The week at a glance...International

last updated 8 January 2015

Berlin

Maternity leave for grandparents: The German government has proposed giving time off work to grandparents so they can help their children care for their grandchildren. Family Minister Kristina Schröder said working grandparents should have the right to take up to three years of leave without losing their jobs or credit toward their retirement benefits. Unlike parents, however, they would not receive wages while not working. The ministry said the new benefit shouldn’t cost the country much since there are only around 300,000 grandparents who haven’t yet retired, and it estimates that only 10 percent of them would take advantage of the leave.

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Saakashvili loses: For the first time in Georgian history, the government of the former Soviet republic has changed as the result of a democratic election. Parties supporting billionaire businessman Bidzina Ivanishvili swept Georgia’s parliamentary elections this week, trouncing the party of President Mikheil Saakashvili. The pro-Western president quickly conceded defeat, saying, “We think their views are completely wrong, but democracy works through the majority of the Georgian people making a decision.” Rather less magnanimously, Ivanishvili initially called on Saakashvili to resign immediately. Ivanishvili will become prime minister right away, but he won’t have much power until Saakashvili’s presidential term ends, in October 2013. Under the provisions of a recent constitutional reform, most presidential powers will then be transferred to the prime minister.

Rial in free fall: The value of Iran’s currency has plummeted 40 percent in a week, causing a public panic, riots, and confrontations with authorities. Fights broke out around foreign-currency trading kiosks as Iranians rushed to convert their rials to dollars or euros, and the main bazaar in Tehran closed because shopkeepers couldn’t price their goods. Protesters blamed the economic policies of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, but he said the real culprit was Western sanctions—imposed because of Iran’s nuclear program—which have drastically cut Iran’s oil revenue. In a televised address, Ahmadinejad implored Iranians not to give in to the “psychological war” waged by the U.S.

Syrian refugees riot: Syrians seeking shelter from a choking dust storm rioted at a Jordanian refugee camp this week, breaking into U.N. officials’ trailers and clashing with Jordanian security guards who were trying to keep them from leaving. U.N. officials were briefly evacuated during the incident. “We are just exhausted and totally run down,” said camp resident Um Mohammed. “There isn’t even any drinking water, or water in the bathrooms.” The riot underscores the problem of housing the refugees. The number of Syrians fleeing the conflict in their country has tripled in the past four months, and now there are 300,000 refugees spread throughout Turkey, Iraq, Jordan, and Lebanon. The U.N. estimates that the number could double by December.

Televangelizing in Israel: The two largest U.S. Christian broadcasters have opened studios in Jerusalem to cover the Second Coming, and to proselytize to Jews. California-based Trinity Broadcasting Network has just set up a studio in the Old City, and Texas-based Daystar has one next door that streams a live shot of the Mount of Olives, where some believe Jesus’s Second Coming will take place. TBN co-founder Paul Crouch said the network will broadcast some shows in Hebrew, “to reach out to Jews and entice them to read the word of God and become what we call a completed Jew.” Some Israeli groups said the proselytizing was offensive.

Islamists routed: Kenyan and Somali forces have driven Islamist militants out of their last stronghold in Somalia. Al-Shabab, an al Qaida–linked offshoot of the Islamic Courts Union that dominated the country in the 2000s, said it had abandoned the port city of Kismayo. African Union troops pushed the group out of the capital, Mogadishu, a year ago. Al-Shabab is now expected to return to the terrorist tactics it used before it took power, such as suicide attacks and roadside bombs. Kenyan authorities said they believed al-Shabab sympathizers were behind a grenade attack on a Kenyan church that killed a child this week.

Turn in your tanks: Libyans are giving up their weapons. Prime Minister Mustafa Abu Shagour last week ordered the disbanding of the more than 1,000 militias that participated in the 2011 uprising against Muammar al-Qaddafi. Hundreds of Libyans have heeded the call, lining up to turn in handguns, automatic rifles, anti-aircraft guns, and rocket-propelled grenade launchers. At least two people brought in tanks. The disarmament campaign is a response to anti-militia protests in Benghazi, the eastern city struggling to restore order after the attack on the U.S. Consulate there last month. The group believed to be responsible for that attack, al Qaida–linked Ansar al-Sharia, has not turned in its weapons.

Bo arrested: The Chinese politician at the center of the country’s biggest scandal in decades was expelled last week from the Communist Party. Bo Xilai, the former party chief of Chongqing, was also charged with a laundry list of crimes dating back decades and involving sex and corruption. Bo is accused of taking bribes, having affairs, and more recently obstructing justice during the murder investigation involving his wife earlier this year. By accusing Bo of crimes that stretch back through his entire career, the Communist Party is apparently sending a message that rejects the populist governing style he pioneered in Chongqing, where Bo developed a personal following unusual among Communist leaders.

Holiday horror: China’s National Day celebrations turned deadly this week when two boats collided in Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbor. Everyone survived on the passenger ferry involved, but at least 38 people died on the other boat, which belonged to a utility company and was carrying more than 120 staff members and their families to watch the fireworks over the harbor. Survivors said the boat sank within 10 minutes of the collision. Passengers were trapped inside and had to break windows to swim to the surface. Both captains and five other crew members were detained while authorities began an investigation into the accident. Witnesses said the ferry crew did nothing to assist the other vessel.

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