The stated aim of this so called humanitarian truce was to provide food and basic medical provisions for tigreans who are in die need of both. The region has been under effective blockade for more than a year now. There's no banking, telecoms, electricity and tigre, that's all switched off. So we had reached an impass and all it needed was a spark. And one way or another, that spark was provided. What do things look like for the government now? It is very much fighting on at least two fronts. Government forces resources ar stretched.
After a five-month hiatus, violence has returned to the northern region of Tigray—but that is just one of the conflicts threatening to pull the country to pieces. China’s Belt and Road Initiative has made it a prominent developing-world lender. How will it deal with so many of its loans souring? And our obituaries editor reflects on Issey Miyake’s fashion-for-the-masses philosophy.
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