World roundup: April 10 2024

Stories from Israel-Palestine, Myanmar, Sudan, and elsewhere

Eid Mubarak to those who are celebrating.

TODAY IN HISTORY

April 10, 1815: Indonesia’s Mount Tambora volcano begins the largest eruption in human history with an explosion that was heard 1200 miles away and knocked roughly a full mile off of the volcano’s elevation. The subsequent year, 1816, is known as “The Year Without a Summer” because of the ensuing volcanic winter. The climate effects caused worldwide famine and may have, among other things, contributed to westward migration in the United States and the invention of the bicycle.

April 10, 1998: The governments of the UK and Ireland as well as Republican and Unionist forces in Northern Ireland sign the Good Friday Agreement, ending the Northern Ireland conflict, AKA “The Troubles.” The agreement recognizes Northern Ireland as part of the UK but also left open the possibility of Irish reunification if majorities in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland were ever in favor. It also allowed the people of Northern Ireland to claim British or Irish citizenship, or both if they preferred. The deal’s success relied to a great extent on the soft Irish border, owing to the fact that both Ireland and the UK were at the time in the European Union. It very much remains to be seen whether it can survive Brexit.

MIDDLE EAST

ISRAEL-PALESTINE

Ruwaida Kamal Amer at +972 Magazine reflects on six months of slaughter in Gaza:

Six months have passed since Israel’s cruel war on the Gaza Strip began, and my life became one continuous nightmare. Six months with virtually no access to electricity or water. Six months without knowing what happened to countless family members, friends, and colleagues. I long for the daily routine and moments of calm that we used to complain about. For just one hour of that boring normality. 

We have run out of energy and our bodies can no longer bear it. The sounds of explosions do not stop. I have grown afraid of the sound of a speeding car, or anything that resembles the terrifying noise of a falling missile. Our house in Khan Younis is constantly shaking, and the doors make a banging sound as if someone is hitting them repeatedly with their fists.

I have given up on looking for any glimmer of hope that the war will stop and this pain will end. I stopped watching the news recently for fear of seeing scenes that make me feel even more afraid and restless at night. I don’t want to know anything about the ceasefire and hostage exchange negotiations because I’m starting to feel that there’s no point to any of this.

Elsewhere: