Gaza’s deadly leadership vacuum
Last week, more than 100 people were killed in northern Gaza, health officials there said, after thousands of Gazans rushed aid trucks. The crash on Thursday led to disorder and prompted Israeli soldiers to fire into the crowd.
The immediate causes were extreme hunger and desperation: The UN has warned that famine is rife in northern Gaza, where some 300,000 civilians are still trapped and aid deliveries are rare — and may be full.
But there is a deeper problem: Even as fighting has eased in the north, Israel has been reluctant to fill the current leadership vacuum there. Trying to prevent Hamas from rebuilding, Israel prevented Hamas-led government police from escorting the trucks – and delayed the creation of any alternative Palestinian law enforcement.
This means there is no central body to coordinate service delivery, enforce law and order and protect aid trucks. Videos have emerged of armed groups attacking convoys, and diplomats say criminal gangs are beginning to fill the vacuum left by Hamas.
Sharif installs himself for a second term
Pakistan’s parliament yesterday approved Shehbaz Sharif as prime minister. He began his second term after weeks of turmoil and is set to face years of questions about his legitimacy.
Analysts say public confidence in Sharif’s government is low. His party did not win the most seats in the election a month ago – that honor went to allies of Imran Khan, the jailed former prime minister. Accusations are mounting that the military rigged dozens of races to tilt the vote in favor of Sharif’s party.
What’s next: A leading analyst said the longevity of Sharif’s coalition would likely depend on military support. Khan’s allies are preparing to put up a strong fight in Parliament.
Blasphemy: Mobs go after people accused of disrespecting Islam.
Even Biden’s Supporters Say He’s ‘Too Big’
A majority of voters who supported President Biden in 2020 now say he is “too old” to lead the country effectively, according to a new Times and Siena College poll. 73% of all registered voters said he was too old to be effective, and 45% believed he couldn’t do the job.
Their fears pose a deeper threat to his re-election and don’t seem to extend to Donald Trump – who, at 77, is just four years younger. Their potential rematch this fall would make them the oldest presidential candidates in history.
Supreme Court: Justices may rule on Trump’s eligibility for office today, a day before the Super Tuesday primaries.
THE LATEST NEWS
Alderney, a small island in the English Channel, looks like a windswept remote haven. But it hides dark secrets: During World War II, untold numbers of people died in its Nazi camps.
Now, the island is at the center of a debate about how to remember the atrocities – and how to account for the fact that Britain has never held anyone responsible for running an SS concentration camp on its soil.
Lives Lived: Iris Apfel, a self-proclaimed “geriatric starlet,” became famous in her 80s, and her highly eclectic wardrobe formed a successful exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She died at 102.
ARTS AND IDEAS
China’s “Dongbei Renaissance”.
Dongbei, a region in northeastern China, has long been the industrial heart of the country: Some have even called it China’s Rust Belt. But in the 1990s, waves of mass layoffs left millions unemployed there as China shifted from a planned to a market-based economy.
Decades later, the area is at the center of an artistic wave, sometimes called the “Dongbei Renaissance.” A TV drama about a fading factory town was China’s top show last year, and Dongbei musicians’ songs have gone viral. Shuang Xuetao, who grew up there, published a new collection last month, and a star-studded film adaptation of one of his novels is expected this year.
“I said, OK, I want to help others understand this part of us better,” said Shuang, 40. “I want to leave a record of these people.”
