Sudan’s military seizes power, dissolves transitional government

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Sudan
After dissolving Sudan’s transitional government and placing acting Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok under house arrest, the military seized power in Sudan. Thousands took to the streets in Khartoum, and at least 12 protesters were wounded in demonstrations, according to the Sudanese Doctors Committee. The head of the ruling council, military officer Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, announced a state of emergency across the country and said that the military needed to protect the country’s safety and security, which the 2019 transitional government failed to do. In just a few weeks, Sudan’s military was expected to hand leadership of the Sudan’s ruling council to civilians. The military takeover comes two years after countrywide protests forced Omar al-Bashir,  who ruled Sudan for 30 years, to step down.

UN greenhouse gas report
Just days before the start of the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland, the United Nations’ World Meteorological Organization released a report that says that climate-heating gas levels in the atmosphere hit record highs in 2020, despite the coronavirus-related lockdowns, and that greenhouse gas concentrations increased at the fastest rate in the past 10 years. In a worrisome development, the report also points out that parts of the Amazon are no longer a carbon sink due to deforestation and low humidity levels in the region. The UN climate conference, running from Oct. 31 to Nov. 12, marks an important opportunity for concrete commitments to reach targets set out in the 2015 Paris climate accord.

China
China is expanding its COVID-19 vaccination program to include children between the ages of 3 and 11. About 76% of China’s population has been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. Authorities maintain a zero-tolerance policy toward outbreaks and continue with mass testing of residents and targeted lockdowns. On Monday, the National Health Commission reported 35 new cases of local transmission detected over the past 24 hours, four of them in Gansu province, leading to the shutdown of all tourist sites. The Beijing marathon, with an expected attendance of 30,000 people this upcoming weekend, has been postponed until further notice as the country seeks to control localized outbreaks ahead of the February Winter Olympics.

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Double Take

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