The Economist Continental Europe Edition March 14, 2020

Politics Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president, said that he would be prepared to continue in office past 2024, when his fourth and supposedly final presidential term expires. The Russian parliament voted this week to amend the constitution to reset to zero the number of consecutive terms that he has already served. The trial began in the Netherlands of four men—three Russians and a Ukrainian—who are charged with involvement in the shooting down of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine in 2014. The four were not in court, having refused to turn themselves in, but the court decided that the trial can go ahead without them. Rishi Sunak, Britain’s new chancellor of the exchequer, had been expected to increase borrowing. But the scale of fiscal loosening in the government’s budget was…

The World Health Organisation officially declared covid-19 to be a pandemic: “We have rung the alarm bell loud and clear.” America announced a travel ban on visitors from Europe (except Britain and Ireland). The lockdown in northern Italy was extended to the whole country. Most shops were ordered to close. In Germany, Angela Merkel said that 60-70% of the country’s population may contract the disease at some point. Xi Jinping said there had been a positive turn to contain covid-19 in the province of Hubei. Outside Hubei, China reported three days with no newly confirmed cases of local infection. The central bank of Nigeria will, in effect, ban imports of hand sanitiser. The governor said this would boost local production. For our latest coverage of the virus and its consequences please visit economist.com/ coronavirus or download…

The World Health Organisation officially declared covid-19 to be a pandemic: “We have rung the alarm bell loud and clear.” America announced a travel ban on visitors from Europe (except Britain and Ireland). The lockdown in northern Italy was extended to the whole country. Most shops were ordered to close. In Germany, Angela Merkel said that 60-70% of the country’s population may contract the disease at some point. Xi Jinping said there had been a positive turn to contain covid-19 in the province of Hubei. Outside Hubei, China reported three days with no newly confirmed cases of local infection. The central bank of Nigeria will, in effect, ban imports of hand sanitiser. The governor said this would boost local production. For our latest coverage of the virus and its consequences…

Politics Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president, said that he would be prepared to continue in office past 2024, when his fourth and supposedly final presidential term expires. The Russian parliament voted this week to amend the constitution to reset to zero the number of consecutive terms that he has already served. The trial began in the Netherlands of four men—three Russians and a Ukrainian—who are charged with involvement in the shooting down of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine in 2014. The four were not in court, having refused to turn themselves in, but the court decided that the trial can go ahead without them. Rishi Sunak, Britain’s new chancellor of the exchequer, had been expected to increase borrowing. But the scale of fiscal loosening in the government’s budget was still surprising. A…

TO SEE WHAT is to come look to Lombardy, the affluent Italian region at the heart of the covid-19 outbreak in Europe. Its hospitals provide world-class health care. Until last week they thought they would cope with the disease—then waves of people began turning up with pneumonia. Having run out of ventilators and oxygen, exhausted staff at some hospitals are being forced to leave untreated patients to die. The pandemic, as the World Health Organisation (WHO) officially declared it this week, is spreading fast, with almost 45,000 cases and nearly 1,500 deaths in 112 countries outside China. Epidemiologists reckon Italy is one or two weeks ahead of places like Spain, France, America and Britain. Less-connected countries, such as Egypt and India, are further behind, but not much. Few of today’s…

TO SEE WHAT is to come look to Lombardy, the affluent Italian region at the heart of the covid-19 outbreak in Europe. Its hospitals provide world-class health care. Until last week they thought they would cope with the disease—then waves of people began turning up with pneumonia. Having run out of ventilators and oxygen, exhausted staff at some hospitals are being forced to leave untreated patients to die. The pandemic, as the World Health Organisation (WHO) officially declared it this week, is spreading fast, with almost 45,000 cases and nearly 1,500 deaths in 112 countries outside China. Epidemiologists reckon Italy is one or two weeks ahead of places like Spain, France, America and Britain. Less-connected countries, such as Egypt and India, are further behind, but not much. Few of today’s political leaders…