Ethiopia, China, Qatar.

Today's three stories you should know.

Jan 10, 2022

Ethiopia

It’s been a while since I provided an update on Ethiopia, which is likely the most covered story in Proximities since the newsletter launched. After almost a year of being ignored by the international media, the war finally made headlines a few weeks ago when Tigrayan rebels closed in on the capital. They have now been pushed back into their native Tigray region, partly due to a heavy deployment of air raids and drone attacks from the government. The story has disappeared from the headlines again, but the air attacks and a re-imposed blockade of Tigray are taking their toll on civilians. At least 56 people are now reported to have been killed and 30 wounded in an air raid on a refugee camp. Aid groups have suspended operations in the area.

China

A staggering 14 million people in the Chinese city of Tianjin are to be tested for Covid in just 48 hours, authorities say, after the discovery of a cluster of 20 cases. Under its “zero Covid” policy, the Chinese government responds incredibly aggressively when relatively small numbers of cases are found, engaging in mass testing and sometimes putting huge cities under tightly-controlled lockdowns.

Qatar

Noof al-Maadeed, a young Qatari woman who went viral when she documented herself fleeing the country, has apparently resurfaced on social media after going missing three months ago. Al-Maadeed fled to the UK, alleging that her family abused her, beat her and restricted her movements. After two years, she returned to Qatar in October when the government guaranteed her safety, but her Twitter account then fell silent. Today, she appeared in three videos on a new Twitter account, saying she was safe and well. Al-Maadeed said she lost the password to her former Twitter page.