St. Petersburg, Russia
Who died in the war? Russian President Dmitri Medvedev ordered a re-evaluation of the Soviet death toll in World War II this week, as the country marked the 65th anniversary of the siege of Leningrad. An estimated 27 million Soviet civilians and soldiers died in the war. But more than 2.4 million people are still officially considered missing in action, and of the 9.5 million buried in mass graves, 6 million are unidentified. “We must determine the historical truth,” Medvedev said. Some 1.5 million civilians, mostly children and the elderly, starved to death during the siege of Leningrad. Others survived by stewing belts and shoes and burning their furniture and books.
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Colombo, Sri Lanka
Rebels cornered at last: The Sri Lankan military has made major strides against the rebel Tamil Tigers, routing them from their main stronghold and seizing a key territory. The government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, elected in 2005, is coming close to fulfilling its promise to quash the Tamil Tigers, who have been fighting for a separate Tamil homeland since the 1970s. But the advance over the last few weeks has come at a high price. Aid agencies say the Tigers have trapped some 230,000 civilians in the war zone and are using them as human shields. The U.S. has designated the Tigers a terrorist group.
North Waziristan, Pakistan
U.S. strikes continue: Missiles fired from U.S. Predator drones killed at least 22 people in the tribal area of Pakistan last week, the first such strikes since President Barack Obama took office. In response, Pakistan this week asked the U.S. to reconsider its policy of attacking suspected militants on Pakistani soil. “With the advent of the new U.S. administration, it is Pakistan’s sincere hope that the United States will review its policy and adopt a more holistic and integrated approach,” the Pakistani Foreign Ministry said. But Defense Secretary Robert Gates told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the attacks would continue. “Both President Bush and President Obama have made clear that we will go after al Qaida wherever al Qaida is,” he said.
Cairo
Obama reaches out to Arabs: Striking a new tone in relations with the Muslim world, President Obama this week told Arabs that “Americans are not your enemy.” In his first televised interview from the White House, Obama said on the Al-Arabiya satellite channel: “I cannot respect terrorist organizations that would kill innocent civilians and we will hunt them down. But to the broader Muslim world, what we are going to be offering is a hand of friendship.” The interview coincided with the start of an eight-day Middle East tour by special envoy George Mitchell. Obama said that he told Mitchell to “start by listening, because all too often the United States starts by dictating.”
Johannesburg
Pressuring Mugabe: South African activists went on a hunger strike this week to force their government to denounce Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe. The longtime ruler has been clinging to power ever since a disputed election last March, even as his country implodes in famine and economic collapse. The South African government continues to support a power-sharing pact between Mugabe and the opposition, despite Mugabe’s failure to implement the agreement and his regime’s abduction and torture of opponents. Kumi Naidoo, a South African veteran of the anti-apartheid movement, is leading the hunger strike with his 21-day, water-only fast, while Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu, who is 77, will fast one day a week. “The bottom line is, the South African government has betrayed its record,” said Naidoo.
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