6 NEWS The world at aglance
THEWEEK 21 March 2020WashingtonDC
Trillion-dollarboost:President
Trumpdramaticallystepped
uptheUSresponsetothe
coronaviruscrisisthisweek,
tellingAmericansnottomeet
ingroupsofmorethanten,and
announcingavasteconomic
stimuluspackageforbusiness
andhouseholds.DuetoberushedthroughCongress,thepackage
includesdirectcashpaymentstoallbutthehighestearners,and
asmuchas$1trnincorporatebonds(governmentloansto
businesses).ThemeasureswerepromptedbyreportsthattheUS
isalreadyenteringarecessionasaresultofthecoronavirus,and
recentmodellingwhichfoundthatwithoutfurtherintervention,
between 200 ,000and 1 .7millionAmericanscoulddiefromit.
Thevirusisnowinall 50 USstates,andmanyofthemhave
imposedtheirownrestrictions.Allthecasinoswereshutin
LasVegasthisweek;inpartsofCalifornia’sBayArea,
allresidentshavebeenorderednottoleavetheirhomes
forthreeweeks,otherthanforessentialerrands;and
NewYork isexpectedtofollowsuit.ByWednesday,
116 deathsintheUShadbeenattributedtothevirus.WashingtonDC
Bidentightenshisgrip:TheDemocratprimaryracewas
interruptedthisweekwhenvotinginOhiowassuspendedon
publichealthgrounds.Severalstatesduetovoteinthecoming
weeksalsoannouncedpostponements.However,threestates–
Florida,IllinoisandArizona–pressedaheadwiththisweek’s
vote,deliveringbigwinsforJoeBiden,whoisnowthebookies’
overwhelmingfavouritetowinthe2 020 Democraticnomination.
TheirsecondfavouriteisHillaryClinton(althoughsheisnot
running);BernieSandersisthird.LastSunday’sTVdebate
betweenBidenandSanderswasthefirstsucheventtobeheld
withoutalivestudioaudiencesince 1976 .Thetonewasnotably
friendly,andtheeventwasdominatedbydiscussionaboutthe
publichealthemergency.Bothmenhavenowintimatedthey
wouldpickawomanastheirrunningmate.Managua
Exodus:In the past twoyears, morethan100,0 00 Nicaraguans
have fled their homeland to escape violenceand persecutionby
Daniel Ortega’s left-winggovernment, according toanew UN
report. In thespring of 2018,awave of demonstrationsand
violentprotests againstthe Ortega government was brutally
repressed bypolice and armedpro-government groups; some
300 people were killed,andhundreds detained. But the UN High
Commissioner forRefugees saysthateven afte rthe init ial violence
subsided,Nica raguanstudents,human rights activists, journalists
andfarmers continued to leave “atanaverage rate of 4,
people everymont h” –and the agency expectsthatnumberto
grow.The majorityoft hemhave foundrefugeinCosta Rica.Seattle,Washington
Vaccinetrialsprogress:Thefirsttrialonhumansofavaccine
against thecoronavirusthatcauses Covid-19hasbegunin Seattle.
However,it willtakeatleast 12monthstoestablishwhetherthe
jab–or anyofthe othersbeinginvestigatedaround the world
–iseffectiveand safe.Thepubliclyfunded trial, whichinvolves
fourvolunteers,isofavaccine which, unlike most, hasnot
beenproduced from aweakenedorinactivated virus.Instead,
it containsasegmentofgeneticcodecopiedfromthevirus:
scientistshopethisharmlessstrandwillprimethe humanbody
tofight offthevirus.Separately,reports that President Trumphad
offered aGerman firm,CureVac, asumintheregionof$1bnfor
exclusiverightstoaCovid-19vaccineitisworkingon sparked
anger inBerlin.Thecompanyhascategoricallydenied thatsuch
arequest wasevermade, butthereportsintensified concerns that
thelong-standingtransatlanticalliancehascrumbled.Santiago
Early lockdown:Several Latin
Americancountr iesintroduced
drastic restrictionson movement
this week inan attemptto stop
Covid-19 spreadingatthe ra te seen
in Europe andtheUS. Chile closed itsborde rs afte rcases more
than doubledto155; Peru closedits borders andtoldeveryone to
self-isolatefor 15 days;Venezuela,alread ysuffer ingfrom years of
economic turmoil,wasput under quarantineafter casesdoubled
overnightto 33. In Brazil,the mos tpopulousand wor st affected
nation, with around290cases,scho olsand universitiesinmajor
citieshavebeentold to close. Although theregi on’s i nfrastructure
is relatively weak,there arehopes SouthAmerica will avoidthe
worstof thepandemic, owingtoits youthful population,low
populationdensi ty andwarm summer temperatures.Alexandria,Virginia
Manningfreed:ChelseaManning,
theformerUSarmyintelligence
analyst wholeaked hundredsof
thousandsof secretdocumentsto
WikiLeaks,has beenreleasedfrom
prison,butwillstillhave topay
$256,000 incourtfines. Manning,
32,was jailed last Mayforrefusing
togiveevidencetoagrand jury
hearingrelatedtothe activitiesofWikiLeaksfounderJulian
Assange. However, last weekaVirginia court ruledthat,asthe
grandjuryhad sincebeen disbanded, therewas nolonger any
“coercive purpose” to keeping herin ja il.She wasreleasedaday
after herthirdsuicide attempt. In 2013, Manning wassentenced
to 35 years in prisonfor leaking thedocuments, butshe was
releasedin 2017, whenher term wascommutedbyBarack
Obama,just beforehel eftoffice.