Tel Aviv, Israel
Snubbing Carter: Israel reacted angrily this week to former President Jimmy Carter’s plan to meet with leaders of Hamas, the militant Palestinian group that controls Gaza. The Shin Bet, the Israeli version of the FBI and Secret Service, refused to provide Carter with bodyguards—the first time a former U.S. official has ever been denied protection in Israel. Carter said talks with Hamas leaders, which he will hold in Syria after his Israel trip, have been put off for too long. “If Israel is ever going to find peace with justice concerning the relationship with their next-door neighbors, the Palestinians, Hamas will have to be included in the process,” Carter said. Carter, 83, negotiated peace between Israel and Egypt in 1979 and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.
Harare, Zimbabwe
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Vote count still secret: Zimbabwe’s high court this week rejected an opposition demand that it force the electoral commission to publish all the results of the March 29 elections. The opposition Movement for Democratic Change took a plurality of seats in parliament, according to preliminary tallies, ousting the ruling Zanu-PF for the first time. The opposition says its candidate, Morgan Tsvangirai, also won the presidential race outright, and that no runoff with incumbent President Robert Mugabe is necessary. But the electoral commission says “irregularities” in both votes require a recount. The opposition, backed by international observers, has expressed fears that the government is planning to steal the election, resorting to violence if necessary. Mugabe has ruled Zimbabwe since it achieved independence, in 1980.
Kathmandu, Nepal
Maoists win election: Nepal’s former rebels, who ended their armed struggle against the government just two years ago, surprised even themselves by winning elections last week in a landslide. As the price of laying down their arms, the Maoists had demanded that a new assembly be elected that would have the power to rewrite the constitution and end the monarchy. Now that the Maoists are the major political force in the new assembly, mainstream parties fear they could push a more radical agenda, including elimination of “class enemies.” Nepal has been in turmoil for several years. Much of the royal family was slaughtered in 2001 by the crown prince, who then killed himself. The current king, Gyanendra, took on extra powers in a coup in 2005, but was forced to back down the following year, confronted by widespread discontent.
Basra, Iraq
Army ousts turncoats: The Iraqi army said this week it had kicked out 1,300 soldiers and police, including dozens of officers, for refusing to fight in Basra last month. During an army offensive there, government troops met stiff resistance from the Mahdi Army militia, which is loyal to Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Mahdi fighters ignored a government order to turn over their weapons, and when they began firing on Iraqi forces, many Basra police either abandoned their posts or actually defected to the Mahdi forces. British officials blamed the Iraqi government, saying Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki had ordered the Basra offensive impulsively, without giving U.S. and British forces time to prepare local support.
Hainan, China
Talking to Taiwan: China and Taiwan last week held their highest-level talks since Taiwan split from China, in 1949. During a regional conference in Hainan, Chinese President Hu Jintao met with Taiwanese Vice President–elect Vincent Siew. Afterwards, Taiwanese President-elect Ma Ying-jeou said he hoped that negotiations over Taiwan’s status, which stalled in 2000, would resume as soon as he takes office next month. But he cautioned against too much optimism. “We have melted only a small chunk of the iceberg,” he said. Ma campaigned on a platform of improving relations with the People’s Republic, which have deteriorated in recent years because of Taiwanese leaders’ pro-independence stance.
Tokyo
Less whale meat: Japan’s whaling fleet headed back to port this week having failed to meet its hunt quota because of protesters. The six hunting boats killed just 551 whales, short of their goal of 950. The crews said they had been distracted by Greenpeace activists, who pursued them at sea and threw “stink bombs” onto their decks. “The disturbances were an unforgivable act,” said fishery official Shigeki Takaya. “We will take legal action.” Japan hunts whales every year, under a loophole in the international whaling ban that allows limited kills for “research” purposes. The meat ends up in Japanese restaurants, where it is considered a delicacy.
