Week 166 (08-14/08/2022)
Tanzania's president says the Tazara railway in its current 1067mm gauge form is not delivering what is expected of it, hence the plan reached with Zambia to upgrade it to standard gauge. Pictures: Richard Stupart/Wikipedia Commons
AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST
The inter-state railway of Tazara will be upgraded (09/08). The railway, which connects Tanzania and Zambia, has a total length of 1,160km. The upgrade will bring more economic development to the two countries.
The election for Kenya’s new president just started (10/08). The result will be out no longer than August 14. Many human rights activists are concerned about the misleading information and hoaxes regarding the election process.
The first girl scout in Saudi Arabia has been formed (11/08). The General Education (GE) Authority of Al-Baha Region, made a breakthrough by launching activities for girl scout camps. More than 90 students and scout leaders from nine educational administrations participated in the activities, that are also part of opening and reforming the kingdom.
The opening day of the World Cup 2022 may be shifted (11/08). If the proposal from the South American Football Confederation to the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) is approved by the committee, the tournament will start on November 20 instead of November 21. The first match will see host Qatar plays against Ecuador.
ASIA
China and Nepal have agreed (11/08) to build the so-called Trans-Himalayan Multi-Dimensional Connectivity Network, which falls under China’s Belt and Road initiative. As part of the agreement, China would finance the feasibility study of a China-Nepal cross-border railway and send experts to Nepal to conduct surveys this year. In addition to railways, the project will also involve the building of communication networks.
Japan’s Hiromichi Watanabe, a ruling party lawmaker, has met (12/08) with Myanmar’s junta leader days after a Toru Kubota, a Japanese documentary filmmaker, was arrested while covering a protest in the Southeast Asian country. Watanabe did not comment on the purpose of the trip, but earlier Tokyo has called for the release of the filmmaker. Meanwhile, Kubota faces charges of breaking an immigration law and encouraging dissent against the ruling military.
Against the backdrop of rising tension, the United States (US) and China held separate military drills in Southeast Asia. China has dispatched fighter jets to Thailand on Sunday (14/08) of which coincided with the conclusion of two weeks of war games between Indonesia and the US. The drill held in Indonesia is the largest version of the annual Garuda Shield live-fire drills since starting in 2009. Japan, Australia, and Singapore also joined for the first time.
Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, dubbed India’s “Warren Buffett”, died Sunday (14/07) at age 62 due to health issues. His death was also announced by India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi through his tweet. “He was also very passionate about India’s progress. His passing away is saddening. My condolences to his family and admirers. Om Shanti,” the tweet read.
AUSTRALIA AND OCEANIA
The Solomon Islands still makes Australia its top partner despite the China-Solomon Islands security pact (09/08). Pacific Minister Pat Conroy met with Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare to discuss the China-Solomon security pact which was signed early this year and received reassurance that Australia would be the first choice when the Solomon Islands need to fill any gaps in their security. Australia will also give more than AUD 17 million to the Solomon Islands for the Pacific Games, which will feature top US ministers and diplomats to combat Chinese influence.
Samoa and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) participated in the inauguration of a new tugboat funded by the Apia Port project (09/08). The Port of Apia has become a safer and greener international gateway due to the ADB-supported project. The new tugboat, named Sa’ula-60, will play an important role in the operation of the Apia Port, where it connects arriving ships. The Sa’ula-60 name comes from the combination of the Samoan word for blue marlin and the 60th anniversary of Samoa’s independence.
James Marape returns as Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea (PNG) (10/08). He was sworn in on Tuesday (09/08), vowing to reform the electoral process and “get more from our resources” without scaring investors. Elections in the Pacific Country are one of the most challenging in the world due to several factors including extreme weather, poor transportation, and linguistic and cultural diversity. In his speech, Marape said that the steps to return the state’s income were to harness the country’s oil, gas, gold, and other resources.
Vanuatu launches its revised Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC), a climate action plan to reduce emissions and adapt to climate impacts (12/08). Vanuatu is not only one of the world’s lowest emitters of greenhouse gases but also one of the victims of climate change. The NDC aims to address losses and damages through multilateral means to avoid costly legal recourse. The costs to achieve Vanuatu’s revised NDC are expected to be covered by donor countries.
EUROPE
Prime ministers of Estonia and Finland called for other European Union (EU) countries to stop granting tourists visas to Russian citizens amid Russia’s war in Ukraine (09/08). Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said that “visiting Europe is a privilege, not a human right” and “time to end tourism from Russia now”. Another EU country, Latvia, has suspended the issuance of entry visas to Russian citizens since August 1. In response, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov called the move “irrational” and “can only provoke a negative reaction”. He added, “Any attempt to isolate the Russians or Russia has no chance of succeeding.”
One person was killed in several large explosions that damaged a Russian airbase on western coast of Crimea (10/08). It is unclear whether the airbase had been targeted by a long-range Ukrainian missile strike. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiyy did not clarify who was behind the attacks, but said, “This Russian war against Ukraine and against the entire free Europe began with Crimea and must end with Crimea—with its liberation.”
The European Drought Observatory reported than more than half of the EU and the United Kingdom (UK) has been affected by drought (12/08). The water level of the Po—Italy’s longest river—hit historic low, affecting the area known as the country’s bread basket. Reservoirs in Spain also plummeted to their lowest low since 1995. The source of the UK’s River Thames dried up for the first time since 1976. Similar situation is also found in France and Germany, where their rivers drying up, affecting the economy.
An unknown, highly toxic substance was said to be the cause of the mass die-off of fish in the Oder, a river running through Germany and Poland (13/08). Tons of fish have been found dead in the river since late July. People have been advised to avoid contact with water from the river as well as from an adjacent canal.
LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN
A catastrophic fire that started at a major oil storage facility in western Cuba escalated Monday when flames engulfed a third tank that firemen were attempting to cool while they battled the massive inferno (09/22). Since Friday night when lightning struck one of the facility’s eight tanks, at least one person has died and 125 have been injured. Dozens of firefighters have also gone missing. On Saturday, a second tank caught fire and many explosions occurred.
Days after Gustavo Petro, Colombia’s first left-wing president and a candidate for re-election, took office and pledged to improve relations with its neighbor, Venezuela, the two countries named ambassadors to one another (12/08). President Nicolas Maduro stated that Felix Plasencia, a former foreign minister for Venezuela, “will soon be in Bogota”. Armando Benedetti, a former senator, will be “tasked with normalizing diplomatic relations between the two countries”, according to Colombia’s newly elected president.
Hugo Velázquez Moreno, vice president of Paraguay, announced on Friday that he will resign from his position the following week, shortly after being included to a US corruption list for his alleged role in soliciting bribes to public officials (13/08). The inclusion of Velázquez on the corruption list, announced by the US Ambassador to Paraguay Marc Ostfield on Friday morning, shocked Paraguay’s political establishment due to Moreno’s involvement in President Mario Abdo Bentez’s administration as well as the fact that Moreno is widely regarded as a leading candidate to represent the Colorado Party in the presidential race in the coming year.
Argentina’s central bank increased its key interest rate to 69.5% in an effort to rein in the country’s spiralling inflation (13/08). The bank increased its benchmark rate for a 28-day period by 9.5% percentage points, its second increase in as many weeks. It comes as recent data revealed that the nation’s inflation rate has risen to a 20-year high of more than 70%. After the most recent US data revealed that inflation had decreased, the results crushed optimism that price increases had reached their pinnacle.
THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA
The US announced new military and financial aids worth of USD 1 billion for Ukraine (08/08). Included in the military package are high mobility artillery rocket systems (HIMARS), mortar and artillery ammunition, Javelin anti-tank missile systems, and explosives and demolition equipment. In addition, the US funded the World Bank to give USD 4.5 billion to support the Ukrainian government’s services, including health, education, and social protection.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)’s raid on the home of former US President Donald Trump on Monday (08/08) raised questions. It is reported that the search likely aimed at recovering the remaining presidential documents that belong to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Earlier this year, the NARA had removed 15 boxes of presidential documents from Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s residence.
Police in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the US said they have detained and charged 51-year-old Muhammad Syed for killing four Muslim men between November 2021 and August this year (09/08). Three of the most recent victims were from Pakistan, whereas the victim killed in November was an Afghan. The killings have made the Muslim community in Albuquerque live in fear, with some are too afraid to go to the shop or even mosque.
Following the stabbing of award-winning author Salman Rushdie, Canada’s literary figures rallied to highlight the rights to freedom of thought and expression (13/08). Rushdie’s best-known work, The Satanic Verses, which was published in 1988, drew protests and death threats across the Muslim world. In 1989, Iranian Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa calling for Rushdie’s death, prompting Rushdie to live under a British government protection program.