8 The EconomistSeptember 28th 2019
1The world this week Politics
Donald Trumpasked the
Ukrainian president, Volody-
myr Zelensky, to “do us a
favour” and investigate the
business dealings of Joe
Biden’s son in Ukraine, accord-
ing to the rough transcript of a
phone conversation they had
in July. The White House re-
leased the transcript after it
emerged that Mr Trump’s
attempt to lean on a foreign
power to discredit the front-
runner among Democratic
presidential candidates had
formed the basis of a
whistle-blower’s complaint to
the intelligence services. After
months of warning her partyabout the unintended conse-
quences of trying to impeach
Mr Trump, Nancy Pelosi, the
Democratic Speaker, an-
nounced that the House would
start an impeachment inquiry.The Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change reported
that theworld’s oceansand
frozen regions have been
“taking the heat” from climate
change, and that the “conse-
quences for nature and
humanity are sweeping and
severe”. Meanwhile, roads were
closed on the Italian side of
Mont Blanc as experts warned
that part of a glacier could
collapse.Back to the drawing board
Britain’sSupreme Court ruled
unanimously that Boris John-
son, the prime minister, acted
unlawfully when he advised
the queen to prorogue Parlia-
ment. The court concluded
that suspending Parliament
would have limited “withoutreasonable justification”mps’
ability to hold the government
to account. Mr Johnson faced
calls to resign from other party
leaders. He said that only a
general election could provide
a way out of the Brexit fog.Interior ministers from fiveeu
countries, including France,
Germany and Italy, agreed to a
temporary arrangement for
sharing outmigrantsrescued
in the Mediterranean. The
governments are pushing for a
wider deal involving moreeu
countries, but that will be
much harder to achieve.Braving the streets
Hundreds of Egyptians in
Cairo and other cities protested
against the government. They
were motivated, in part, by
videos posted online by
Muhammad Ali, a disgruntled
businessman and former actor,
who accuses the government
of corruption. (Mr Ali lives in
self-imposed exile in Spain.)The authorities arrested hun-
dreds of people, hoping to
prevent more unrest.A week after a parliamentary
election in Israel produced no
clear winner, Binyamin Netan-
yahu, the prime minister, was
given the first shot at forming a
government. He has been
talking to Benny Gantz, his
main rival, about forming a
national-unity government.Britain, France and Germany
joined America in blaming
Iran for attacks on Saudi oil
facilities. Meanwhile, Iran
lifted a detention order on a
British-flagged oil tanker held
since July. But an ongoing
investigation of “some of its
violations” prevented the ship
from leaving Iran.Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, a
former president of Tunisia,
died. Ben Ali led Tunisia for 23
years, keeping the country
stable. But he was criticised for
his oppression and corruption.