Ten world stories each told in 3 sentences

Africa in 3: Prominent Human Rights activist, Thulani Maseko, killed at his home in Eswatini

• Many in civil society and in opposition believe the killing to be an assassination, but the government of Eswatini says it dissociates itself and its officials from the murder.
• Maseko, 52, a harsh critic of King Mswati III’s human rights record, had spent two years in prison from 2014-2015 for contempt of court after criticising Eswatini’s judicial system.
• He headed the Swaziland Multi Stakeholder Forum, a group of civil society and opposition parties that adopted a declaration pushing for international isolation of the king, and reaffirmed the spirit of those who died during mass riots in 2022.

Source: News24

Asia in 3: Vietnamese President, Nguyen Xuan Phuc, resigned Jan 17^th amid Covid-19 corruption scandal

• The President resigned to take responsibility for the scandal where Embassy officials demanded bribes from Vietnamese citizens stranded abroad and needed repatriation on nearly 800 flights chartered for them during worldwide lockdowns.
• The resignation reflects the seriousness of the anti-graft drive led by Vietnamese Communist Party secretary general, Nguyen Phu Trong, who is the country’s most powerful politician and is among the last generation of leaders who experienced the war against America as adults.
• The anti-corruption drive is blamed for stalling government programs as scandal averse officials fear approving projects that may later be viewed as corrupt but on a positive, Vietnam’s corruption perception ranking recently improved from 111 to 87 as measured by Transparency International. 

Source: The Economist

Europe in 3: Minute’s applause held in memory of Ghanaian soccer star Christian Atsu who died in Turkey earthquake

• The 31-year-old, who was playing for Super Lig side Hatayspor, was falsely reported as having been taken to hospital last week but was later confirmed dead after being found in the rubble.
• The tribute applause attended by his wife and children was held ahead of the game between Liverpool and Atsu’s former club Newcastle United where he played between 2016 and 2021.
• The confirmed death toll from earthquake which struck Syria and Turkey on February 6th 2023 has so far passed 46,000.

Source: The Guardian

Middle East in 3: Lebanese protest against Central Bank as currency drops to new low, first official devaluation in 25 years announced

• Demonstrators in Lebanon organised by advocacy group, Depositors’ Outcry, burned tyres and blocked roads in Beirut as they protested against the plummeting local currency.
• Economic problems in Lebanon which began in 2019, have seen prices spiraling on the back of a 97% loss in value of the Lebanese Lira to 56,000 to the dollar against an official exchange rate of 1,507.
• Since the crisis, the Central Bank has restricted withdrawals of dollars and lira through circular directives issued to banks and has kept the official rate unchanged, but announced it would devalue the rate to 15,000 from 1 February

Source: Reuters

North America in 3: The US has already experienced an average of more than one mass shooting per day since the New Year

• Gun Violence Archive, a non-profit organisation that tracks mass shootings in the US, says at least 39 mass shooting incidents had occurred in the US by 23 January since the start of the year, according to a report by Al Jazeera.
• Although there is no single description of a mass shooting, the strictest definition limits it to incidents with at least three fatalities, not including the attacker, where the shooting was in a public place and where the targets were indiscriminate.
• The second US constitutional amendment which establishes the rights of citizens to keep and bear arms for the preservation of life and property, has lately become controversial due to rising gun violence but is heavily supported politically and financially by the powerful rightwing US gun lobby.

Source: Al Jazeera

Oceania in 3: Mass burial held for eleven individuals killed during tribal attack on Tole village in Enga, Papua New Guinea

• Most of the dead were chopped with axes and bush knives while others were shot with high-powered firearms or burnt during the attack, whilst eight homes, and an undisclosed number of gardens and livestock were destroyed or slaughtered.
• The attack appears to be a coordinated retaliation by a group of tribes which followed the killing of two Sangu clans men by rival tribes, but police say the group that was retaliated against, the Kumbin sub-clan, was not involved in the original slaying of the two Sangu men.
• Eleven children under the age of 10, who were kidnapped during the attack, were later rescued in a joint operation by the police and defence forces and returned to their families.

Source: The National

South America in 3: Diplomatic row as Guatemala’s government accuses Colombia’s Defence Minister of breaking the law

• Guatemala announced that Colombia’s Defence Minister, Iván Velásquez, also a prominent human rights lawyer who previously headed a UN-backed anti-corruption mission in Guatemala, was under investigation for “illegal, arbitrary and abusive acts” during his tenure at the anti-corruption mission.
• Leftwing Colombian President, Gustavo Petro, defended the minister, saying he would not accept any attempt to arrest him, whilst the US, which maintains sanctions on some Guatemalan officials, last year castigated the deterioration in previous efforts at strengthening the country’s institutions.
• Critics of Guatemala’s rightwing government have said the accusations against Velásquez, were simply an extension of perceived targeting of those involved in investigating high level corruption, just as others have been targeted in the past.

Source: The Guardian

Zimbabwe in 3: Opposition activists granted bail by Harare magistrate

• Twenty-six opposition activists from the Citizens Coalition for Change, including two Members of Parliament and an 81 year old, were granted bail after spending two weeks in remand prison.
• The activists were arrested following a report that they were attending a meeting not sanctioned under the Public Order and Security Act (POSA) which requires police clearance for gatherings in the interest of public order.
• Lawyers from the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum, represented the 26 accused persons in the case where the defendants referred to the gathering as a private meeting at the Budiriro legislator’s residence.

Sources: Africa News, Zimbabwe Situation

Sports News in 3: $12M of Usain Bolt’s money is missing, star gives firm 10 days to refund or face lawsuit, FBI helping with investigations

• The massive fraud has not yet been quantified, but so far appears to have targeted elderly investors, government departments and also the country’s athletic star whose US$12.7 million balance has dwindled to just US$12,000.
• The 13 year long fraud which was self-reported to the authorities by the investment firm, Stocks and Securities Limited, has led to the resignation of the director of Jamaica’s Financial Services Commission.
• Jamaica’s Finance Minister has however assured the public that the country’s financial sector remained strong, and the Bank of Jamaica has been placed in charge of the Caribbean island’s financial system.

Source: Yahoo News

Some Trivia in 3: Newly discovered asteroid makes one of the closest approaches of Earth ever recorded

• The truck sized asteroid, named 2023 BU, passed over the tip of South America on Thursday 26 January 2023 at just 3,540 kilometres above the earth’s surface, which is well within the orbits of man-made satellites orbiting the planet.
• The near-earth object discovered by amateur astronomer Gennadiy Borisov from an observatory in Crimea, was quickly determined to not pose a hazard to the planet because it was small enough to mostly disintegrate in the atmosphere had it fallen to the earth.
• Asteroids are minor planets believed to have failed to reach planet-size at formation due to disruptions caused by Jupiter’s massive gravity, and an asteroid impact on earth about 66 million years ago is thought to have precipitated the extinction of all non-avian dinosaurs, directly leading to the dominance of mammalian life

Sources: CNN, Wikipedia, National Geographic