Iraq, China, Mozambique.

Today's three stories you should know.

Mar 13, 2022

Iraq

Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) force has claimed responsibility for a missile attack on the northern Iraqi city of Erbil, saying it was targeting an Israeli “strategic centre.” Israel earlier this week killed two members of the IRGC in a strike on Syria, where Iranian militias are fighting to support President Bashar al-Assad. Officials in Erbil said at least a dozen ballistic missiles were launched from Iran and the target was initially thought to be the US consulate. Buildings near the consulate were damaged but the US said its facilities were not directly hit. Iran and the US are fighting what many experts believe amounts to a proxy war in Iraq.

China

China is grappling with its worst COVID outbreak since the pandemic began two years ago, reporting 3,400 cases today, double the number reported yesterday. About 17 million people have been locked down under the country’s incredibly strict, and increasingly controversial, “zero-Covid” policy. All residents of the city of Shenzhen, with a population of 13 million, have been told to stay at home. “It’s the worst since 2020,” a Shenzhen resident surnamed Zhang told the AFP news agency. “The closures are too sudden. My friend woke up in the morning to find her building was sealed overnight without warning. Her boss had to mail her laptop to her.”

Mozambique

At least 12 people are now confirmed dead in a cyclone that has battered Mozambique with devastating amounts of rain and wind this week. Cyclone Gombe has destroyed more than 3,000 homes and injured at least 40 people since making landfall.