TheEconomistJanuary29th 2022 7
The world this week Politics
Russia moved yet more troops
close to its border with
Ukraine. Vladimir Putin’s
party claimed, without evi
dence, that Ukraine’s govern
ment was planning to attack
Russianspeakers in eastern
Ukraine, and appealed for Mr
Putin to lend them military
assistance.
Western diplomats warned
Russia of severe consequences
if it invadesUkraine. High
level diplomatic talks yielded
no progress in defusing ten
sions, and America and some
other countries told embassy
staff to leave Ukraine. America
and Britain sent more defen
sive equipment to help Uk
raine defend itself against a
possible attack. natobeefed
up its defences of member
states in Russia’s shadow.
America promised to help
Europe secure more gas, in
case Mr Putin decides to re
strict supplies.
An electoral college consisting
of 1,009 mps, senators and
representatives of regional
bodies set about choosing
Italy’s next president. The
process, which consists of a
series of secret ballots held
once a day, could go on for
some time. Though the presi
dent’s role is partly ceremoni
al, the post carries the respon
sibility of dissolving parlia
ment and appointing new
governments.
Stephen Breyer, one of three
liberal justices on America’s
Supreme Court, will retire at
the end of the court’s current
term. President Joe Biden will
nominate his successor, there
by maintaining the court’s
current 63 split between
conservatives and liberals.
Progressives had pressed
JusticeBreyer,aged83,tostep
downtoensurehisreplace
mentbya Democratcon
trolledSenate.MrBidenhas
promisedtonominatea black
womanforthevacancy.Britain’swaitfortheresultsof
aninquiryintopartiesheldat
theprimeminister’sofficeand
residenceduringcovid
lockdownsdraggedon.Police
arealsoinvestigatingwhether
thoseeventsbrokethelaw.It
emergedthatanotherbash
tookplaceinDowningStreet,
thistimeforBorisJohnson’s
birthday.SomeConservative
mps havesubmittedlettersof
noconfidenceinMrJohnson,
thoughnotyetenoughto
triggera leadershipballot.CarrieLam,HongKong’schief
executive,defendeda decision
tocullnearly2,000petham
stersafter severalina petshop
testedpositiveforcovid19.
Meanwhilemembersofthe
territory’sEuropeanchamber
ofcommercehavespeculated
thatthecitymaynotreopento
outsidersuntilearly2024,
accordingtoa reportseenby
Reuters.Citius,altius,coronavirus
Xi Jinping, China’s president,
met Thomas Bach, the presi
dent of the International
Olympic Committee, in a rare
facetoface meeting to discuss
how to maintain coronavirus
prevention policies during the
forthcoming Winter Olym-
pics. The games, which start in
Beijing on February 4th, are
testing China’s strict zero
covid policy, which is already
coming under strain from the
Omicron variant. Thailand became the first
Asian country to decriminalise
marijuana. The health min
ister said on January 25th that
the government would drop
the plant from its list of con
trolled drugs, allowing people
to grow it at home. Pakistan appointed Justice
Ayesha Malik to the Supreme
Court, the first time a woman
has ascended to that position.
Her appointment is noteworthy in a country where
only 17% of judges are women,
and only 4.4% of those in
higher courts. Lourdes Maldonado, a journal
ist, was shot deadin Tijuana.
The motive was unclear. She
was the third reporter to be
killed in Mexico this year. Most
such murders go unsolved and
unpunished. Mexico’s drug
gangs, which dislike investiga
tive scrutiny, pull strings in
many local governments.After repeated denials, the
Cuban regime finally acknowl
edged that it is holding mass
trials of 700 protesters, in
cluding some as young as 16.
People who took part in prot
ests last year against the com
munist regime have been
given unusually harsh sen
tences. Several activists were
also arrested ahead of a de
monstration in support of
political prisoners.Guatemala’s highest court
ruled that five former paramil
itary soldiers were guilty of
raping 36 indigenous women
during the civil war. The at
tacks took place in the 1980s.At least two people were killed
in Haiti, after a 5.3magnitude
earthquake hit the southwest
part of the country. The coun
try has suffered a string of
natural disasters. In August an
earthquake killed more than
2,000 people.Army officers seized power in
Burkina Faso, dissolving the
government, suspending the
constitution and deposing the
president, Roch Kaboré.
LieutenantColonel PaulHenri
Sandaogo Damiba took his
place. The coup threatens to
undermine efforts to fight
jihadists in the Sahel. Recent
military takeovers in neigh
bouring Mali, which were
supposed to restore order,
failed to do so.Lazarus Chakwera, the presi
dent of Malawi, dissolved his
cabinet after three ministers
were accused of corruption.
The shakeup came after Mr
Chakwera was accused byWeeklyconfirmed cases by area, mTo6amGMTJanuary 27th 2022Estimatedglobalexcessdeaths, m
With95%confidenceintervalSources:JohnsHopkinsUniversityCSSE;
OurWorldinData;UN;WorldBank;
TheEconomist’s excess-deathsmodelVaccinedosesgivenper100 people
Bycountry-incomegroup
14
95
172
181Low
Lower-middle
Upper-middle
High10
8
6
4
2
0
2020 21 22Western EuropeAsiaUnitedStatesOther5.6mofficial covid-19 deaths12.4 20.23.→Forourlatest coverage
pleasevisiteconomist.com/
coronavirusCoronavirus datachurch leaders of failing to
honour his campaign pledge
to fight graft.Eight people were killed and
50 injured in a crush outside a
football stadium in
Cameroon ahead of a football
match between the host and
the Comoros in the Africa Cup
of Nations.The Syrian Democratic Forces,
a Kurdishled militia,
regained control of a prison in
northeastern Syria that had
been seized by Islamic State.
The jihadist group freed hun
dreds of inmates, some of
whom are still on the loose.
Dozens of people were killed
in the fighting.An air strike that hit a
detention centre in Yemen
killed more than 80 people.
The attack was carried out by
the Saudiled coalition fight
ing the Houthi rebels in
Yemen. The Houthis respond
ed by launching missiles and
drones at the United Arab
Emirates, which is a member
of the coalition.