February 20, 2021
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A winter storm that covered three-quarters of the Americas’ lower 48 in snow brought chaos to the southern states. A federal emergency was declared in Texas;; Temperatures dropped to -19 ° C in Dallas. Millions of Texans were without electricity, as were tens of thousands in other states. Many blamed obsolete energy networks for not being able to cope with the surge in electricity demand. See article.
Donald Trump‘s The impeachment proceedings for “inciting insurrection” ended quickly. 57 Senators, including seven Republicans, agreed that he had whipped the mob that stormed Congress on January 6th. The vote, however, missed the two-thirds majority required in the Senate to convict the former president. See article.
Mario Draghi was sworn in as Italy Prime Minister who has the support of almost every major political party in the country. The former head of the European Central Bank named a new cabinet in which many of the key positions will be filled by technocrats like him. Its job is to develop a reform plan that can free up more than EUR 200 billion (US $ 240 billion) in EU funds to recover funds. See article.
England imposed its first £ 10,000 (US $ 13,900) fines on travelers who broke strict novelties quarantine Rules after returning from a “red list” of 33 countries. Confusingly, the rules are different in Scotland where all international arrivals are now quarantined. A flight subject to Scottish rules only had a handful of passengers, even though 60 seats were booked. The others may have taken flights to England and then traveled overland to Scotland to avoid being locked up in expensive hotels.
The protests continued Myanmar against a military coup. Many officials have stopped working. Public services and many financial transactions are hindered. Authorities have arrested Democrats, threatened pregnant bureaucrats with jail and tried to disperse the crowd with water cannons and rubber bullets. See article.
A dish in India a journalist, Priya Ramani, was acquitted of libel after accusing a former government minister of sexual harassment. The fall is seen as a milestone for India’s #MeToo movement. Separately, police arrested Disha Ravi, a green activist, after posting tips for environmental protesters on how to attract attention. They accused her of “causing dissatisfaction”.
A process started in Hong Kong of nine people for alleged protests-related crimes in 2019. Accused include well-known veterans of the territory’s pro-democracy movement, such as Martin Lee and Jimmy Lai. Mr. Lee and Mr. Lai and five others pleaded not guilty of indicting illegal gatherings.
Jake Sullivan, Joe Biden’s national security adviser, expressed “deep concern” at the reluctance of China Publish data related to the Covid-19 outbreak in Wuhan. He reiterated that China should cooperate fully with a World Health Organization investigation.
Carlos MenemThe Argentine President from 1989 to 1999 died at the age of 90. As a Peronist of political origin, he adopted a liberal economic policy, dismantled trade barriers, reduced subsidies and privatized state-owned companies. But he could not protect the livelihood of ordinary Argentines and let rent seekers thrive. With his sideburns and fast cars, Mr Menem was probably the most glamorous resident of Casa Rosada since Evita Perón. See article.
The Biden administration said that Asylum seekers could cross the southern American border to hear their applications. Donald Trump had insisted that they wait in Mexico.
Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro signed four decrees to facilitate the packing of heat. Ordinary Brazilians are allowed to buy up to six weapons (out of four) and carry two at a time.
America vowed to punish those who carried out a missile attack in Iraq Kurdistan region, which killed an American-led military coalition contractor and injured several others, including an American soldier. A pro-Iranian group took responsibility for the attack.
The UN demanded the dispatch of another 3,700 peacekeepers to the Central African Republic to strengthen an armed force already 15,000 men. Rebels invade the country’s capitals.
Armed in Nigeria Forty-two students and staff abducted from a school, the most recent such incident in a country plagued by ransom kidnappings and political hostage-taking. In December, 344 students were taken from another school but later rescued by security forces.
Guinea said three people died after the contraction Ebola, a virus that is usually fatal if not treated quickly. These are the first cases in West Africa since more than 11,000 people were killed in an outbreak in the region from 2013 to 2016.
Seif Sharif Hamad, the vice president of Zanzibar, died after catching Covid-19. Zanzibar is a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania. John Magufuli, Tanzania’s president, insists that his country is virus free and that vaccinations against this virus are dangerous and will not work.
Coronavirus briefs
Newly registered infections in India fell from nearly 100,000 a day in September to below 10,000. in the England One study found that infections have decreased by two-thirds since early January. California reported fewer than 5,000 new daily cases for the first time since November.
The world first “Human Challenge” study from covid-19 got the go-ahead in Great Britain. Volunteers ages 18 to 30 are exposed to the coronavirus to determine how much of it is needed to cause infection.
The hours for closing and disinfecting New Yorks The metro system was reduced from four to two at night, a sign an official said the city is “beginning to return to normal”.
North Korea Attempts were made to hack Pfizer’s computer in order to find details about his vaccine, according to reports. Strange for a country that officially claims it has not had any cases of Covid-19.
This article appeared in the “The World This Week” section of the print version under the heading “Politics This Week”.
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