The Economist - USA (2020-11-21)

6 TheEconomistNovember 21st 2020

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The world this week Politics

Government forces in Ethiopia

said they had captured key

towns on the road towards

Mekelle, the capital of the

rebellious province of Tigray.

The civil war has spilled across

the border into Eritrea and led

to an ethnic massacre. The

government has resisted calls

for talks or mediation. Tens of

thousands of refugees have

fled into Sudan.

Russia said it would build a

naval base in Sudan, adding to

a “great power” rivalry that has

already seen the establishment

of American and Chinese naval

and air bases on the Red Sea.

Shooting broke out between

Moroccoand the Polisario

Front, which is fighting for the

independence of Western

Sahara, after rebel forces

blocked a key highway. The un,

which monitors a ceasefire,

called for restraint.

Egyptunearthed more than

100 intact sarcophagi and other

artefacts dating as far back as

2,500 years from the necropo-

lis of Saqqara, near Cairo. In

October the authorities re-

vealed dozens of other sealed

sarcophagi, most with mum-

mies inside, in the same area.

The un’s atomic watchdog

reported that Iranhad restart-

ed advanced centrifuges in-

stalled underground at Natanz,

a nuclear site. It also said that

Iran had more than 2,440kg of

low-enriched uranium, well

beyond the limit set by the

nuclear deal it signed with

world powers in 2015. Both

developments move Iran

closer to producing a bomb, an

ambition it denies. Donald

Trump reportedly asked his

advisers for options on

attacking Natanz.

America announced that it

would reduce its forces in

Afghanistanfrom 4,

troops to 2,500 by mid-January.

That will allow Mr Trump to

say he has ended America’s

longest war, but could have

dire consequences for Afghani-

stan’s stability. Troop numbers

in Iraqare also to be cut.

A report by the inspector-

general of Australia’sarmed

forces found that at least 39

people in Afghanistan had

been unlawfully killed by elite

troops in a culture of “blood-

ing” that treated killings as a

rite of passage. In some cases

weapons had been planted on

the bodies of the victims to

justify shootings. The report

recommended that police

investigate 19 former or current

soldiers.

Thailand’sparliament, one

chamber of which was

appointed by the leaders of a

military coup in 2014, rejected

the idea of curbing the powers

of the monarchy. At the same

time, the authorities used

greater force to disperse

protests in Bangkok against the

military-led government and

the monarchy.

Manuel Merino resigned as

Peru’spresident after five days

in the job. He took office when

Congress removed President

Martín Vizcarra. Mr Vizcarra’s

departure sparked protests and

a police crackdown in which at

least two people were killed,

prompting Mr Merino’s resig-

nation. He has now been re-

placed by Francisco Sagasti,

who is expected to serve until

after an election next April.

America’s Justice Department

dropped charges of drug-

trafficking and money-laun-

dering against Salvador Cien-

fuegos, a former Mexican

defence minister, so that Mexi-

co can investigate him.

Hurricane Iota, the strongest

storm ever to strike Nicaragua,

made landfall close to where

Hurricane Eta hit the country

this month. Iota is the 30th

named storm of the Atlantic

season. It is the first to strike

Colombia at category-five force

and has also hit Honduras and

El Salvador.

Most candidates supported by

Brazil’sfar-right president, Jair

Bolsonaro, failed to win office

in the country’s local elections.

Established politicians from

the centrão, a bloc of centre-

right parties, did well, in con-

trast with their performance in

national elections in 2018. The

president himself remains

popular thanks to big spending

on poor people.

Dominic Cummings, the chief

adviser to Boris Johnson,

Britain’s prime minister, left

his job amid a power struggle

at Downing Street. Speculation

swirled that Mr Cummings

leaked lockdown proposals

and briefed against his boss. A

master in the art of out-

manoeuvring the executive

(Mr Cummings was the strat-

egist behind the Brexit vote),

his uncompromising style

finally forced his exit. Sepa-

rately, Mr Johnson announced

the biggest boost to British

defence spendingin 30 years.

An agreement on a €1.8trn

($2.1trn) budget for the eu,

including a special covid-

recovery fund worth €750bn,

hit a new snag as Polandjoined

Hungaryin threatening a veto

because the package contains

provisions that require recipi-

ents to abide by eustandards

on the rule of law. But there is

still optimism that the deal will

be agreed to by the end of the

year, when the existing seven-

year budget expires.

In America’s election Joe Biden

was deemed the winner in

Arizona and Georgia, bringing

the final tally in his electoral-

college votes to 306 to Donald

Trump’s 232. In Georgia, one

county found 2,600 ballots it

had overlooked.

Still not conceding the race,

which hinders the smooth

transfer of power to Mr Biden,

Mr Trump sacked the official

overseeing cyber-security at

the election, who had contra-

dicted the president’s claim

that the vote was fraudulent.

Coronavirusbriefs

Thenumberofdeathsin

Americapassed 250,000 and

the tally of cases hit 11m. New

York City closed its schools

again. California’s governor

said he was “pulling the emer-

gency brake” on reopening.

South Korea, which has been

widely praised for bringing the

disease under control, tight-

ened social-distancing mea-

sures after reporting 200 fresh

cases for four straight days.

With growing pressure on

intensive care, Swedenlow-

ered the number of people who

can gather together to eight. In

Denmarkthe agriculture

minister resigned over the

recent order to cull 17m mink,

which had no legal basis.

The quarantine rules for

foreign poultry workers were

relaxed in Englandto ensure

there is enough turkey on the

table at Christmas. Stuffed in

their accommodation, they can

mix only with fellow workers.

Weekly confirmed cases by area, m

To 6am GMT November 19th 2020

Confirmeddeaths*

Per 100k Total This week

Sources: Johns Hopkins University CSSE; UN;

The Economist *Definitions differ by country

Belgium 129.6 15,025 1,

Peru 107.1 35,317 325

Spain 89.9 42,039 1,

Argentina 80.4 36,347 1,

Brazil 78.8 167,455 4,

Britain 78.5 53,274 2,

Italy 78.1 47,217 4,

Chile 77.9 14,897 264

Mexico 77.2 99,528 3,

Bolivia 76.0 8,875 57

United States 75.7 250,537 9,

2.

1.

1.

0.

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Europe

Latin America US

Other