Moscow
A pop-culture prez: The presumptive president-to-be of Russia loves classic rock and Levi’s jeans. Dmitri Medvedev, hand-picked by President Vladimir Putin to succeed him and a virtual shoo-in in next month’s election, revealed his personal side in his first in-depth interview, given to Itogi magazine this week. Medvedev says he had a typical Soviet childhood marked by longings for Western contraband. “I remember how I dreamed of buying Pink Floyd’s The Wall album, which had just appeared,” he said. The 42-year-old Medvedev is already reaping the benefits of leadership. At a Moscow concert last week, he got to meet the British band Deep Purple.
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
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Bush tours Africa: President Bush was warmly welcomed on his African tour this week, largely because of his administration’s funding of AIDS treatment and prevention programs. Visiting Tanzania, Rwanda, Benin, Ghana, and Liberia, Bush was cheered by crowds of thousands, and received the thanks of African leaders who said the $15 billion the U.S. has spent fighting AIDS in Africa over the past five years has saved countless lives. “You, Mr. President, and your administration, have been good friends of our country and have been good friends of Africa,” said Tanzanian President Jikaya Kikwete. Bush plans to double African AIDS spending to $30 billion over the next five years.
Nairobi, Kenya
Rice pushes peace: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spoke sternly to feuding Kenyan leaders this week, urging them to create a power-sharing government and end the country’s turmoil. Some 700 people have been killed in Kenya in tribal clashes over the disputed December presidential election. Rice met separately with both President Mwai Kibaki, who says he won the election, and opposition leader Raila Odinga, who says Kibaki stole it. “This is not a time for personal agendas,” Rice said. “Kenyans need to sense that the country is moving forward.” Former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has been trying to mediate for weeks, but Kibaki’s government will not budge.
Kandahar, Afghanistan
Deadly suicide bombings: Two huge suicide bombings killed at least 140 in southern Afghanistan this week in the worst attacks since the Taliban was toppled in 2001. One bomber struck at a crowded dogfight arena, killing more than 100 spectators; the other hit near a convoy of Canadian troops, killing 38 civilians but no soldiers. The civilian carnage is a new tactic for the Taliban insurgents, who had generally tried to target U.S. or other coalition forces and Afghan government officials. NATO commanders said they expected more suicide bombings and guerilla attacks on the 43,000 NATO-led forces in the country, as the Taliban has recognized that it cannot win firefights against the coalition’s superior military might.
Beijing
Spielberg quits Olympics: Filmmaker Steven Spielberg this week withdrew as an artistic consultant to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, saying China was underwriting genocide in Sudan’s Darfur region. China arms and funds Sudan’s Arab-dominated government, which has been supporting ethnic cleansing in Darfur. Other celebrities may follow Spielberg’s lead. Music producer Quincy Jones, who is to write the Olympics theme song, is reportedly considering pulling out. Britain’s Prince Charles has already announced he will not attend the Games, although he cites China’s oppression of Tibet, not its support for Sudan, as his primary reason. President Bush, though, will be there. “I am going to the Olympics,” he said. “I view the Olympics as a sporting event.”
Yangon, Myanmar
New constitution less than democratic: The military junta that rules Myanmar, formerly Burma, said this week it had written a new draft constitution that would be submitted to a referendum in May and be followed by free elections in 2010. Democratic activists criticized the document, saying it had been written without any input from the opposition. Under the new constitution, opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi would be barred from running for any political office because her two children are foreign nationals. (The Nobel Peace Prize winner’s husband, who died in 1999, was British.) The junta tossed out the old constitution when it took power in 1988. Last fall, it cracked down violently on peaceful protests by Buddhist monks. Suu Kyi remains under house arrest, where she has spent 12 of the past 18 years.
The news at a glance...International