The Economist (2022-02-26) Riva

8 TheEconomistFebruary26th 2022
The world this weekPolitics

After months of denying any

such intention, Vladimir

Putin, Russia’s president,

launched an invasion of

Ukraine. Russian troops ap-

pear to have entered the coun-

try not only from Russia itself,

but also from Belarus and the

Crimea, a Ukrainian territory

seized by Russia in 2014. Rus-

sian aircraft and missiles

struck targets across the coun-

try, including near the capital,

Kyiv. Russian forces advanced

on Kharkiv, the second city,

and Mariupol, a strategic port.

Mr Putin said he was seeking

to “de-Nazify” Ukraine. The

Ukrainian government de-

clared martial law. It claimed

to be holding back Russian

forces in several parts of the

country. Large traffic jams

formed as civilians tried to flee

Kyiv and other cities. Airlines

were warned not to fly over the

country. The scale of casualties

was not immediately apparent.

Mr Putin’s attack was immedi-

ately condemned by Western

countries. Joe Biden said that

America would impose swift

and severesanctionson

Russia. Ursula von der Leyen,

the president of the European

Commission, promised the

same on the eu’s behalf. It is

time “to up the pain level”, said

Mark Warner, the chairman of

the Senate Intelligence

Committee. nato, the g7 and

the euall called emergency

summits of their leaders. Even

before the invasion, Germany

had suspended the process of

starting up Nord Stream 2, an

undersea pipeline intended to

carry gas from Russia to

Germany, deliberately

bypassing Ukraine.

In response to the Russian

invasion of Ukraine, Estonia

invoked a clause of the nato

treaty for members under

threat. The alliance said it was

deploying extra troops to

eastern Europe to bolster its

members’ defences. Mr Putin

threatened “consequences that

you have never faced in your

history” for anyone attempting

to interfere in the war.

The Israelijustice ministry

found no evidence that the

police bypassed judicial over-

sight and hacked the mobile

phones of civilians. Israel’s

attorney-general had ordered

the investigation after a news-

paper claimed the police spied

on activists, businessmen and

politicians.

A chemical explosion at a

small-scale gold mine in

Burkina Fasokilled 59 people.

The number of artisanal and

small gold mines in west

Africa is growing rapidly, but

few are regulated.

Six African countries—Egypt,

Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, South

Africa and Tunisia—will

receive the technology needed

to produce mrnavaccines in a

project established by the

World Health Organisation.

Britain’s prime minister, Boris

Johnson, announced an end to

all domestic covid-19 restric-

tions in England, including

self-isolation for the infected

(except for health staff). Some

rules on travel remain in force.

America’s Supreme Court

agreed to hear the case of a web

designer in Colorado who does

not want to offer marriage-

related services to gay couples

on religious grounds. Four

years ago the court sided with

a baker who refused to make a

wedding cake for a same-sex

couple, but the ruling was

narrowly tailored to the

specifics of that lawsuit.

Canada’scapital was cleared

after three weeks of protests.

Nearly 200 people were arrest-

ed and scores of trucks were

towed from downtown Ottawa.

The self-styled “freedom con-

voy” had begun as a backlash

against vaccine-mandate

rules, but broadened into

general anti-government

discontent. Several civil-liber-

ties groups have threatened to

take the government to court

over its use of an emergency-

powers law to remove the

protesters, even though those

powers were quickly repealed.

Colombia’sconstitutional

court decriminalised abor-

tions in the first 24 weeks of

pregnancy. The decision, in a

5-4 vote, brings the country in

line with Mexico, which

decriminalised abortions last

year, and Argentina, which has

legalised them. Until now

abortions in the deeply Catho-

lic country were only allowed

in limited circumstances, such

as rape, and most women had

little recourse to them.

The death toll from the recent

flooding and landslides in the

Brazilian hill town of Petrópo-

lis, just north of Rio de Janeiro,

rose to at least 200. Around 50

other people are still missing.

Imran Khan, the prime min-

ister of Pakistan, offered to

hold a televised debate with

Narendra Modi, his counter-

part in India. He hopes this

would help resolve some of the

issues that have bedevilled re-

lations between two countries,

such as Kashmir. The Pakistani

government has signalled that

it would like to start a dialogue

with India on trade. Mr Khan

flew to Moscow to meet Vladi-

mir Putin this week to discuss

economic co-operation.

A protest in Kathmandu

against a $500m aid grant from

America to Nepalturned viol-

ent. Police fired rubber bullets

and tear-gas to disperse the

crowd. Communist parties in

the coalition government

claim the grant has strings

attached that will limit Nepali

sovereignty.

The American Justice Depart-

ment said it was ending the

China Initiative, a contentious

Trump-era effort to fight

Chinese security threats, that

critics said unfairly targeted

professors of Asian descent. A

senior official said the agency

would introduce a broader

Weeklyconfirmed cases by area, m

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coronavirus

Coronavirus data

strategy to counter threats

from hostile nations, to in-

clude countries like Russia

and North Korea.

The chief executive of Hong

Kong, Carrie Lam, ordered the

compulsory testing of all 7.4m

people in the territory as it

fights a surge in covid infec-

tions. Residents will have to

undergo three rounds of tests

starting in mid-March. While

other countries are starting to

live with the disease, China

has stuck to a “zero covid”

policy, yet the Omicron

variant has overwhelmed

Hong Kong’s hospitals.

There were tearful reunions

in Australiaas it reopened its

international borders for the

first time in two years. The

country imposed a strict

travel ban in March 2020

because of covid. Australians

and some others were allowed

to return from late last year,

but most foreigners could not.

Vaccinated visitors will no

longer need to quarantine.

Australia is now looking to

rebuild its tourist industry.