8 NEWS The world at aglance
THEWEEK 12 September 2020
Lacey,Washington
Unrestcontinues:MichaelForest
Reinoehl(pictured),aleft-wing“Antifa”
protestersuspectedofkillingafar-right
demonstratorinPortlandtwoweeksago,
washimselfshotdeadbypolicelast
Thursday,exacerbatingtensionsinthe
city.Reinoehlwasshotasheleftan
apartmentblockinthetownofLaceyin
Washingtonstate;thepolicereportedthat
hehaddrawnaweaponastheymovedin
toarresthim.Reinoehl,48,anarmy
veteranandfatheroftwo,wastheprime
suspectinthekillingofAaronJ.Danielson,whowasshotwhile
takingpartinaright-wingcounter-demonstrationagainstthe
Portlandanti-racistprotests.Inaninterviewshortlybeforehis
death,Reinoehlclaimedhehadbeenactinginself-defence.
Portlandisoneofseveralcitieswheresometimesviolent
protestsareongoing.Newsthatamentallyillblack
mannamedDanielPrudediedafterbeinghooded
andrestrainedduringanarrestinMarchhasledto
riotinginRochester,NewYork;andtensionswere
mountinginLouisville,Kentucky.PresidentTrumpvowedtocut
fundingtocitieshedeemed“anarchistjurisdictions”,including
Portland,NewYork andWashingtonDC.Healsoordered
federalagenciestostopinvestinginracialsensitivitytraining,
labellingit “divisive, anti-Americanpropaganda”.WashingtonDC
“Losers”row:PresidentTrumphasangrilydeniedcallingfallen
USsoldiers“losers”,andinsistedthatheis“loved”bythetroops,
eveniftopmilitarybrassaren’tsokeen.Hewasrespondingtoan
articleinTheAtlanticmagazineallegingthathehadcancelleda
visittoaUSmilitarycemeteryinFrancein 2018 becausehedidn’t
wanttheraintomessuphishair–andthathe’dreferredtoWWI
soldiersburiedthereas“suckers”and“losers”.Thereport,which
citedfouranonymoussources,causedanoutcry,anddominated
electioncampaigningfordays.Trump’sformerchiefofstaff,John
Kelly,waswidelyrumouredtohavebeenthearticle’skeysource.
Separately,Trump’sex-lawyer,MichaelCohen,publisheda
memoirinwhichhecallsthepresident“acheat,aliar,afraud,
abully,aracist,apredator[and]aconman”withthementality
ofa“mobboss”.Thebook’stitleisDisloyal.SanSalvador
Gang “truce”:The ElSalvador governmenthas been secretly
negotiatingwith the leaders ofanotoriously brutalcrimegang
that the state regards asaterrorist organisation,itwas claimed
this week.Citin gofficialdocuments,the newspaper ElFaro
allegesthatthe governmentofPresident NayibBuke le granted
favourstojailed leaders of the gang,MS-13,in returnfor support
in e lections andareductionin the country’sviol entcrimerate .A
spokesman forBukele denied theclaims,which are beinginvesti-
gat ed by El Salvador’s attorn ey general. However, the murderrate
hashalved since Bukele cametooffice in 2019 .And it wouldn’t
be thefirsttimethe state has negotiatedwith acrime gangin
El Salvador.Atruce announcedin 2012led to adramatic f allin
violent crime;but it didn’tlast,and the viol ence shot up again.MexicoCity
Mammothfind:Theskeletons ofat least 20 0 mammothshave
beenunearthedat anairportconstruction sitenearMexicoCity,
makingit byfarthebiggest mammoth“graveyard”ever found.
Scientistshopethatthe discove ry,on theshoresofanancient lake
bedwhichwouldhaveattracted andtrappedthe creaturesinits
ma rshysoil,will help solve themysteryof the species’extinction.
HavingwalkedtheEarthforfivemillionyears,the lumbering
animalsallbutdisappeared around10,000 years ago(a few
survived longeronisolated Arcticisland s).The question is
whetherthey werekilledoffbyawarmingclimat eorhuman
hunters –or acombinationofthetwo.Thenew“mammoth
central”isabout 1 2milesfromthesiteofpreviouslydiscovered
mammothtraps–shallowpitsdugbyhumanstocatchthe beasts.LaPaz, Bolivia
Morales barred:ABoliviancourt
has confirmedthat theformer
president, EvoMorales, cannot stand
foraSenateseatinthe re-r un of electionsvoidedlastyear .A
leftist whowasinoffice for13years, Morales stooddownafter
his apparentattempt torigthe resultsof the2019electionled to
mas sive protests.The cou rt ruledthatheisineligiblefor office
becausehe is livinginexile in Arg entina.However, the favourite
to winOcto ber’selection is Luis Arce–his cho sensuccessor.Last
month, tens of thousandsdemonstrated against theright-wing
interim leader Jeanine Áñez.Shehad promised to beabipartisan
transitionalfigure, butthen started prosecuting Morales
supporters and announcedplans to standfor election herself.WashingtonDC
Academicexposed:Arespected historian
atGeorgeWashingtonUniversityknown
for her researchintotheAfricandiaspora
hasadmittedthatalthoughshepurported
to beablack New Yorker, she isin fact
a“whiteJewish”womanfromthe
suburbsof Kansas City.JessicaKrug
hadpreviously describedherselfas an
“unreformedchild ofthehood” who
was perpetually involvedin “thestruggle
for her community” in East Harlem.
But lastweek,she admitted shehad
assumed“identitieswithinaBlacknessIhadnoright to cla im”.
Reportedly, shewasabout to be exposed when shecameclean.©D
UKE UNIVERSITY PRESS