8 The EconomistNovember 7th 2020
For our latest coverage of the
virus and its consequences
please visit economist.com/
coronavirus or download the
Economist app.The world this week Politics
America’s presidential elec-
tionwas closer than the polls
had suggested. In the electoral
college Joe Biden won Michi-
gan and Wisconsin, two states
that helped hand victory to
Donald Trump in 2016; Mr
Trump took the key state of
Florida, and by a bigger margin
than in 2016. Mr Biden had the
edge in the vote-count, which
the Trump campaign chal-
lenged in court. When the final
results are tallied the Democrat
will have won the nationwide
popular vote by perhaps five
percentage points.Early results suggested that the
Republicans would retain the
Senate. The Democrats gained
two seats, but a Republican
took one back in Alabama,
defeating a Democrat who had
won a special election in 2017
after his rival was embroiled in
a sex scandal. Republicans
picked up several seats in the
House of Representatives, but
the Democrats kept a firm grip
on the chamber. Montana was
the only state to flip parties in
the 11governors’ races, switch-
ing to the Republicans.Among the state ballot initia-
tivesthat took place, voters in
Oregon approved laws that will
decriminalise the possession
for personal use of cocaine,
heroin and other drugs, and
legalise magic mushrooms for
mental-health treatment. A
new state flag was approved in
Mississippi to replace the old
one, which featured the Con-
federate emblem. The new flag
portrays a magnolia flower.Abiy Ahmed, the prime min-
ister of Ethiopia, ordered the
army to take action against the
northern region of Tigray,
whose leaders he accused of
attacking an army base. Ten-sions have been building
between the central govern-
ment and Tigray in recent
months and observers worry
that a civil war is brewing.While the world’s eyes were
firmly on America’s election,
governments in several African
countries arrested prominent
adversaries. Police in Uganda
detained Bobi Wine, a pop-star
politician, after he registered
as a candidate for the presiden-
cy. In Tanzania the police
arrested Tundu Lissu, the main
opposition leader. And in
Zimbabwe Hopewell
Chin’ono, a journalist who has
exposed corruption linked to
the ruling party, was seized.Officials in Ivory Coastsaid
that Alassane Ouattara had
won a third term in a presi-
dential election with 94% of
the vote, even though many
Ivorians boycotted it. The
constitution limits presidents
to two terms. His opponents
refused to recognise the result.Algeriansapproved changes to
the constitution that would
impose term limits on their
president and restrict his
choice of prime minister. But
the “Hirak” protest movement
dismissed the revisions as a
“façade” of change. Turnout
was low.A gunman with links to Islamic
State went on a rampage in
Vienna, killing four people
and wounding 23 before he was
shot dead by police. The atroc-
ity, which took place in the
centre of the Austrian capital,
follows a spate of other in-
cidents, including the behead-
ing of a French teacher near
Paris and the murder of three
people in a church in Nice.With covid-19 soaring in some
areas, Englandwent back into
a national lockdown. Non-
essential shops, pubs, restau-
rants, gyms and other public
places will close until Decem-
ber 2nd, but schools and build-
ing sites remain open. A gov-
ernment scheme that pays 80%
of wages for furloughed staff
was extended for another
month. Covid-19 restrictionswere also tightened in
Belgium. Family visits are
banned, and all non-essential
shops closed.Denmark decided to cull 17m
mink, fearing that a mutation
of the coronavirus that has
been found in the animals
could weaken the effectiveness
of a vaccine. Denmark is the
world’s largest producer of
mink skins.An earthquake in Turkeynear
the coastal city of Izmir killed
at least 110 people. Scores of
residents are still missing.Prosecutors in Rio de Janeiro
charged Flávio Bolsonaro, the
eldest son of Brazil’s president,
Jair Bolsonaro, with corruption
and money-laundering. He is
accused of taking some of the
salaries paid to aides when he
was a legislator in the state, a
practice known as rachadinha.
He is now a federal senator.Brazil’s space-research
institute said that the number
of wildfires in the Pantanal,
which contains the world’s
largest tropical wetland area,
reached a record high in Octo-
ber. The area is renowned for
its abundance of animal life.Typhoon Gonislammed into
the Philippine islands of
Catanduanes and Luzon with
winds of 225kph, among the
most ferocious landfalls ever
recorded; 20 people died and
25,000 homes were destroyed.Terrorists from the Afghan
affiliate of Islamic State
attacked Kabul University,
killing 22 students before
being shot by security forces.The government of New
Zealandannounced the results
of two referendums. Voters
opted to legalise assisted dying
but not marijuana.Police in Hong Kongarrested a
local journalist, Choy Yuk-ling,
who helped to make a docu-
mentary about alleged police
misconduct. Ms Choy was
accused of using a false pretext
to obtain details of car-owners
from an official database.CoronavirusbriefsAmericarecorded100,
new cases in a day.The number of daily deaths in
Italyhit its highest level since
early May. Hospitals in
Germanywere urged to post-
pone non-urgent operations to
make beds available.The Frenchhealth minister
said that in Paris one person
was becoming infected every
30 seconds, and hospitals were
admitting someone with the
disease every 15 minutes.Saudi Arabiaallowed foreign
pilgrims back into Mecca. They
must self-isolate for three days
and submit to frequent testing.Machu Picchureopened to
tourists after eight months of
shutdown. The majestic Inca
site is restricting visitor num-
bers; Peru has a high death rate
from the disease. An ancient
ritual marked the reopening,
along with prayers to the gods.
With luck they are listening.Weekly confirmed cases by area, ’To 6am GMT November 5th 2020Confirmeddeaths*
Per 100k Total This weekSources: Johns Hopkins University CSSE; UN;
The Economist *Definitions differ by countryBelgium 106.4 12,331 1,
Peru 105.2 34,671 414
Spain 81.5 38,118 2,
Brazil 75.8 161,106 2,
Bolivia 75.0 8,758 64
Chile 75.0 14,340 308
Mexico 72.3 93,228 2,
Argentina 72.0 32,520 2,
Ecuador 72.0 12,704 96
Britain 70.3 47,742 2,
United States 70.3 232,761 5,2,
1,
1,
500
0
NOSAJJMAMEuropeIndiaUSLatin America
Other