Time - USA (2020-02-10)

7

NEVER FORGET A guard tower at Auschwitz looms during a Jan. 27 ceremony to mark the 75th
anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi death camp in southern Poland, where roughly 1.1 million
people, most of them Jews, were murdered during World War II. More than 200 Holocaust survivors
attended the ceremony, along with heads of state and dignitaries. “Do not be indifferent when any
minority suffers discrimination,” warned Auschwitz survivor Marian Turski, 93.

NEWS

TICKER

Billions of

locusts swarm

East Africa

Kenya is suffering its

worst locust plague in

70 years, as an insect

infestation sweeps

across farmland,

destroying crops

meant to feed millions

of people. The U.N.

warned that the locust

population could grow

up to 500 times after

March rains unless

pesticides are quickly

deployed.

States sue over

3-D-printed-

gun rule

Twenty states and

Washington, D.C., filed

a lawsuit against the

Trump Administration

on Jan. 23 over a

federal rule change

they say will allow

schematics for

3-D-printed guns to be

posted online—where,

critics argue, they could

be used by anyone

to make untraceable

weapons.

Lawyer: Prince

not helping

Epstein probe

The U.S. Attorney

looking into possible

sex trafficking by

associates of Jeffrey

Epstein accused the

U.K.’s Prince Andrew

on Jan. 27 of offering

“zero cooperation”

to the investigation,

despite his promise

to assist. Andrew, who

is accused of having

sex with a teenage

trafficking victim,

has denied any

wrongdoing.

in The BaTTle over The nexT genera-
tion of telecommunications, China is win-
ning. On Jan. 28, British Prime Minister
Boris Johnson decided not to ban hardware
made by the market- leading Chinese firm
Huawei as the U.K. builds out its infrastruc-
ture for 5G wireless technology. The choice
was a blow to the Trump Administration,
which has waged a monthslong campaign
to persuade allies to shun Huawei—and just
lost its closest ally.

SENSITIVE TOPIC Although Johnson needs
a post-Brexit trade deal with the U.S., he
also promised voters a revolution in Inter-
net speed and coverage. His decision not to
ban Huawei—despite warnings of the risk of
spying by Beijing—reflects the importance
states are placing on the competitive advan-
tage in Internet infrastructure. Huawei is to
be limited to a maximum 35% role in the pe-
riphery of the U.K.’s 5G network, away from
“sensitive” sites like nuclear plants. But on
Jan. 29, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
still urged Britain to reconsider its decision.

RISKY BUSINESS In Germany, the same

trade-off between economic growth and

security is clear, with an added current of

fear over Chinese retaliation. (An estimated

900,000 German jobs depend on exports to

China.) “I don’t think we can quickly build

a 5G network in Germany without Huawei

taking part,” German Interior Minister Horst

Seehofer said on Jan. 18. And while new E.U.

guidelines allow members to exclude “high-

risk” 5G providers, they stop short of recom-

mending a ban on Huawei.

NEW ERA For the past century or more, the

cutting edge of technology has been domi-

nated by the U.S. and its allies. Now, thanks

to years of research and design subsidized

by the Chinese government, Huawei’s hard-

ware is cheaper and faster than that of its

rivals. That could have lasting effects across

the board for U.S. diplomacy. And as China’s

sway grows, the Washington- London link

is unlikely to be the only “special relation-

ship” to come under strain.

—Billy Perrigo

THE BULLETIN

Britain sides with China in

technology cold war