The EconomistJuly 25th 2020 5For our latest coverage of the
virus and its consequences
please visit economist.com/
coronavirus or download the
Economist app.The world this week Politics
After intense wrangling, the
heads of government in the
European Unionagreed to a
€750bn ($869bn) stimulus
package. The negotiations
were even more tricky than
usual, though the outcome was
hailed as a breakthrough. It is
the first time the euas a bloc
will issue bonds on a huge
scale to back stimulus, spread-
ing the fiscal risk among all
member countries.A long-delayed report into
Russian interference in British
political life was published by
Parliament’s intelligence and
security committee. The report
stated that the threat from
Russia was more embedded,
and has been a problem for
longer, than previously
thought. Russian interference
is seen as the “new normal”. It
said the government is playing
catch-up, especially in cyber-
espionage, in which Russia is a
“highly capable” adversary.Iran’spresident, Hassan Rou-
hani, said that as many as 25m
Iranians, nearly a third of the
population, have been infected
with covid-19 since the begin-
ning of the outbreak, and that
the situation is getting worse.
Restrictions have been
reimposed in many cities.Israelbanned indoor gath-
erings of ten or more people
and shut some businesses. The
country appeared to have
contained the coronavirus
earlier this year. Thousands of
Israelis protested against the
government’s handling of the
outbreak and alleged corrup-
tion by Binyamin Netanyahu,
the prime minister.The United Arab Emirates
successfully launched the Arab
world’s first mission to Mars.Its Al Amal probe is expected to
reach the red planet by next
February and then orbit it for
687 days (a Martian year),
gathering data about its atmo-
sphere. It is the first of three
international missions to Mars
this summer.Police in Zimbabwe arrested
Hopewell Chin’ono, a journal-
ist known for exposing corrup-
tion, after he published a re-
port alleging that members of
the government were involved
in corrupt deals for supplies to
fight the coronavirus.Mass protests continued into
their second month in Mali
after opposition activists
rejected attempts at media-
tion. Demonstrators are de-
manding the resignation of
Ibrahim Boubacar Keita as
president and the dissolution
of parliament. Mali has been
rocked by a brutal jihadist
insurgency since 2012.Violent incidents involving
jihadist groupsin Africa
jumped by 31% in the 12
months to June 30th, according
to the Africa Centre for Strate-
gic Studies, which is part of
America’s defence department.Brazil’sgovernment swore in
its fourth education minister,
Milton Ribeiro, an evangelical
pastor. Days later he and
another minister tested posi-
tive for covid-19.The Inter-American Commis-
sion on Human Rights, a
branch of the Organisation of
American States, asked Brazil’s
government to take steps to
protect indigenous groups
from the pandemic. More than
15,500 indigenous Brazilians
have been diagnosed with
covid-19 and more than 500
have died. The virus has
reached even remote tribes in
the Amazon rainforest,
brought in by health workers
and illegal miners.Matiullah Jan, a journalist in
Pakistan, was briefly abducted
in an attack that appeared to
involve police vehicles. Mr Jan
had poked holes in the
Supreme Court’s verdictagainst one of its own justices,
an unusually fierce critic of the
powerful armed forces.New Zealand’smain opposi-
tion, the National Party, elect-
ed Judith “Crusher” Collins as
its new leader. Her predeces-
sor, Todd Muller, lasted two
months in the job. An election
is due on September 19th.Xu Zhangrun, a Chinese law
professorwho was recently
detained by police for a few
days, was formally notified of
his dismissal by Tsinghua
University. Mr Xu is an out-
spoken critic of China’s leader,
Xi Jinping.America ordered the closure of
China’s consulatein Houston,
citing a need to “protect Ameri-
can intellectual property”.
China called it an “unprece-
dented escalation”. America
also added 11 more Chinese
companies to its blacklist of
those allegedly involved in
human-rights violations in
China’s western region of
Xinjiang.Donald Trump ordered the
deployment of quasi-military
federal officers to more Ameri-
can citiesto tackle a recent
increase in shootings and
homicides in areas that he has
described as being run by the
“radical left”, such as Chicago.
The deployment of federal
officers to Portland, however,
has failed to quell protests
there, and brought more de-
monstrators onto the streets.Congress considered measures
to remove the names of
Confederategenerals from
army bases, which Mr Trump
has said he would veto. Earlier
the Pentagon in effect banned
the display of Confederate flags
at military installations by
issuing a list of official stan-
dards that can be flown.Mr Trump denied a report that
he asked America’s ambassa-
dor in London to press the
British government to get the
British Openstaged at the
Trump Turnberry golf course
in Scotland, which would have
been lucrative publicity.CoronavirusbriefsTheWorldHealthOrganisation
reported new recorddaily
increases for global infections
and deaths.The spread of covid-19 acceler-
ated inAustralia; the number
of cases detected on July 22nd,
eclipsed the previous record.A quarter of Delhi’spopulation
has had the virus, according to
a government study.Argentinabegan easing re-
strictions it imposed in March
at the start of its lockdown, one
of the longest in Latin America.The Bahamasbanned most
tourists from entering the
islands either by air or sea.
Visitors who test negative from
Britain, Canada and the euwill
still be allowed in, though
Americans are by far the big-
gest group of visitors.With infections soaring in the
United States, Donald Trump
urged Americans to wear face
masks, calling it “patriotic”.Weeklyconfirmedcasesbyarea,’To 6am GMT July 23rd 2020Confirmeddeaths*
Per 100k Total This week
Belgium 85 9,808 13
Britain 67 45,501 382
Spain 61 28,426 10
Italy 58 35,082 65
Sweden 56 5,667 74
France 46 30,063 28
Chile 45 8,677 1,
United States 43 142,993 4,
Peru 42 13,767 1,
Brazil 39 82,771 6,
Sources: Johns Hopkins University CSSE; UN;
The Economist *Definitions differ by country6004002000
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