The world at aglance NEWS 7
21 March 2020 THE WEEKJerusalem
AboostforGantz:BennyGantz,leaderof
Israel’sBlueandWhite–acentristpolitical
alliance–hasvowedto“formanational
unitygovernment,asbroadaspossible,
withindays”,afterunexpectedlywinning
thesupportofaslimmajorityinthe
Knesset.Thisweekendhesecuredthe
backingof 61 outof 120 legislators,which
promptedPresidentReuvenRivlinformally
toentrusthimwiththetaskofforminga
government.Rivlinmaintainedthata
fourthgeneralelectionwassimplynot
possibleatatimeofnationalcrisisand
coronaviruslockdown.Thedevelopment
isadevastatingblowtoIsrael’slong-time
PM,BenjaminNetanyahu(thoughithas
resultedinthepostponementofhistrialfor
corruption),whosepositionhadappeared
tohavebeenstrengthenedafterIsrael’s
recentelection.
Pretoria
Travelbans:
Several African
nations,including
Kenya, Ethiopia,
Ghana, Tunisia
and Algeria, have
imposed far-reaching travel and other
restrictions inabid to curb thespreadof
thecoronavirus. So farthecontinent has
not been as badly affected by the pandemic
as Asia, EuropeorNorth America: there
haveonlybeen afew hundre ddiagnosed
cases and 14deaths.But healthexperts
fear potentially catastrophic consequences
if Covi d-19 takeshold acrossaregion
with relatively poorhealthservices. This
week,South Africadeclar ed astateof
emergencyand closedhalfits land border
crossings. It also banned foreign nationals
from eightaffected countries(including
the UK), closed allschoolsand outlawed
gatherings of moretha n100 people.Yokahama,Japan
Deathsentence:Aman
whostabbed19people to
deathin 2016ataTokyo
care homefordisabled
people, inoneof the worst
massmurdersin Japan’s
history, has been sentenced
todeathbyhanging.
Satoshi Uematsu, 30,
aformerworkerat the
home,hadpleaded not
guiltyon thegroundsof
diminishedresponsibility.
He’d toldthe courtthat
he carried outtheattack
in orderto ridJapanof
people withdisabilities.
Deathsentencesaren’t
thatunusual inJapan:
it typicallycarries
out ahandful
eachyear.Kidal,Mali
Hostagesfree:
ACanadian
woman and
an Italian man,
abducted 15
monthsago
in Burkina
Faso, have been
released safe
andwellint he
city of Kidal,
in th efar north of Mali.Édith Blaisand
herpartner Luca Tacchetto had been
travellingover landfromItaly to joina
hum anitarian projectin Togowhen they
were kidnappedin an area wherejihadist
militants have seized severalforeigners
in recent years.Althoug hnoone has
confirmed thataransom was paid for
theirrelease,the C anadian andItalian
gove rnments bothhaveahistory of
payingransomsto freehostages.Canberra
Virusmeasures:In an attemptto checkthe
spreadof Covid-19, bothAust ralia and
New Zealandarenow requiring all people
arriving in the country, including citizens
returning home,to self-i solatefor14days.
As of Wednesday,Aust raliahad only 565
cases and New Zealand20.Bothcountries
have take narangeofstrong measures,
including banning cruiseship sfrom
docking and deportingtouristswho fail
to complywiththe lockdown. Lastweek,
NZ cancelled anationa lremembrance
service to mark the first anniversaryof
theChristchurchmosque attacks.Beijing
Infectionrateslows:Thenumberofknowncases
ofCovid-19outsideChinasurpassedthosewithin
Chinalastweek–asdidthenumberoffatalities
(asofWednesday,Chinahadrecorded3,2 37
deaths).Indeed,therateofnewinfectionsappears
tohavesloweddramatically:therewere 21 new
casesonMonday,allbutoneofwhichwerein
travellersarrivingfromabroad.Infact,nations
acrossAsiawerethisweekpreparingtotacklea“boomerangwave”ofcases,astheir
citizenslivingabroadcomehometoavoidthepandemicinEurope,NorthAmerica
andtheMiddleEast.InTaiwan,the 24 newcasesreportedwereallimported.
YetBeijingremainshighlysensitivetoanyformofcriticismofitshandlingofthe
crisis.Aformertopexecutiveofastate-controlledpropertycompany,RenZhiqiang
(pictured),recentlypublishedanessaypointingtoa“crisisofgovernance”inthe
party,andcondemningitforitsfailuretotackletheoutbre aksooner.Hehasnotbeen
seensince.BeijinghasalsoreactedwithfurytoPresidentTrump’suseofthephrase
“theChineseVirus”.OnTuesday,itsaiditwasexpellingjournalistsworkingforthree
USpapersincludingTheNewYorkTimes.