8 TheEconomistNovember 28th 2020
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virus please visit economist.com/
coronavirus or download the
Economist app.The world this week Politics
Federal forces in Ethiopiasaid
they had surrounded Mekelle,
the capital of the northern
region of Tigray, and were
about to attack the city to crush
a rebellious regional govern-
ment. They warned civilians to
leave or receive “no mercy”.
Ethnic clashes are exploding.
Non-Tigrayans are being tar-
geted in Tigray—perhaps 600
were massacred in one town.
Tigrayans are being singled out
elsewhere. Many have been
arrested. Tigrayan soldiers in
the national army have been
disarmed.Pre-election violence claimed
at least 45 lives in Uganda.
Bobi Wine, an opposition
candidate, was arrested yet
again. His supporters prot-
ested. Security forces shot
several of them.Israel’sprime minister, Binya-
min Netanyahu, travelled to
Saudi Arabiato meet Muham-
mad bin Salman, the powerful
crown prince. There was no
hint that the Saudi regime was
about to recognise Israel.
Rather, the meeting seemed
intended to warn Iran to re-
strain its nuclear programme
or risk a military strike, and to
hint to Joe Biden that the two
will oppose significant shifts
in policy on the Middle East.Iran released Kylie Moore-
Gilbert, a British-Australian
academic detained in 2018 and
convicted of espionage in a
secret trial. She was reportedly
swapped for Iranians arrested
abroad. Separately Iran said it
will soon execute Ahmadreza
Djalali, an Iranian-Swedish
doctor, convicted in an unfair
trial on charges that were
brought after he refused to spy
for the government.Nicolas Sarkozy, president of
France from 2007-12, went on
trial accused of corruption and
influence-peddling. He is
charged with having tried to
bribe a judge by promising
assistance for a promotion in
return for information about
an investigation into him.France’slower house passed a
bill that would make it illegal
to share images of police for
“malicious purposes”. This law,
if also passed by the Senate,
would make it harder to expose
police brutality. Brussels is
taking a look.Donald Trump at last directed
federal agencies to co-operate
with the transfer of powerto
Joe Biden. The president’s
refusal to do so had hindered
the flow of classified infor-
mation and other material to
Mr Biden. Mr Trump also par-
doned Michael Flynn, his first
national security adviser, who
had pleaded guilty to lying to
the fbiduring the Mueller
investigation. Mr Trump is still
contesting the election result,
without success.Mr Biden started choosing his
team, picking Antony Blinken,
who worked in Barack Obama’s
administration, as his secre-
tary of state. Avril Haines,
another Obama veteran, is to
be the director of national
intelligence; Jake Sullivan, a
former aide to Mr Biden, na-
tional security adviser. He also
created a new position of
special envoy on climate
change. The job went to John
Kerry, who signed the Paris
accord in 2015 as Mr Obama’s
secretary of state. In 2019 Mr
Kerry started an initiative to
hold politicians accountable if
they fail to reduce emissions.Joshua Wong, a prominent
activist in Hong Kong, was
remanded in custody after
pleading guilty to charges
relating to last year’s pro-
democracy unrest in the city.
Also detained were two leaders
of Mr Wong’s now-disbanded
political group, Demosisto:
Agnes Chow and Ivan Lam. The
three are expected to be sen-
tenced next month.Chinalaunched a spacecraft,
Chang’e 5, in the first attempt
by any country to retrieve rock
samples from the Moon in
more than 40 years. It is due to
return to Earth in December.Friendly governments and
other donors promised to give
the Afghangovernment $12bn
over the next four years at a
conference in Geneva. That
marks a decline from the $15bn
pledged four years ago.Authorities in Singapore
charged Jolovan Wham, a
civil-rights activist, with dis-
turbing public order for briefly
holding up a sign with a smiley
face on it. They maintain the
act was an illegal protest.Police in Thailandsummoned
12 of the leaders of ongoing
protests around the country in
connection with an investiga-
tion into lèse-majesté. The
protesters have called for
reforms to the monarchy.Thousands of Guatemalans
protested against the budget
passed by the country’s Con-
gress. Some set fire to Congress
itself. They were angry that the
budget included extra money
for congressmen’s meal allow-
ances but less for the judiciary,
malnutrition and health.
Congress backed down.Mexico’sSenate voted for a bill
to legalise cannabis for recre-
ational use. It would permit
users to have up to 28g of
cannabis and allow them to
grow up to four plants at home.
If the bill passes the lower
house of Congress Mexico
would become the third coun-
try, after Uruguay and Canada,
to legalise cannabis fully for
recreational use nationwide.Diego Maradona, one of the
best footballers of all time,
died, aged 60. Short of stature,
a dazzling dribbler and scorer
of marvellous goals, Mr Mara-
dona inspired Argentina, his
national team, to victory in the
World Cup in 1986 (with a bit of
help from his miraculous
“hand of God”). He also strug-
gled with addictions to cocaine
and alcohol.CoronavirusbriefsSeveralAsiancountries,
including Japan, Malaysia and
South Korea, reported an
increase in cases. In Japan the
government suspended a
campaign in some areas to
encourage people to travel.Some European countries
outlined plans to ease re-
strictions over Christmas. In
Britain three households will
be able to meet up over a
five-day period. France will
start reopening shops on
November 28th and most
other restrictions will end on
December 15th. Restaurants
will remain closed until Janu-
ary 20th, however. Germany
went in the other direction
and tightened its measures
until at least December 20th.The Australianstates of New
South Wales and Victoria
reopened their border. It was
shut in July, and flights be-
tween Sydney and Melbourne
cancelled, amid a surge of the
virus in Victoria. After a rigid
lockdown, it has reported no
new cases for several weeks.Weekly confirmed cases by area, mTo 6am GMT November 26th 2020Confirmeddeaths*
Per 100k Total This weekSources: Johns Hopkins University CSSE; UN;
The Economist *Definitions differ by countryBelgium 138.7 16,077 1,
Peru 108.2 35,685 368
Spain 94.2 44,037 1,
Italy 86.1 52,028 4,
Argentina 83.4 37,714 1,
Britain 83.3 56,533 3,
Brazil 80.3 170,769 3,
Mexico 80.3 103,597 4,
Chile 79.2 15,138 241
United States 78.9 261,038 11,2.
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