Tag: Tigray

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Weekly Summaries

7th of December – 13th of December

Brexit Updates

Time is running out for the UK and the EU to reach a deal before the UK is supposed to leave the EU on the 31st of December this year. This past Monday the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had announced that he would travel to Brussels in a final attempt to reach a trade agreement with the EU. On Wednesday the European Commission then published no-deal contingency measures in an attempt to prevent chaos on the 1st of January 2021 if no agreement is reached till then.

Vaccinations in Britain against the Coronavirus

In Britain the first people have now received a vaccine against the coronavirus, which was developed by two companies called Pfizer and BioNTech. However, two of the people who received the shot so far have had serious allergic reactions to the vaccine, but they both have a history of severe allergic reactions. The vaccine will be administered by health care workers, the military, volunteers, and even first-aid workers. The National Health Service is aiming to vaccinate tens of millions of people in a matter of months. Furthermore, Canada has now also approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for people older than 16 years.

Other News:

  • Morocco joined the ranks of Arab countries who have normalized relations with Israel
  • Almost 50,000 Ethiopians from the Tigray region have sought refuge in Sudan
  • European Union leaders agree on a $2.2 trillion stimulus package
Categories
Weekly Summaries

30th of November – 6th of December

Ethiopia declares victory in the Tigray Conflict

After days of attacks on the regional capital of Tigray, Mekelle, the Ethiopian government claimed it had “won” the conflict against the region of Tigray on the 28th of November, without killing a single civilian. However, local farmers tell a different story, describing dozens of deaths related to the conflict.

Egyptian Human Rights Workers Released

Although the Egyptian government did try to interfere with the freedom of human rights activists in the past by, for example, preventing them from travelling, only very few were arrested and sent to prison. This changed a few weeks ago when three employees from the human rights group Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights were arrested. However, the international public put pressure on Egypt as diplomats, politicians and even celebrities called for the release of the human rights workers. In response to the increasing pressure, the Egyptian authorities released the workers this past week.

Protest in France over new Security Bill

This past week, the streets of two cities in France, the capital Paris and Lyon, were filled with protestors against the new security bill. The bill would restrict the sharing of images of police officers, in addition to strengthening government surveillance tools. Since then, the French government has announced that it will make severe changes to the bill.

Categories
Weekly Summaries

23rd of November – 29th of November

Update on the situation in Ethiopia

This Thursday, Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Aiby Ahmed ordered what he called a “final” military assault on Tigray’s capital. He also announced that the deadline for the leaders of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front to surrender had passed. The announcements come after Prime Minister Ahmed released his military forces on the northern region of Tigray. According to the United Nation, hundreds have since then been reported dead and 40,000 refugees have passed into Sudan.

Scottish Parliament takes action against period poverty

This past week. the Scottish Parliament voted unanimously to make sanitary products available to anyone who needs them. This will include making sanitary products available for everyone in public buildings, including schools and universities. This is a first in the world in the fight against period poverty.