The Economist - UK (2021-11-20)

8 TheEconomistNovember20th 2021
The world this week Politics

America’spresident, Joe

Biden, held talks by video link

with his Chinesecounterpart,

Xi Jinping. It was the closest

thing to a meeting between the

two men since Mr Biden took

office in January. Mr Xi told Mr

Biden that he was ready to

“take active steps” to improve

relations between China and

America. Mr Biden called for

co­operation “where our

interests intersect”, including

on climate change. America’s

national security adviser, Jake

Sullivan, said the two leaders

had agreed to “look to begin to

carry forward discussions on

strategic stability”. He

appeared to mean that Amer­

ica and China would explore

talks on nuclear­arms control. 

A court in Hong Kong

sentenced Ma Chun­man to

nearly six years in prison for

violating the territory’s nation­

al­security law by chanting

slogans calling for the territo­

ry’s independence. Mr Ma is

widely known as Captain

America because he held a

shield like the superhero’s at

protest rallies. 

Russiaconducted an anti­

satellite missile test that blew

up one of its own satellites.

The debris it created forced the

crew of the International Space

Station to take refuge in safety

capsules. Worldwide

condemnation followed.

At least 2,000 migrants

remained trapped at the Bela-

rus-Poland border.eucoun­

tries have managed, however,

to persuade several airlines to

stop ferrying people from the

Middle East to Belarus, where

they have been lured by the

Belarusian dictator’s false

promise that they will be given

refuge in the West.

Spookedbyrisingcovid­

hospitalisations,Austria

introduceda lockdownfor

anyoneovertheageof 12 who

hasnotbeenfullyvaccinated.

About2mpeopleareaffected.

Austriahasoneofthelowest

vaccinationratesinwestern

Europe.Germanyisconsider­

ingnewrestrictions;inSaxony

theunvaccinatedhavealready

beenbarredfromnon­essen­

tialshopsandotherlocations.

Aftera lengthyinvestigation,

theManhattandistrictat­

torney’sofficemovedtoexon­

eratetwoofthemenconvicted

ofassassinatingMalcolmXin

1965.Thedafoundthatprose­

cutors,thefbiandthepolice

withheldevidencethatwould

haveacquittedthetwomen,

whowerereleasedinthe1980s

(onehassincedied).A third

manconfessedtothemurder

andspent 45 yearsinprison.

AnAmericanjournalistwas

releasedfromjailinMyanmar

on“humanitariangrounds”,a

fewdaysafterhehadbeen

sentencedto11 yearsfor

unlawfulassociationand

othercharges.DannyFenster

isoneoftheluckyones.Doz­

ensofBurmesejournalists

havebeendetainedsincethe

militarycoupinFebruary.

November30thwassetasthe

datefortheverdictinthe

closed­doortrialofAungSan

SuuKyi, Myanmar’sdeposed

leader,ona rangeofcharges

includingcorruptionand

breakingsecrecylaws.The

rulingjuntahasalsolaidnew

chargesagainstMsSuuKyiof

fraudinlastyear’sgeneral

election,whichherpartywon.

It’sa familiesaffair

Sara Duterte, the daughter of

the president of the Philip-

pines, Rodrigo Duterte, an­

nounced her candidacy for

vice­president, disappointing

her father who had hoped she

would run to be his successor.

In the election, due in May, she

will be allied with Ferdinand

Marcos junior, the son of a

former dictator, who is run­

ning for president (the vice­

president is elected separate­

ly). The late Marcos senior was

overthrown in 1986 amid huge

“People Power” protests.

Saif al­Islam Qaddafi, a son of

the Libyandictator who was

toppled and killed in 2011,

registered as a candidate for

next month’s presidential

election. He is wanted on

charges of war crimes by the

International Criminal Court. 

A government panel found

that the Nigerianarmy shot

dead at least 11 peaceful prot­

esters in Lagos last year. The

victims were taking part in a

rally against police brutality.

The finding contradicts the

government’s claim that no

massacre occurred.

At least 53 people were killed

when jihadists attacked a

security post in Burkina Faso.

On the other side of Africa four

people were killed and many

more wounded by two suicide­

bombings in Kampala, the

capital of Uganda; an affiliate

of Islamic State claimed

responsibility for that attack. 

Cuba’sgovernment arrested

and threatened dissidents

ahead of a planned nationwide

“civic march for change” in the

communist state, thereby

suppressing the protest.

Dissidents had hoped to match

big demonstrations in July.

Hundreds were arrested then. 

Argentina’sruling Peronists

lost control of the Senate for

the first time since 1983. In

mid­term elections the oppo­

sition won 42% of the national

vote compared with 34% for

the Peronists. This was seen as

a rebuff to the leftist­populist

vice­president, Cristina Fer­

nández de Kirchner. The re­

sults might help the not­so­

populist president, Alberto

Fernández, strike a deal with

the imfover a debt of $43bn.

Sixty­eight inmates were killed

amid gang warfare in a prison

in Guayaquil, a city in Ecua-

dor. In September 119 convicts

were killed in the same jail.

The heads of Ecuador’s prisons

and its armed forces resigned

after the latest violence.

Weeklyconfirmed cases by area, m

To6amGMTNovember 18th 2021

Estimatedglobal excess deaths, m

With95%confidence interval

Sources:JohnsHopkinsUniversityCSSE;

OurWorldinData;UN;WorldBank;

TheEconomist’s excess-deathsmodel

Vaccinedosesgivenper100 people

Bycountry-incomegroup

7

65

138

144

Lowincome

Lower-middle

Upper-middle

Highincome

3

2

1

0

2020 2021

Western

Europe

UnitedStates Asia

Other

5.1mofficial covid-19 deaths

10.7 17.20.

→Forourlatest coverage

pleasevisiteconomist.com/

coronavirus

Coronavirus data

Somethingforeveryone

The cop26conference on

climate change came to an

end. The final agreement

called for further pledges to

reduce emissions next year to

try to put the world on track to

limit warming to 1.5°C. There

were side­deals on methane,

forestry and cars. Rich coun­

tries promised, again, to

provide more aid to poor ones

to adapt their economies, but

a plan to compensate devel­

oping countries for the im­

pact of global warming was

stalled. India led a push to

water down a commitment to

end coal power. 

Nine members of Insulate

Britain, a green protest group,

were jailed for three to six

months for defying court

injunctions not to block busy

roads. The group’s zealous

tactics have made life even

more miserable for London’s

already frustrated drivers. The

judge said there was no

alternative to prison for the

nine, given their intention to

keep flouting the injunctions.