World in Brief - The Economist Roundup

 

World in Brief

The Economist Roundup

America’s army reportedly confused the enemy drone that killed three soldiers in Jordan on Sunday for an American surveillance drone returning to base. At least 34 others were injured in the strike, which Joe Biden blamed on Iran-backed militias. Some Republican lawmakers piled pressure on Mr Biden to target Iran directly in retaliation. Iran distanced itself from the attacks, dismissing American claims of Iranian involvement as baseless.

 

Qatar warned that American retaliation for a drone attack that killed three soldiers in Jordan could endanger a seven-day truce in the war in Gaza and the release of hostages held by Hamas. Details of the planned truce are yet to be finalised but Qatar will present a framework to Hamas leaders. Lloyd Austin, America’s defence secretary, promised to take “all necessary actions” to defend American troops in the Middle East in the wake of the attack, which reportedly came after America’s army confused the enemy bomb for a surveillance drone returning to base.

 

A spokesman for Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine's president, denied a widespread rumour that Valery Zaluzhny, the commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s armed forces, had been fired. General Zaluzhny, one of the country’s most popular figures, has sparred repeatedly with the presidential office over the conduct of the war with Russia.

 

John Lee, Hong Kong’s chief executive, unveiled plans for the territory’s own national-security law, to sit alongside the swingeing one imposed by China in 2020. The new legislation would go further than the original, covering areas such as “treason”. A local security law, called Article 23, was required under the original handover agreement between Britain and China. Past attempts to implement it were thwarted by protests.

A court in Hong Kong ordered Evergrande, a Chinese property giant, to liquidate because of its debt of over $300bn. The judge who made the ruling said “enough is enough” after the company failed to come up with a restructuring plan. Trading in Evergrande shares in Hong Kong was suspended. They had fallen by 21% following the announcement.

 

Neuralink, Elon Musk’s brain-chip startup, implanted its first device in a human patient. Mr Musk said that initial results showed “promising neuron spike detection”. The implant, named Telepathy, seeks to help individuals control electronic devices using their thoughts. The technology is not new. Some of Neuralink’s competitors, such as Blackrock Neurotech, have already implanted many chips in human brains.

 

The Financial Times reported that the EU plans to undermine Hungary’s economy if it does not lift its veto on a €50bn ($54bn) aid package to Ukraine at a leaders’ summit later this week. The bloc’s members could slash EU funding to Hungary, aiming to pile pressure on Viktor Orban, its pro-Russian prime minister. Hungary’s EU minister described the proposals as “blackmail”.

 

The EU announced it would review its funding of UNRWA, the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees, after 12 of its staff were alleged to have been involved with Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7th. UNRWA, which is sheltering more than a million Gazans, says many of its aid operations could stop by the end of February after more than a dozen countries suspended funding following the allegations.

 

The African National Congress, South Africa’s ruling party, suspended the membership of Jacob Zuma, the country’s former president, after he launched a rival organisation in December. Mr Zuma’s near decade-long tenure was dogged by corruption, which the ANC has struggled to shake off. The party has ruled South Africa since the end of apartheid, but looks more vulnerable than ever heading into this year’s elections.