8 NEWS The world at aglance

THEWEEK 17 July 2021

SierraCounty,NewMexico

Spacetrip:Thebillionaire

entrepreneurRichardBranson

successfullytravelledtotheedge

ofspacelastweek,onboardthe

VirginGalacticrocketshipthathis

companyhasbeendevelopingfor

17 years.Togetherwithtwopilots

andthreeothercolleagues,Branson

blastedofffromSpaceportAmerica

intheNewMexicodesert,returninganhourlater.“Ihave

dreamtofthismomentsinceIwasakidand,honestly,nothing

canprepareyoufortheviewofEarthfromspace,”saidBranson,

whoisthefirstcommercialspaceflight pioneertotesthisown

vehicle,beatinghisbillionairerivalsJeffBezosandElonMusk

(seepage 44 ).Hesaidhewashonouredto“testthecustomer

experience”anddeclared:“Welcometothedawnofanewspace

age.”However,therewassomequestioningastowhether

Bransonhadactuallyvisited“space”.Histripreacheda

heightof 8 6km.That’senoughtoexperienceweight-

lessness,butdoesnotcrosstheKármánline(some

100kmaboveEarth)thatisoftencitedasthe

boundarybetweenEarth’satmosphereandspace.

Chicago,Illinois

Gunviolence:ThemayorofChicago,LoriLightfoot,haspleaded

withPresidentBidenformorehelpandresourcesintacklingthe

city’sepidemicofgunviolence,followinganIndependenceDay

weekendthatsaw 18 peopleshotdeadinthecity–andatleast

another90injured.Fivechildrenagedunder 13 wereamong

thosewhosufferedgunshotwounds,ontheUS’sdeadliestand

mostviolentweekendoftheyearsofar.Accordingtodata

compiledbytheGunViolenceArchive,amonitoringgroup, 189

peoplediedacrosstheUS–and5 16 wereinjured–inshootings

overthethree-dayholidayweekendfrom3-5July.Thenumber

ofpeopleshotdeadintheUSroseto 4 3,555lastyear,andis

oncoursetohitanewrecordhighin 20 21.InApril,President

Bidenpassedanumberofexecutiveactionsrelatingtogun

controlmeasures,andinstructedtheDepartmentofJusticeto

published“model”legislationforindividualstatestoenact.

DeathValley,California

Recordheatwave:Thedevastatingheatwaveaffectingthewest

of the UShasseenDeathValleyinCaliforniarecord thehighest

daytimeaveragetemperature ever noted onthe planet.Last

Sunday,thetemperaturethereat dawnwasalready42°C,rising

to 53.7°C laterintheday,givinganaverageofjust over47.8°C

(118.1°F). LastFriday,the USNationalWeather Servicemeasured

thedaytimehighat FurnaceCreek inDeath Valleyat54.4°C

(130°F), equallingthe third-highesttemperatureeverrecorded

on Earth(atthesame spotin 2020 ).Several otherplaces in

Californiaand Nevadahavebrokenlocalrec ords, while recent

weekshave alsoseenrecord heatwaves inCanada,the US

northwest, ScandinaviaandSibe ria.Thisseries ofrareevents has

prompted climate scientiststoaskwhether theircomputer models

mayhave underestimatedthe dangerous effectsof climatechange.

Caracas

Opponent arrested:Venezuelanagentsarrested akey opposition

politician, Freddy Guevara, thisweekonsuspicio nof treason and

terrorismoffences. Guevara, 35, isaclose ally of JuanGuaidó,

the former nationalassemblypresidentwhohas bee nrecogni sed

by many countries (includingtheUKand US) as thecount ry’s

legitimatepresident.Guevarawaspardo ned lessthanayear ago

on chargesof instigating violence againstPresident Maduro’s

regime,but on Monday hiscar wasinterce pted on aCaracas

highway, andhe wastaken to prison.Guaidósaidthat

unidentified armedmen threatenedhimashetried to leave his

apartment in an efforttoa ssist Guevara.The economicand

security situation in Venezuela remainsdire.Last week, at least

people werekilledinclashesbetwee npoliceand g angs in Caracas.

Córdoba, Argentina

Golf championjailed:Argentina’s

greatestever golfer, Ángel Cabrera,

has beenjailed fortwo yearsfor

domestic violence.Cabrera, 51,wonthe US Open in

and the US Mastersin2009, andhad been competing until

last September. He wasfoundguilty by acourt inCórdoba of

assaulting, intimidating andharassingCeciliaTorres Mana, 37,

hispartner between 2016 and2018. Duringthe tri al,the judge

wasshownavideo cl ip in which Cabrera threatenedTorres

Mana,shoutin g“You’regoing to end up in thecemetery.”Two

otherwomen,includinghis ex-wife,havealsoaccus ed the golfer

of threa tening them.Cabr eraleft Arge ntina afterthe charges were

announcedlastautumn, but waslater extradited fromBrazil.

Havana

Rareprotests:Cubahasbeen

rockedbythebiggest anti-

government protestsforthree

decades–anoutpouring ofanger at

foodshortages,highprices and the

communist government’shandling

ofthe pandemic.Thousands of

people tookto thestreetsin a

waveofprotestthatbeganinSan

Antonio delos Bañoson Sunday,and spreadwithinhoursto

Havanaand othercities, fuelled bysocialmedia.“Thisistheday.

We can’ttake it any more.There is nofood,there isno medicine,

thereisnofreedom.They do not letusl ive. We arealready tired,”

aprote ster named Alejandrotold theBBC.Scoresofprotesters

have beendetained or disappeared.Thousandsof pro-government

supporters also tooktothe streets after President MiguelDíaz-

Canelwent on TV tourge people to“defendthe revolution”.