Week #14 (09-15/09/2019)

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Indonesia’s third president B.J. Habibie, also known as “Father of Democracy” and “Father of Technology”, passed away on September 11, at the age of 83. | Credit: Office of the Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia

AFRICA & THE MIDDLE EAST

As part of its humanitarian action, Rwanda has agreed (10/09) to take in hundreds of African migrants from detention centers in Libya. The migrants, many of whom come from Somalia, Eritrea, and Sudan, headed to Libya in attempt to seek safe haven in Europe. Conditions at the detention centers are said to be dire; detainees have described routine torture, rape, and the spread of diseases like tuberculosis. Options for the migrants would be worked out by the UNHCR once they arrived in Rwanda.

Hassa bin Salman, a sister of Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was handed (13/09) a 10-month suspended sentence and ordered a fine of USD 11,000 by a French Court for ordering her bodyguard to beat up Ashraf Eid, a plumber working in the apartment block where she lives. The princess allegedly flew into a rage after seeing her reflection in a mirror on the plumber’s camera. The plumber was called to repair a washbasin in the princess’ apartment and, as part of his job, had to take pictures of the toilet. Eid claimed that his phone was also destroyed and he was also tied up and ordered to kiss the feet of the princess.

Yemen’s Houthi rebels have deployed (14/09) 10 drones to attack two major oil facilities in Saudi Arabia run by state-owned company Aramco. The attacks resulted in the loss of crude oil production by 5.7m barrels a day. However, the United States’ (U.S.) Secretary of State Mike Pompeo put the blame on Iran, as there was no evidence that the attacks came from Yemen. Yemen itself is supported by the Saudis and a Western-backed military coalition, whereas Iran supports the Houthi rebels. Yahya Sarea, a Houthi spokesman, told al-Masirah TV that further attacks could be expected in the future.

ASIA

Reported in South China Morning Post (10/09), India and Nepal have made a new milestone by building the first pipeline in South Asia. Nepal has long depended on India’s for its oil supply, which is currently carried in trucks from half a dozen Indian depots to different points in Nepal. The construction of the pipeline, which is considered as India’s attempt to counter China’s influence in the landlocked country, will save Nepal about USD 8.7 million a year in transportation costs for fuel.

Indonesia’s third president B.J. Habibie, often called the “Father of Democracy,” passed away on Wednesday at the age of 83 (12/09). Though he served for only 17 months, Habibie has made some important decisions during the transition from Suharto’s authoritarian era, leading the country toward democracy. Meanwhile, his particular interests as well as contributions in research and technology have also given him the title of Indonesia’s Father of Technology.

Thirty ethnic minority Muslim Kazakhs in China have been detained for sharing Kazakhstan’s national anthem on social media, according to Radio Free Asia (12/09). One of them, Kastir Borat, who is just 19, was sentenced to 15 years in jail and was not allowed to meet his family and denied access to a lawyer.

Against the backdrop of deepening unrest and little sign of resolution, an increasing number of Hong Kong residents are thinking about leaving and/or moving their money and assets abroad. Reuters has reported (13/09) spikes in migration and property enquiries in countries such as Malaysia, Taiwan, Australia, Singapore, and also some growing interest in Canada, the United States, Ireland, and New Zealand.

AUSTRALIA & OCEANIA

Lavender oil burning (11/09) at the Moorebank chemical plant, Sydney, Australia, resulted in residents having to stay indoors and close doors and windows because of strong odors that could be dangerous. Of the incident (10/09), many residents fled their homes to stay overnight in the evacuation center after being warned that the area was not safe. The odor is being caused by a lavender oil tank that was damaged when the factory roof and walls collapsed onto it, the fire incident controller Andrew Shurety said.

The National Party of Australia (the Nationals) has voted (15/09) for the plant-based milk and meat companies to avoid using the terms “milk”, “meat”, and “seafood” to market their products. Agriculture Minister Bridget McKenzie, who is also the deputy leader of the Nationals, said there was an increasing awareness of the need to “call things for what they are”. A similar law has been implemented in Europe where plant-based products are banned to be labeled “cheese”, “cream”, and “milk”. Whereas the United States Food and Drug Administration has only considered the issue.  

An anti-abortion demonstration has taken place (15/09) in Sydney. Former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott told the protesters that the proposed bill to decriminalize abortion is “effectively infanticide on demand”. Thousands of people joined the rally against the bill which is due back before the New South Wales Upper House this week. Former federal Nationals leader, Barnaby Joyce, called the bill “animalistic” and said it failed to recognize the rights of the unborn child.

EUROPE

Seven-member council of Waldsidlung, Germany, have elected (09/09) Stefan Jagsch, a member of the National Democratic Party (NDP), as leader because there was no one interested in the position. The decision to vote for Jagsch prompted an outcry from politicians and was condemned by the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), the liberal Free Democrats (FDP), and the Christian Democrats (CDU) who likened the NDP to Adolf Hitler’s Nazi party. Many politicians and residents demanded the decision to be reversed, whereas some others supported Jagsch, saying, “[…] Jagsch is a very nice person who belongs to the wrong party and I am against promoting NPD members.”

A second man has died (09/09) after being gored by a bull during Spain’s “The Running of the Bulls”. The incident took place in Horche, some 35 miles north-east of Madrid, just less than two weeks after a man died from similar accident in Cuellar, central Spain. The annual bull runs are held across the country during the festival of San Fermín in the summer months and have claimed at least 16 lives since records started in 1911.

Scientists from Belgium and France found (12/09) high levels of mercury and banned industrial fluids, including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) that have been banned since the 1970s and 1980s, in blubber and skin of Bottlenose dolphins in the Channel. Similar discoveries are also found in dolphins in the Mediterranean sea, around Florida’s Everglades, off the coast of the Guianas, and Brazil’s Guanabara Bay. Although it is not yet clear at what levels the chemicals are harmful, many previous studies suggested that high concentrations of the chemicals can pose a health risk. For this reason, researchers have called for greater efforts to eliminate the use and spread of dangerous chemicals in environment.

The Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow warned No. 10 (12/09) that he would do anything necessary to stop Prime Minister Boris Johnson from “ignoring the law” on Brexit. Speaking from London, the United Kingdom (U.K.), at the annual Bingham lecture, Bercow said, “If I have been remotely ambiguous so far, let me make myself crystal clear. The only form of Brexit that we have, whenever that might be, will be a Brexit that the House of Commons has explicitly endorsed.” Johnson faced yet another difficult week after a Scottish court ruled (12/09) his prorogation unlawful because he has misled the Queen over his reasons for suspending the parliament, followed by an accusation from former Prime Minister David Cameron who called him “a liar who only backed the Leave campaign to help his career” (15/09).

Vandals have written random letters and spray-painted a big swastika (13/09) at the Mierlo cemetery, a British and Commonwealth World War Two grave in the southern Netherlands where one Dutch soldier and 664 British and Commonwealth soldiers were buried. Dutch police have made an appeal to the public to find the perpetrators of the appalling act.  

LATIN AMERICA & THE CARIBBEAN

Forensic scientists in Mexico have managed (14/09) to piece together 44 bodies from human remains discovered just outside the city of Guadalajara, Jalisco state—a state which is the heartland of one of Mexico's most violent drug gangs. The human remains, most of which were cut up, were buried in a well inside 119 black bags. This is the second major discovery of bodies in the state this year.

THE UNITED STATES (U.S.) & CANADA

Justin Trudeau, Canada’s prime minister, announced (11/09) that the general election would be held on October 21. Trudeau, who is expecting a second term in office, will face a tough race to secure his place as he has struggled after a series of political fumbles and an ethnic scandal in recent months. Trudeau’s rivals for the upcoming election include unproven campaigners Andrew Scheer of the Conservative Party and Jagmeet Singh of the left-leaning New Democrats.

The United States (U.S.) has taken a major step (12/09) toward opening Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR, home to wildlife population including Porcupine caribou and polar bears) to oil drilling after the Department of the Interior issued the final environmental study that allows the government to sell oil and gas leases later this year. Three Alaskan Republican lawmakers welcomed the decision, claiming that they have developed their state and contributed to the goal of energy dominance for the U.S. On the contrary, environmentalists and Democratic lawmakers criticised the decision, with the U.S. House of Representatives sponsored by Democrat Representative Jared Huffman passing a bill to reverse the 2017 law allowing the oil and gas drilling in part of ANWR.

From the U.S. court, actress Felicity Huffman has pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 14 days in jail (13/09) after paying $15,000 to have her eldest daughter’s SAT answers corrected in 2017. She was also sentenced to a 250-hour community service, a year of supervised release, and $30,000 fine. Huffman is one of 51 people charged by prosecutors for having involved in cheating and bribing schemes to get their children into elite schools.

President Donald Trump has confirmed that Hamza bin Laden, the son of late al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, had been killed in the Afghanistan/Pakistan region during a counterterrorism operation. Hamza was believed to be dead and previously reported so on July 31, but the U.S. officials wanted to make sure and only confirmed his death on Saturday (14/09). Trump claimed that the loss of Hamza has made al Qaeda deprived of important leadership skills and undermined the group’s activities.