, a three-decade high. The country now has one of the highest inflation rates in the world, behind Zimbabwe, Lebanon, Venezuela and Syria, largely owing to the central bank printing significantly increased amounts of cash since President Alberto Fernández’s 2019 election and the war in Ukraine. Costs have continued to rise in spite of government interventions, such as freezing the prices of more than 1,700 products.
The rising cost of living has led to protests but the government’s own divisions have hampered its response, with Fernández cycling through three economy ministers in four weeks in
2022.