8 The EconomistNovember 16th 2019
1The world this week Politics
Unrest flared again in Hong
Kongafter a protester died.
Another was shot at close range
by a police officer, allegedly
while trying to grab his gun. A
man was set on fire by demon-
strators after remonstrating
with them. One senior officer
said society was on the “brink
of a total breakdown”. The
Chinese government said
Hong Kong was “sliding into
the abyss of terrorism”.China’spresident, Xi Jinping,
paid a visit to Greece, an im-
portant partner in the Chinese
Belt and Road Initiative, which
aims to improve global infra-structure. The two countries
said they would work to “over-
come any obstacles” facing a
Chinese state-owned com-
pany’s plan to upgrade the port
of Piraeus. Mr Xi promised
support for Greece’s campaign
to secure the return of the Elgin
marbles from Britain.India’sSupreme Court award-
ed the site of a mosque in the
city of Ayodhya that was de-
molished by Hindu zealots in
1992 to Hindus planning to
build a temple to the god Rama.
It also criticised the destruc-
tion. The government was
ordered to provide land nearby
for the construction of a new
mosque. The decision
prompted grumbles from
disappointed Muslims, but not
the violence many had feared.Gambia lodged a complaint
against Myanmarat the Inter-
national Court of Justice on
behalf of the oic, a group of
predominantly Muslim coun-
tries. They accuse Myanmar ofviolating theunconvention on
genocide in its treatment of
Rohingya Muslims.Cambodia’sprime minister,
Hun Sen, said he would release
70 opposition activists arrest-
ed in recent weeks. Under
pressure from international
donors the government had
earlier released Kem Sokha, a
prominent opposition leader,
from house arrest.All about Evo
Evo Morales quit as Bolivia’s
president after nearly 14 years
in office. The chief of the
armed forces had suggested he
leave following widespread
protests, which broke out after
Mr Morales’s victory in a du-
bious election on October
20th. Mr Morales accepted
Mexico’s offer of political
asylum. Jeanine Áñez, a politi-
cal foe of Mr Morales, took
office as Bolivia’s interim
president. She has said she will
hold fresh elections.Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva,
Brazil’spresident from 2003 to
2010, was freed from prison,
where he was serving a sen-
tence for corruption, after the
country’s highest court decid-
ed that people convicted of
crimes could not be jailed until
they had used up all their
appeals. Upon his release Lula
attacked the right-wing gov-
ernment of Jair Bolsonaro.Chile’spresident, Sebastián
Piñera, agreed to begin the
process of writing a new con-
stitution. But protesters who
are demanding reforms reject-
ed his offer. They want an
assembly of citizens, rather
than congress, to draft the new
document.Dangerous days
Israel killed a senior com-
mander of the Palestinian
Islamic Jihad group in Gaza,
setting off a wave of violence.
Palestinian militants fired
more than 150 rockets into