The world at a glance
Kabul
Taliban repression: The Taliban government in Afghanistan has taken all international news bulletins off the air, banned foreign TV dramas and introduced a series of repressive new rules that recall the harshness of the Taliban regime in the 1990s. Men and women must now visit public parks on different days; and women may no longer board planes unless accompanied by a male relative. The Taliban has also reversed its pledge to reopen girls’ secondary schools ( see page 16). In response to the schools U-turn, the US pulled out of meetings with Taliban officials in Qatar to discuss Afghanistan’s crippled economy. Analysts say the new edicts suggest that hardliners within the Taliban leadership are winning out over a younger generation who are in favour of women in education and in the workforce.
Tigray, Ethiopia
Humanitarian truce: In a potential breakthrough in the 17-month civil war in northern Ethiopia, the Tigrayan rebel forces agreed to a “cessation of hostilities” last week, in response to the government’s offer of an indefinite truce to allow in humanitarian aid. Since November 2020, when PM Abiy Ahmed’s government sent troops to regain federal control of the restive region, thousands of people have been killed in Tigray, some two million have been displaced and the conflict has spread to the neighbouring regions of Amhara and Afar. Hundreds of thousands of people are facing starvation in Tigray, which has been subject to what the UN says is a de facto blockade by Abiy’s government since mid-December.
Islamabad
PM on the brink: Pakistan’s prime minister, Imran Khan, was fighting for his political survival this week, after an alliance of opposition parties tabled a vote of no confidence against him. Khan, who has been in power since 2018, stands accused of mismanaging the economy. The no-confidence vote was tabled on Monday, a day after the 69-year-old PM and former cricketer told a vast rally of his Tehreek-e-Insaf party supporters that foreign powers were behind the attempt to topple him. “We have been threatened in writing but we will not compromise on national interests,” he said. However, he refused to disclose the contents of the “threat letter”, or to say where it had come from. The opposition claims that Khan has fallen out with Pakistan’s powerful military; however, both he and the military deny this.
Beledweyne, Somalia
Scores killed: One of Somalia’s few female MPs was among at least 48 people killed last week in a series of jihadist attacks. A tireless campaigner for women’s rights, Amina Mohamed Abdi, 40, was killed in the town of Beledweyne, where she was taking part in an election campaign; an al-Shabaab militant had grabbed her before detonating his bomb. Dozens more people were then killed by a bomb at the town’s hospital; it had been timed go off as people arrived injured from the earlier attack. Analysts say al-Shabaab has been emboldened by the US withdrawal from Somalia.
Pyongyang
Missile test: South Korea has accused Pyongyang of faking its “historic” intercontinental ballistic missile test last week. North Korea claimed to have successfully tested an advanced, long-range Hwasong-17 missile, and released a video that purported to show Kim Jong Un overseeing the launch while sporting Top Gun- style glasses and leather jacket; but Seoul now says that at the actual launch the new “monster missile” exploded; and that the missile in the video was a previously tested Hwasong-15.
Shanghai, China
Lockdown: Shanghai – China’s main financial and commercial hub – was placed under a strict, two-stage lockdown this week, the most extensive in the country since the original Wuhan lockdown of early 2020. The authorities have divided the city (pop. 26 million) into two zones, separated by the Huangpu River, with strict lockdowns and testing regimes instituted in each zone successively. The city has seen a huge spike in Covid cases, but the vast majority are asymptomatic.
Honiara
Security pact: The government of the Solomon Islands is negotiating a security pact with China, it confirmed last week. Although details of the draft agreement have not been revealed, the news caused alarm in New Zealand and Australia, owing to fears that it could lead to China establishing its first military base in the Pacific, only 2,000km from Australia. Canberra has traditionally exerted a strong influence in the Pacific islands as a major aid donor; but Beijing has invested heavily in the region, and in 2019, the Solomon Islands decided to stop recognising Taiwan.