The Economist Latin America August 14, 2021

Vaccine mandates spread rapidly across America. The Pentagon laid out plans to make vaccination mandatory for all American troops by mid-September. California said all teachers and schools’ staff would have to be either jabbed or tested regularly. Despite having one of the highest vaccination rates in the world, infections in Israel surged to their highest levels since February. More than 75% of adults in Britain have now received both doses of a vaccine. A ban was lifted on foreign pilgrims in Saudi Arabia. Vaccinated travellers will be allowed to visit the holy sites in Mecca, which attract millions of the faithful each year. Support for the government led by Suga Yoshihide in Japan has dropped to a new low after new infections surged during the Tokyo Olympics. For our latest coverage of the virus please…

Politics The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released the first part of its latest assessment report. The Earth is warming. Even with a drastic reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions temperatures will probably be 1.5o C above their late-19th century levels by 2050. Climate change is under way, the report laments, with all the environmental consequences that brings. The extent of the damage depends on the cumulative build-up of emissions and can be limited if the world strives for net-zero carbon emissions. Andrew Cuomo said he would resign as governor of New York, after his Democratic colleagues in the state assembly prepared to impeach him over allegations from 11 women of sexual harassment. Mr Cuomo insists his actions did not amount to misconduct and said he was forced out by a political system “driven…

Politics The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released the first part of its latest assessment report. The Earth is warming. Even with a drastic reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions temperatures will probably be 1.5o C above their late-19th century levels by 2050. Climate change is under way, the report laments, with all the environmental consequences that brings. The extent of the damage depends on the cumulative build-up of emissions and can be limited if the world strives for net-zero carbon emissions. Andrew Cuomo said he would resign as governor of New York, after his Democratic colleagues in the state assembly prepared to impeach him over allegations from 11 women of sexual harassment. Mr Cuomo insists his actions did not amount to misconduct and said he was forced out by a political…

Vaccine mandates spread rapidly across America. The Pentagon laid out plans to make vaccination mandatory for all American troops by mid-September. California said all teachers and schools’ staff would have to be either jabbed or tested regularly. Despite having one of the highest vaccination rates in the world, infections in Israel surged to their highest levels since February. More than 75% of adults in Britain have now received both doses of a vaccine. A ban was lifted on foreign pilgrims in Saudi Arabia. Vaccinated travellers will be allowed to visit the holy sites in Mecca, which attract millions of the faithful each year. Support for the government led by Suga Yoshihide in Japan has dropped to a new low after new infections surged during the Tokyo Olympics. For our latest…

OF ALL CHINA’S achievements in the past two decades, one of the most impressive is the rise of its technology industry. Alibaba hosts twice as much e-commerce activity as Amazon does. Tencent runs the world’s most popular super-app, with 1.2bn users. China’s tech revolution has also helped transform its long-run economic prospects at home, by allowing it to leap beyond manufacturing into new fields such as digital health care and artificial intelligence (AI). As well as propelling China’s prosperity, a dazzling tech industry could also be the foundation for a challenge to American supremacy. That is why President Xi Jinping’s assault on his country’s $4trn tech industry is so startling. There have been over 50 regulatory actions against scores of firms for a dizzying array of alleged offences, from antitrust abuses…

OF ALL CHINA’S achievements in the past two decades, one of the most impressive is the rise of its technology industry. Alibaba hosts twice as much e-commerce activity as Amazon does. Tencent runs the world’s most popular super-app, with 1.2bn users. China’s tech revolution has also helped transform its long-run economic prospects at home, by allowing it to leap beyond manufacturing into new fields such as digital health care and artificial intelligence (AI). As well as propelling China’s prosperity, a dazzling tech industry could also be the foundation for a challenge to American supremacy. That is why President Xi Jinping’s assault on his country’s $4trn tech industry is so startling. There have been over 50 regulatory actions against scores of firms for a dizzying array of alleged offences, from antitrust…