Ten big world news stories told in 3 sentences

Africa in 3 > Gambia’s Vice President, Badara Alieu Joof, died Tuesday, Jan 17^th in India

• Joof, 65, was appointed VP of the West African country in 2022.
• The VP had left the country three weeks earlier to seek medical attention.
• He had previously served as education minister before becoming Vice President.

Source: africanews.com

Asia in 3 > South Korea slum fire: Hundreds evacuated in Seoul

• About 60 homes are reported to have been destroyed in a morning blaze in Guryong Village.
• Described as South Korea’s last remaining slum, Guryong Village was formed in the 1980s by people evicted from their original neighbourhoods by development projects under the then military government.
• Guryong Village has suffered at least 16 fires since 2009 with many homes built using cardboard and wood.

Source: BBC

Europe in 3 > Over one million march in France against raising retirement from 62 to 64

• Whilst acknowledging the discontent, President Macron says his government will press ahead with the reform which they say is necessary to keep the French pension system financially viable.
• Under the pension scheme, all French citizens are accorded a state pension.
• Workers’ Unions are planning more strike action later this January and have proposed a tax on the wealthy or more contributions from employers to finance the pension system instead.

Source: Associated Press

Middle East in 3 > Israeli police stopped Jordanian envoy from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque

• The Jordanians later summoned the Israeli ambassador to protest obstruction of their envoy during his visit to the mosque in occupied East Jerusalem.
• Israel said an officer at the compound did not immediately recognise the ambassador and sought clearance which the ambassador refused to wait for.
• The mosque is a site of significant religious importance in the region.

Source: Al Jazeera

North America in 3 > U.S. FDA, CDC, see early signal of possible Pfizer bivalent COVID shot link to stroke

• Pfizer Inc & partner BioNTech’s updated COVID-19 shot could be linked to a type of brain stroke in older adults, according to preliminary data.
• The health authorities said, “although the totality of the data currently suggests that it is very unlikely that the signal in Vaccine Safety Datalink represents a true clinical risk”, they believed it was “important to share this information with the public.”
• The companies responded saying they had “been made aware of limited reports of ischemic strokes in people 65 & older following vaccination with their updated shot”, adding that neither companies nor the authorities had “observed similar findings across numerous other monitoring systems in the U.S. & globally & there is no evidence to conclude that ischemic stroke is associated with the use of the companies’ COVID-19 vaccines.”

Source: Reuters

Oceania in 3 > Pacific islands urge Japan to delay release of Fukushima waste over contamination fears

• The Pacific Island Forum (PIF), a bloc of 17 island nations, says there should be no discharge of the water until all parties verify that it is safe.
• Japan had planned to release a reported 1 million tonnes of the water from the Fukushima nuclear plant that was damaged in a tsunami.

The PIF is concerned about the impact of potentially contaminated water on fisheries in the region.

Sources: Reuters, CGTN

South America in 3 > UN & Honduran activists demand action after killing of water defenders, Aly Dominguez, 38, and Jairo Bonilla, 28

• The two were members of a Guapinol water defenders movement, protecting rivers from controversial open-pit iron oxide mining in Carlos Escaleras National Park.
• The Honduran police have described the murders as “a robbery gone wrong” despite none of the personal belongings of the victims having been taken.
• Honduras is counted among the most dangerous countries for environmentalists despite promises by newly elected President Castro to end violence against land and water defenders.

Source: Al Jazeera

Zimbabwe in 3 > Opposition MP calls on the President to delay general elections planned for later this year

• The move comes after the constituency delimitation report compiled by the electoral authority was rejected by MPs from all parties represented in Parliament, citing some irregularities and allegations of gerrymandering.
• The delimitation report redraws constituency boundaries based on a number of factors including the population census data as well as voter registration numbers.
• It remains to be seen, how the President will proceed but one legal expert says the election can be suspended with a constitutional amendment for which the ruling party already has the Parliamentary majority.

Sources: Multiple

Sports News in 3 > Results from European soccer league matches

• Liverpool and Arsenal end match with a goalless draw in uninspiring game at Anfield – 21 January 2023.
• Bundesliga log leaders, Bayern Munich, in one all draw with RB Leipzig – 21 January 2023.
• Manchester City led Tottenham, 4 goals to 2 by full time at Etihad Stadium with goals from Manchester City: Alvarez (51′), Haaland (53′), Mahrez (63′, 90′) – Tottenham: Kulusevski (44′), Emerson (45+2′) – 19 January 2023.

Sources: Multiple

Some Trivia in 3 > Saudi Arabia has started constructing a 170km smart city known as The Line

• The perfectly linear city will be home to 9 million residents with amenities arranged to be no more than 5 minutes’ walk from residents.
• At 500 metres tall, 200 metres wide, and with mirror glass facades, The Line will occupy just 34 square kilometres of land.
• The Line will have no roads, cars or emissions and will run on 100% renewable energy, and a commute from one end to the other will take just 20 minutes using state of the art high speed train technology.

Source: NEOM