Hey, this is Sham Jaff, your very own news curator. Each week, I highlight some of the biggest stories from regions and countries that are historically underreported in "Western media". My goal is to burst our Western-centric bubbles, and expand the view we hold of the world. Questions, comments, concerns? You can reach me anytime by replying to this mail. And if this newsletter was forwarded to you, you can sign up at whathappenedlastweek.com.
Issue #406 is asking a blasphemous question, "Does the G20 even matter?" and goes deep into Somaliland politics (they have a new president). Other than that, a march for trans rights in Pakistan, Brazil's former president is finally indicted, researchers discovered a whole lotta stuff like the earliest known alphabetic writing in Syria and the youngest planet ever (just 3 million years old, lol). Plus, deep fakes in Indian politics, why leisure is a political (feminist) act, especially in South and Southeast Asia, a new coming-of-age dramedy about a gay love story starring Palestinian-Punjabi Bilal Hasna, and a dog that can sniff out really, really old humans. And so much more.
It's Black Friday-Week (I hope you got what you needed for a lot less). I've also got a special offer: If you want to become a paying subscriber–or a Very Important Potato (VIP), as I call them– sign up here. (€1.25 per issue if you're going for the monthly plan, or €0.95 per issue if you're going for the yearly plan).
Btw, I'll be talking about the newsletter and why I do what I do on December 3 with Méline Laffabry from aidóni. Sign up here if you're interested to say hi virtually.
That's it for now. See you next week?
Sham
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🔍 Estimated reading time: 10 min 🔍
You have access to all of my sources by clicking on what's underlined.
Big shout-out to Wikimedia Commons for the helpful maps.
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The G20 have a new plan to end world hunger, again
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What happened
The G20 summit just wrapped up on November 18–19 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The hot topics? Poverty, wars, and sustainable development. The big headline: the launch of a "Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty."
Refresher: The G20 started in 1999 to tackle global economic headaches. It’s mostly big players like the US, China, and Germany, plus some key regional stars like South Africa and Indonesia. Until last year, it was 19 countries + the EU, but now the African Union is in the mix. Leadership changes every year, and this year’s host was Brazil. Next year, South Africa takes the wheel.
Why this matters: Global hunger is rising again after years of progress. A recent report warned that if current trends continue, 582 million people could be living in hunger by 2030—the same number as 2015. This Alliance aims to change that trajectory, but can it deliver? TBD.
Tell me more
The Alliance isn’t about building a massive fund. Instead, it’s more of a matchmaker, linking countries with donors and resources to tackle issues like malnutrition, clean water, school meals, family farming, and early childhood care. Brazilian President Lula da Silva says 81 countries and international organizations are already on board.
Do these summits even matter?
Fair question. Critics often roast G20 summits as all vibes, no substance. But while some resolutions, according to some, evaporate faster than gas fumes (looking at you, billionaire tax promises), it’s not all fluff. For example:
- In 2008, G20 measures worth US$4 trillion helped stabilize the global financial system during the financial crisis.
- In 2020, the G20 rolled out a Debt Suspension Initiative, letting low-income countries hit pause on debt payments during the pandemic. Mixed reviews, but still something.
Bottom line: These summits can drive global change—if the big talk translates into local action.
Btw, the African Union just became a permanent G20 member. Before this, South Africa was the only African country at the table. Now, the AU represents 55 countries, 1.4 billion people, and a fifth of the planet’s landmass. This matters because Africa’s barely a blip in global emissions but bears the brunt of climate change, hunger, and pollution. With a seat at the G20 table, Africa can push for fair trade, debt relief, and climate action. Plus, its massive renewable energy potential makes it a key player in the green transition. UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric summed it up: “When global institutions were created, much of Africa was still colonized. This is a step toward fixing that imbalance.”
Fun fact: Even with the AU joining, it’s still the G20, not the G21. (Unlike the G7, which briefly became G8 when Russia joined—then went back after Russia was booted.)
What’s next?
South Africa takes over as G20 president in 2025, hosting the summit and steering the agenda. It’s a prime opportunity to put African priorities—like food security, debt relief, and sustainability—front and center. While Africa’s influence on the global stage is still growing, this could be a megaphone moment.
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Somaliland has a new president
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What happened
Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi is the new president of Somaliland.
Why this matters: Somaliland has not been officially internationally recognized as its own country. However, they declared independence from Somalia back in 1999 and have been doing their own thing since. Elections? Free and fair. Power transfers? Drama-free. They even have their own currency. Basically, democracy works here, and it’s pretty chill (no offense, Somalia). But here’s the kicker: because no one officially recognizes Somaliland as a country, its six million people have passport problems and zero access to international banking. The winner of this election might actually, once and for all, change the country's relationship status with the international community.
Fun fact: Like other unrecognized states such as Taiwan, Somaliland doesn’t fly a flag at the United Nations in New York. This is how their flag looks like.
Tell me more
This election finally happened after a two-year delay (apparently, they ran out of money, among other things). Abdullahi, also known as Irro, from the Waddani Party, crushed it with 64% of the vote, leaving President Muse Bihi Abdi (Kulmiye Party) in the dust with 35%. The economy’s in rough shape (youth unemployment is at a jaw-dropping 70%), and international recognition is still the ultimate prize. Both candidates made big promises, but Waddani’s playing it smart, pledging to give marginalized regions a voice. Meanwhile, Bihi’s administration got called out for, well, not doing that.
Btw, If Somaliland could vote in the U.S., they’d probably pick Trump. Not because they’re fans, but because some big-shot U.S. Africa policy folks from Trump’s first term have been vocal about recognizing Somaliland. Go figure.
Zoom out: Somaliland is the reason why Somalia and Ethiopia aren't getting along right now. In January, they told Ethiopia, "Hey, you can lease our land for a naval base (19kms of it) and use our Berbera port for trade." Ethiopia said, "Deal," offering stakes in Ethiopian Airlines and a maybe on recognition. Somalia? Not amused. They threw a diplomatic tantrum, expelled ambassadors, and even started flirting with Egypt (Ethiopia’s nemesis). But relax—experts say there’s no war coming. Somalia and Ethiopia have bigger problems, like fighting al-Shabaab in southern Somalia.
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Bad
Syria / Israel: Thirty-six people were killed and more than 50 others are injured in Israeli airstrikes in Palmyra. (Reuters)
Sudan: A year and a half of war has triggered a relentless countdown towards a total collapse in Sudan, as more than 20 million suffer from raging violence, deepening hunger, and forced displacement, Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) Secretary General Jan Egeland said at the end of a visit to the country last week. (NRC)
Iran: Everything's getting more expensive. Housing costs have soared 42% in the past year (even a government cap of 25% couldn’t stop rents from skyrocketing way past general inflation). Gas prices are also creeping up, energy costs are rising, and carmakers like Iran Khodro are jacking up prices by 30%, thanks to government-protected monopolies. One-third of Iranians are now below the poverty line, and with essentials like food becoming harder to afford, tensions are simmering. Economists are waving red flags, warning that higher fuel costs could ignite another wave of protests like in 2019. (Iran International)
South Africa: South African police have stopped food deliveries to some 4,000 illegal miners trapped in an abandoned gold mine, leaving their families pleading with the government for mercy. With jobs in official mines scarce, illegal mining has become a desperate way to make a living. (DW)
Belarus / Ukraine: Around 1,671 anti-war protesters in Belarus were arrested for showing solidarity with Ukraine as part of a crackdown on opposition under President Alexander Lukashenko. (AP)
Hong Kong: Hong Kong hears from jailed media tycoon Jimmy Lai for the first time in four years at his trial. He hasn’t been heard from since he was arrested nearly four years ago amid a deepening crackdown on dissent. The group known as the Hong Kong 47 include some of the city's biggest pro-democracy figures. They were charged in 2021 under a controversial national security law (NSL) imposed by China. On Tuesday, a court in Hong Kong sentenced 45 of them to jail terms ranging from four to 10 years. (CNN)
Haiti: Twenty-eight suspected gang members were killed by police and residents in Pétion-Ville, Port-au-Prince. (The Jamaica Observer) Doctors Without Borders announced it will suspend operations in Port-au-Prince indefinitely following rape and death threats from Haitian police. (DW)
Interesting...
India: Indian billionaire and Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani was indicted in the U.S. for his role in an alleged multi-billion dollar bribery and fraud scheme where he and seven others paid Indian government officials US$265 million to obtain contracts for Adani Green Energy. (Bloomberg)
Sri Lanka: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved a $333 million cash injection as part of Sri Lanka’s $2.9 billion bailout package, bringing total disbursements to $1.3 billion. While the country shows signs of recovery, the IMF warns there’s still a long way to go. (Al Jazeera)
Iraq: Iraq imposed a two-day nationwide curfew as it conducted its first national census since 1987. Last week, 120,000 researchers are gathering data from households across all 18 governorates, aided by the UN Population Fund. They also keep finding really, really old people – one is 137 years even, breaking global longevity records. (Al Jazeera, Iraqi News)
Global: Sir Isaac Newton, the scientist behind the theory of gravity, had financial ties to the transatlantic slave trade that historians are now reassessing, according to a new book, Ricardo’s Dream. (The Guardian)
Space: Scientists have found the youngest transiting planet ever observed, and it’s just a baby—a mere three million years old. To put that in perspective, if Earth were a 50-year-old adult, this planet would be a two-week-old newborn. The newly discovered exoplanet, officially named IRAS 04125+2902 b (but let’s call it TIDYE-1b for short), orbits a star 520 light-years away. (Smithsonian Magazine)
Global: At the COP29, rich countries have agreed to cough up at least $300 billion a year by 2035 to help tackle climate action. It’s a far cry from the $1.3 trillion developing nations were hoping for (and what experts say is actually needed), but hey, it’s a start. Optimists are calling this a step in the right direction, with fingers crossed for more funds down the road. (AP)
Hong Kong: According to the 2024 Billionaire Census by Altrata, the city still holds its spot as the second most billionaire-packed city in the world, with 107 ultra-wealthy residents. (Dimsum Daily)
Good
Brazil: Brazilian Federal Police indicted former President Jair Bolsonaro and 36 others for attempting a coup after he lost to Lula da Silva in the 2022 election. (AP)
Pakistan: The Sindh Moorat March for trans rights was held in Hyderabad on November 24, 2024. In Pakistan, the annual event has grown to become a cornerstone for the indigenous transgender population’s fight for equality, recognition, and justice. (Observer Diplomat)
Iran: No consequences for Iranian student that took off her clothes in public. (BBC)
Syria: Researchers have unearthed what might be the earliest known alphabetic writing on clay cylinders found in a Syrian tomb. These finger-length artifacts date back to around 2400 B.C.E., making them a whopping 500 years older than any previously discovered alphabetic scripts. (NDTV)
Mali: The International Criminal Court sentenced Malian Islamist militant and Ansar Dine member al-Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz to 10 years in prison on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in 2012 and 2013 in Timbuktu. (Al Jazeera)
Space: The European Southern Observatory announced that its astronomers in Chile captured the first close-up image of a star outside the Milky Way. (The New York Times)
Kuwait: Turns out, people have been into crafting and accessorizing for thousands of years. A team of Kuwaiti and Polish archaeologists just hit the jackpot at Bahra 1, a prehistoric site in Kuwait’s Subiya desert. They uncovered what might be the Gulf’s oldest jewelry workshop, dating back over 7,000 years to the Ubaid period (5500–4000 B.C.). (Archaeology Magazine)
Turkey: After more than a century of debate, researchers have finally deciphered a mysterious 2,600-year-old inscription on Turkey’s famous "Arslan Kaya" (Lion Rock) monument—and it’s dedicated to a goddess known simply as “The Mother.” (LiveScience)
Belize: Turns out, the ancient Maya weren’t the first to get creative with Central America’s landscape. Way before they built their temples, their predecessors were reshaping the Yucatan peninsula—4,000 years ago, to be exact. Thanks to drones and Google Earth, archaeologists uncovered a massive network of zigzagging earthen canals in Belize’s wetlands. These ancient waterways, stretching for miles, were designed for fishing and water management. (AP)
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Watch… "Is AI eroding democratic trust with deep fakes?", a TEDx talk by Nilesh Christopher, an award-winning technology journalist from India. (link to YouTube) In his TEDxNapierBridgeSalon talk, Nilesh Christopher (his website) breaks down how generative AI, especially deep fakes, is messing with democracy and trust in reality. What started as creepy, non-consensual celebrity content has turned into a global tool for political manipulation and disinformation. He shares examples from India and other countries where deep fakes have been used to sway elections, ruin reputations, and score political points. Christopher also talks about how hard it is to spot deep fakes, the ethical mess of using AI in politics, and the tricky balance between regulating AI and protecting creativity. His big takeaway? We need better tools to spot fakes and verify content without trampling on personal freedoms.
Read... "A Woman’s World: Creating spaces for joy, leisure, and resistance in South and Southeast Asia" by Mariyam Haider in collaboration with Khabar Lahariya for Kontinentalist (link to article). Have you ever thought about leisure as a political act? In South Asia, one of the most unsafe regions in the world for women, leisure isn’t just a luxury—it’s a battleground. Women face constant threats of gender-based violence in both public and private spaces, making something as simple as stepping outside for pleasure an act of bravery. Surabhi Yadav, an Indian social entrepreneur and founder of Basanti: Women at Leisure (Instagram), nailed it when she said, “Leisure is a feminist issue.” It exposes deep inequalities—who gets to afford it, who feels safe enough to claim it, and how much space women are allowed to occupy just for themselves. The 2023 long read on Kontinentalist explored this issue in depth, with local voices, surveys, and a focus on practical fixes. One key takeaway? Leisure for women isn’t just about fun—it’s about rethinking who gets to exist freely in public spaces. It’s about reclaiming what should’ve been ours all along.
Listen to... "A year of survival" by Al Jazeera's The Take podcast. (link to interactive site; the podcast episode is further below on the site). For years, Turkey dreaded The Earthquake. On February 6, 2023, it hit—twice. A 7.8 quake struck at 4:17 a.m., followed by a 7.5 nine hours later in Kahramanmaras. Over 53,000 people in Turkey and 8,400 in northern Syria lost their lives. Cities were flattened, leaving survivors to rebuild from nothing. The Take podcast talked to survivors, aid workers, experts, and refugees to hear their stories about navigating life one year later. But here’s the thing—they left out a huge part of the story: what’s happening in northern Syria. This area was already in survival mode before the quake hit. The city of Afrin has been under Turkish occupation since 2018, while Shehba, governed by AANES, is under economic siege by the Syrian government and hosts thousands of displaced people from Afrin. After the quake, aid was delayed, relief was blocked, Turkish attacks continued, and proxy militias reportedly stole supplies.For more, check out the Rojava Information Center’s detailed report—it’s eye-opening.
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As a queer Palestinian I So, "Layla" just hit UK cinemas last week. It’s a coming-of-age drama/comedy about a drag artist from a strict family who falls for Max, a guy stuck in a painfully boring corporate job. The film stars Palestinian-Punjabi actor Bilal Hasna (Instagram) and is written and directed by British-Iraqi drag performer and filmmaker Amrou Al-Kadhi (Instagram). The movie explores gender identity, sexuality, and the chaos of forbidden love, but with a refreshing take that feels hopeful, not tragic. Bilal gave an interview to GayTimes, and I loved how he explained what makes Layla so different. He talked about how most queer films are all doom and gloom—like, you’re destined to live a miserable life or die young. But Layla flips that. It imagines a world where queer joy and possibility are front and center. One thing he said stuck with me: “You cannot achieve anything unless you can envisage a world in which it is possible.” Such a beautiful way to think about imagination as a political tool. And when the topic shifted to being a queer Palestinian, Bilal said:
- “For years, the Israeli state has weaponized queer Palestinian identity to justify its occupation, framing Palestinians as backwards and incapable of liberation. But ask any queer Palestinian, and they’ll tell you: nothing kills queer Palestinians more than Israeli bombs.”
A story like "Layla" is such a breath of fresh air—queer joy, big ideas, and reclaiming narratives that actually feel like ours.
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There’s a new star in the world of archaeology, and she’s got four paws, a wagging tail, and a nose for adventure. Abby, a six-year-old chocolate lab, is sniffing out centuries-old human cemeteries in Virginia, USA, earning her the title of “barkeologist.”
What's not so "fun": Abby is looking for the 'cemetery' on a property in Hanover, also known as Rural Plains, a 125-acre farm that belonged to the Shelton family for 300 years. Archeologists believe enslaved people who worked for the family are buried on the land, but they do not know exactly where, or how many.
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Hey, I'm Sham, the person behind this newsletter. Since 2014, I email a bunch of strangers once a week, curating news headlines from Asia, Africa and the Americas. I work under the assumption that, here in the West (I live in Berlin, Germany), we don't read or know much about the global majority, aka the rest of the world.
My goal is to help you burst your Western-centric bubble.
If you want to know more about me, visit my website or follow me on Twitter or Instagram.
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This week's issue was supported by this newsletter's very first intern: Lucia Baumann.
"Having lived in both Brazil and Japan, I often find myself missing the news from those parts of the world. That’s how I fell in love with this newsletter. I’ve worked at local magazines and radio broadcast in Leipzig, as well as ZEIT ONLINE and dpa (German Press Agency). My academic background is in cultural studies and history, where I researched how societies commemorate their past, using literature, film and audio material. Currently rehabilitating my Portuguese and studying colonial history in Lisbon." (Photo credits: Elias Schulz)
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