Global

The Week In News

Lost at Sea

Sixty-two people were killed after an Indonesian passenger jet plunged into the sea north of Jakarta over the weekend.

Sriwijaya Air flight 182 took off from Indonesia’s capital of Jakarta on Saturday morning and was headed to the city of Pontianak when it lost contact with air traffic controllers. Indonesia’s Ministry of Transport announced later that day that the jet crashed near between the islands of Laki and Lancang.

According to data provided by international tracking service Flightradar24, the doomed aircraft plunged 10,000 feet in under a minute less than four minutes after takeoff. The Indonesian Navy dispatched five warships and two diving units to the area but did not find any survivors. The fatalities included 43 adults and seven children along with 12 flight crew.

The cause of the crash is currently unknown and is being investigated by Indonesia’s National Transport Safety Board. Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency announced on Sunday that it had pinpointed the location of the plane’s two black boxes. By Tuesday, it was able to retrieve the flight data recorder; the cockpit voice recorder has not yet been located.

Sriwijaya Airlines CEO Jefferson Irwin Jauwena said that the jet never had any mechanical trouble and recently passed its annual inspection.

“Of course, we are very concerned about what happened to us with SJ 182,” said Jauwena. “We hope that your prayers can help the search process run smoothly. We hope all is well.”

The Boeing 737-500 had been in service for 26 years and was operated by Sriwijaya Air since 2012.

Passport Power

Not all passports are equal. With COVID-19 resulting in widespread travel bans, travel documents now determine which countries travelers may access.

The Henley Passport Index ranks the world’s passports according to how many countries the document allows its owner to access without needing to obtain a visa. Topping the index this year was Japan, whose passport offers visa-free access to 191 countries worldwide.

Coming in second place was Singapore with 190 countries; South Korea and Germany tied for third place. New Zealand finished in seventh place with access to 185 countries, ahead of Australia with 184.

The United States also came in at the seventh spot on the list, although due to be pandemic, Americans can in reality only visit fewer than 75 destinations.

Meanwhile, the worst passports belong to Afghanis, with their travel documents allowing them to enter only 26 countries. Ahead of Afghanistan was Iraq and then Syria, which offer visa-free travel to 29 destinations worldwide.

The 2021 index was the first to be published since the coronavirus outbreak resulted in countries implementing travel restrictions that severely limited available destinations. The pandemic devastated the aviator industry and resulted in countries reducing travel to the bare minimum.

“Just a year ago, all indications were that the rates of global mobility would continue to rise, that travel freedom would increase, and that holders of powerful passports would enjoy more access than ever before,” Henley and Partners Chairman Christian H. Kaelin noted. “The global lockdown negated these glowing projections, and as restrictions begin to lift, the results from the latest index are a reminder of what passport power really means in a world upended by the pandemic.”

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Ice sculptures glowed at the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival in northeastern China’s Heilongjiang province on January 5, 2021

Iran Unveils New Missile Base

Iran unveiled a new ballistic missile base located in a labyrinth of underground tunnels overlooking the Persian Gulf.

The “strategic missile bases” were displayed in a report broadcast on Iran’s Seraph television station. In the expose, high-ranking military officers were shown entering the complex, which featured Israeli and American flags painted on the floor for visitors to step on.

The report showcased dozens of missiles mounted on trucks, including long-range ballistic missiles accurate up to hundreds of miles.

“Our logic in defending the territorial integrity, the independence of the country, and the achievements of the Islamic Revolution is strengthening,” said Gen. Hossein Salami, who commands the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, IRGC.

“Behind us, you can see a column of these missiles and their launch systems. These columns stretch for kilometers,” continued Salami, who said that the site was only one of “many” such bases. “IRGC Navy missiles today have a range of hundreds of kilometers. Their precision has improved, and they have high destructive power,” he added.

Iran’s decision to highlight its missile arsenal comes amid a wave of saber-rattling with the U.S. during the waning days of the Trump administration. Trump had warned Tehran not to avenge the death of Quds Force General Qassem Sulemieni, who was killed in a U.S. airstrike in Baghdad last January.

Hours before the television special aired, two nuclear capable B-52 bombers flew from their U.S. base to Iran and then back, the fourth such mission in the past month. The U.S. Air Force said in a statement that the sortie aimed to “demonstrate the U.S. military’s continuing commitment to regional security and deterrence to aggression.”

Earlier in the week, Trump instructed the Pentagon to order the USS Nimitz to return to the strategic Straits of Hormuz adjoining Iran. The aircraft carrier had sailed out of the region a day prior in a de-escalation signal designed to reduce tensions.

Scotland Wants Brexit Comp

The Scottish National Party (SNP) is demanding that Britain compensate the island to the tune of billions for the “devastating high price” Brexit caused its economy.

In a speech in Britain’s parliament, party leader Ian Blackford called England’s long-awaited exit from the European Union an “act of economic vandalism” that ruined Scotland.

“The UK government must now provide an urgent multibillion package of compensation to Scotland to mitigate the lasting Brexit harm done to Scottish businesses, industries and communities,” he said.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson “must apologize to Scottish businesses and pay compensation to Scotland for the long-term damage they are doing to our economy – costing us billions in lost trade and growth.”

Brexit has resulted in fraying the ties between England and Scotland, with the new trade agreement devastating the latter’s fishing industry. If Scottish fishermen were once able to send their catch overnight directly to Europe’s most exclusive restaurants, the new EU red tape forces deliveries to spend hours and even days at border crossings.

The thicket of health regulations, customs fees, and tariffs has led fishing to become economically nonviable, destroying a bedrock of Scotland’s economy amid a surge of anti-English sentiment.

“Our customers are pulling out,” one fisherman told Reuters. “We are a fresh product and the customers expect to have it fresh, so they’re not buying. It’s a catastrophe.”

A preliminary study conducted by the Scottish government estimated the damage at UK £7 billion annually and could cause its GDP to plunge 6% over the next 10 years. As anger mounts, Scots are now broaching the idea of seceding from the UK.

While a nationwide referendum over whether or not to remain in the UK was defeated in 2014 by a margin of 55-45, the economic repercussions of Brexit have led many to argue for the benefits of Scottish independence.

“It is now beyond doubt that the only way to protect Scotland’s interests and our place in Europe is to become an independent country,” asserted Blackford. “People in Scotland have the right to determine our own future, protect our interests, and regain the full benefits of EU membership as an independent country.”

Deadly Barge Sinking

A barge leaving Kisangani on the Congo River sank on Friday evening, with at least people dead from the incident. Six bodies were recovered since Friday; 237 survivors were found; and 19 people are still missing.

According to vice governor of Tshopo province, Maurice Abibu Sakapela, “The public prosecutor has opened an inquiry. Some people have already been arrested,” he said, blaming “overloading and the poor state of the vessel” for the accident.

Friends and family members gathered on the shore to search for their missing friends and relatives with the aid of local fishermen.

Rivers and waterways are widely used for travel in the Democratic Republic of Congo in the absence of paved roads and railways.

The river is the main way to travel from Tshopo’s capital Kisangani to Basoko. The road between the two areas is so degraded, only motorcycles and bicycles can make it through.

Unfortunately, shipwrecks are common in DR Congo’s many waterways, often with deadly consequences. Many vessels are old or poorly maintained. Additionally, safety rules are often flouted, including a requirement for all passengers to wear life jackets. Few people in the country know how to swim.

Turkey-Greece Talks

This week, Turkey and Greece announced that they will revive talks over disputed offshore rights in the Mediterranean. There had been silence between the NATO members since last year, when Turkey deployed a seismic survey vessel to waters also claimed by Athens. The move angered Greece and the European Union, although the ship has since

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