6 NEWS The world at aglance
THEWEEK2November 2019WashingtonDC
“Revengeporn”claim:Arising
staroftheDemocraticparty
resignedasacongresswomanthis
weekoverclaimsthatshehada
three-wayrelationshipwithher
husbandandafemalecampaign
staffer,andanaffairwithamale
aide.KatieHill,32,whois
openlybisexual,deniedthelatter
claim,whichwouldhavebeenabreachofHouserules.Butshe
admittedhavingarelationshipwithasubordinateduringthe
“finalyearsofmyabusivemarriage”,afteraright-wingwebsite
publishedintimatepicturesofherwiththe 2 4-year-oldwomanin
question.Shehasdescribedthepublicationofthephotosasa
violationofherprivacy,andvowedtofight“revengeporn”.WashingtonDC
“Lockhimup”:ThecrowdatabaseballgameinWashingtonDC
jeeredandbooedthisweekwhenavideoscreenbroadcastfootage
ofDonaldTrumpandhiswifeinattendanceattheWorldSeries
game.Anumberoffansthenstoodupand,turningtowardshis
seat,startedchanting,“Lockhimup!”–adeliberateechoofthe
“Lockherup!”chantsthatTrumpencouragedathisrallieswhen
hewasfightingHillaryClintonforthepresidency.Someofthe
demonstratorsheldup“VeteransforImpeachment”banners,in
referencetotheCongressionalhearingsintowhetherTrumpput
politicalpressureontheUkrainianpresidenttoinvestigatehis
Democratrivals.Thisweek,theUSNationalSecurityCouncil’s
Ukraineexpert,Lt.Col.AlexanderVindman,isreportedto
havetoldthehearingsthatkeyphraseshadbeencutoutofthe
transcriptofacallbetweenTrumpandhisUkrainiancounterpart.LosAngeles,California
Wildfirechaos:Astateofemergencywasdeclared
inCaliforniathisweek,followingdaysofwildfires,
whippedupbyfiercewinds,thathaveforcedmore
than185, 000 peopletoevacuatetheirhomes.The
firesdamagedpowercablesandledtoprecautionaryshutdowns
thatleftabouttwomillionpeoplewithoutelectricity,making
themthelargestplannedblackoutsinstatehistory.Themost
devastatingfire,the KincadeFire,ravagedavastareaofSonoma
County, whileanother majorfire raged closetothe GettyCentre
in northwesternLos Angeles,threateningsomeofthecity’smost
affluentneighbourhoods.Santiago
Presidentsacks cabinet as protestscontinue:Chile’s President
Piñera hassacked his cabinet and announcedarange of reforms,
in an attempt todefuse violent mass protests aboutincome
inequality and thehighcostofl ivin g. Last Friday, at least a
millionpeopl emarchedthrou gh thecapital SantiagoinChile’s
biggest demonstrationfor decades; andprote sts, someofthem
violent, were ongoing thisweek in several cities.Piñerainitially
ado ptedabelligerent response to the protests, sa yingChile was
“at war”withorganisedcrim inals, declaringastateofemergency,
and sendingtroopsonto th estreets.But hethen backtracked
rapidly, apologising forhis government’s“lac kofvisio n”,and
announcingaboost tosocialspendingpaid for by highertaxe son
the wealthy.Bogotá
Mayoralbreakthrough:TheColombian
capital,Bogotá,haselectedits first
female mayor,inwhatisbein ghailed
asanimportantadvance mentforboth
womenandLGBTrightsinacountry
longdominatedbymaleelites.
ClaudiaLópez,49, acentre-left
lesbianex-journalist, isananti-
corruption campaigner who wasbriefly
forced toleave Colombiasix yearsago,
afterexposingthelinksbetween
politiciansandright-wingparamilitaries.Herpartner isAngélica
LozanoCorrea,afellow GreenAlliancepolitician.Buenos Aires
Peronistsreturnto power:
Argentina’s leftist-populist
Justicialist Party,thePeronistparty
tha thas governedthe country for allbut si xofthe past 30years,
has sweptback to power afterfour years outof office ,witha
convincingwininlast weekend’s presidentialelection. Alberto
Fernández, 60,took48.1% of thevote, compared to 40.4%for
the incumbent,Mauricio Macri, follow ingacampaign dominated
by economic concerns. Fernández willbeswornintooffice on
10 December,with Cristin aFernández de Kirchner,whowas
presidentfrom 2007 to 2015,ashis deputy.Macricameto power
four years ago onapromiseto achieve“zer opoverty”;but the
country’s economic crisis only worsened during his administration.La Paz,Bolivia
Morales edges it:Evo Moraleshasclaimedvictoryinlastweek’s
Bolivianelection,andafourthtermaspresident,despitethepoll
beingmarred byallegations offraud.Accordingtoofficialresults,
Moralestook 47 %ofthevote,and the runner-up 36.5%–giving
himtheten-pointleadhe neededtoavoidasecond-roundrun-off.
However,the 24-hoursuspension ofthepublication ofthe
electronic count on polling day, atapoint whenitlookedas
though Morales was heading forarun-offagainst hisopponent,
hasraisedsuspicions that the final result was rigged, leadingto
violentprot ests. Moralesand theelectoralauthorities insisthis
win waslegitimate, but the Organisation of American States and
the EU havebackedcallsfor asecond roundof voting.