World in Brief - The Economist Roundup

 

World in Brief

The Economist Roundup

February 21, 2024

China condemned America for vetoing a proposed UN Security Council resolution that demanded an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, saying it gave a “green light to the continued slaughter”. America said the resolution—which was proposed by Algeria and backed by 13 of the council’s 15 members (Britain abstained)—would interfere with its efforts to broker a deal. America has put forward its own temporary-ceasefire resolution, which also warns Israel not to invade Rafah, an overcrowded city in southern Gaza. Israel’s prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, said on Tuesday that he was “committed to continuing the war until we achieve all of its goals”.

 

America promised “major sanctions” following the death of Alexei Navalny, Russia’s most prominent opposition politician. John Kirby, a national-security spokesman, said the measures would “hold Russia accountable for what happened to Mr Navalny”. He did not elaborate on their details. Earlier Yulia Navalnaya, Mr Navalny’s widow, urged officials in Brussels not to recognise Russia’s election, scheduled for March.

 

Pakistan’s two biggest pro-establishment parties agreed to form a coalition government, after a botched election on February 8th resulted in a hung national assembly. The Pakistan Peoples Party, led by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, and the Pakistan Muslim League, led by Nawaz Sharif, nominated Mr Zardari’s father, Asif Ali Zardari, for president and Mr Sharif’s brother, Shehbaz Sharif, for prime minister. The country is riven with an economic crisis and rising militant violence.

 

Vladimir Putin denied accusations that Russia was developing an anti-satellite nuclear space weapon. The Russian president, speaking in a televised meeting with Sergei Shoigu, his defence minister, said Russia was “categorically against” such weapons. Mr Shoigu accused American lawmakers—one of whom released a public statement about a “serious national-security threat”—of fearmongering to push through military aid to Ukraine.

 

International law-enforcement agencies arrested two members of LockBit, a large ransomware gang, and seized control of numerous websites, servers and cryptocurrency accounts. The arrests were made in Poland and Ukraine; another two people, both Russian nationals, were indicted by America’s Justice Department. LockBit has extricated some $120m from 2,000 victims worldwide.

America’s show of support for Taiwan

One of America’s fiercest critics of China is expected to visit Taiwan on Wednesday. Mike Gallagher, a congressman who chairs the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, will lead a delegation of American lawmakers to meet Taiwan’s president-elect, William Lai, ahead of his inauguration in May.

The visit’s primary objective is to underscore how important Taiwan is to America. But the delegation is arriving at a tense time. China has ramped up its aggressive tactics since Taiwan’s election on January 13th, for example by reportedly altering a flight path in the Taiwan strait without warning.

The Chinese embassy in Washington said it firmly opposes the visit. But Mr Gallagher’s trip is unlikely to provoke a military response from China. Mr Lai’s inauguration speech on May 20th will set the tone of future cross-strait relations. Until then, Beijing will continue to increase pressure on the island, but it is unlikely to do anything that might provoke a full-blown war.

Senegal’s elusive election

Will the date of Senegal’s presidential election finally be announced this week? On February 15th the Constitutional Council slapped down a decision by the incumbent, Macky Sall, to delay the vote, originally set for February 25th, by ten months. The court said it must be held “as soon as possible”, and Mr Sall agreed to implement its ruling. But nothing is scheduled yet. It is already too late for any date to meet the dual legal requirements that the campaign be 20 days long and that the election be held a month before Mr Sall’s mandate ends on April 2nd.

Frustrated opposition leaders accuse Mr Sall of again trying to cling to power. The president, meanwhile, is meeting political leaders to discuss not just the date but probably also whether it is possible to change the list of approved candidates—and perhaps a deal to release jailed high-profile political rivals (what Mr Sall may get in return is unclear). Senegal’s electoral saga is not yet over.
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaI6FJZ8aKvHuAImSF2o            https://wa.me/c/923554754711