The Economist Continental Europe Edition June 6, 2020

Politics Both riots and peaceful protests spread across America in response to the death of George Floyd. It was the country’s worst unrest for decades, prompting many states to call out the National Guard and cities to impose curfews. Looting accompanied the chaos; shops in midtown Manhattan were ransacked. The policeman who knelt on Mr Floyd’s neck for nine minutes was indicted for second-degree murder; the three officers who failed to stop him were charged with lesser offences. Donald Trump suggested sending in the army to restore order. Mark Esper, the defence secretary, said soldiers should only be deployed as a last resort. NASA launched astronauts into space from American soil for the first time since the end of the shuttle programme in 2011. A capsule carrying two astronauts to…

South Korea temporarily closed some schools that had only just reopened after recording the highest spike in new cases in two months. The Chinese city of Wuhan tested all of its 10m residents for covid-19 over ten days. The campaign identified just 300 infections, all of which were asymptomatic. The head of Britain’s statistics agency criticised Matt Hancock, the health secretary, for data published on testing, saying the distinction between actual testing and posting test-kits was “too often elided” during official presentations. Mexico, which has the second-largest number of deaths from covid-19 in Latin America, loosened lockdown measures. French cafés and restaurants reopened after 11 weeks of lockdown. The joie de vivre is still subject to social-distancing restrictions. For our latest coverage of the virus and its consequences please visit economist.com/ coronavirus or download the…

South Korea temporarily closed some schools that had only just reopened after recording the highest spike in new cases in two months. The Chinese city of Wuhan tested all of its 10m residents for covid-19 over ten days. The campaign identified just 300 infections, all of which were asymptomatic. The head of Britain’s statistics agency criticised Matt Hancock, the health secretary, for data published on testing, saying the distinction between actual testing and posting test-kits was “too often elided” during official presentations. Mexico, which has the second-largest number of deaths from covid-19 in Latin America, loosened lockdown measures. French cafés and restaurants reopened after 11 weeks of lockdown. The joie de vivre is still subject to social-distancing restrictions. For our latest coverage of the virus and its consequences please visit…

Politics Both riots and peaceful protests spread across America in response to the death of George Floyd. It was the country’s worst unrest for decades, prompting many states to call out the National Guard and cities to impose curfews. Looting accompanied the chaos; shops in midtown Manhattan were ransacked. The policeman who knelt on Mr Floyd’s neck for nine minutes was indicted for second-degree murder; the three officers who failed to stop him were charged with lesser offences. Donald Trump suggested sending in the army to restore order. Mark Esper, the defence secretary, said soldiers should only be deployed as a last resort. NASA launched astronauts into space from American soil for the first time since the end of the shuttle programme in 2011. A capsule carrying two astronauts to the International…

ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND Americans are dead from a virus. A feat of space flight demonstrates American ingenuity. In cities across the country, protests sparked by racial injustice are showing an ugly side of America to the world. In November voters must choose between a Republican running on a law-and-order platform, and an uninspiring vice-president running for the Democrats. The year is 1968. It is also 2020. In 1968 the virus was flu and the space mission Apollo 8. But the injustice had the same corrosive effect. As James Baldwin wrote in the early 1960s, racism “compromises, where it does not corrupt, all the American efforts to build a better world—here, there or anywhere.” Today more than 350 cities nationwide erupted after George Floyd, an unarmed African-American man, was killed by a…

ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND Americans are dead from a virus. A feat of space flight demonstrates American ingenuity. In cities across the country, protests sparked by racial injustice are showing an ugly side of America to the world. In November voters must choose between a Republican running on a law-and-order platform, and an uninspiring vice-president running for the Democrats. The year is 1968. It is also 2020. In 1968 the virus was flu and the space mission Apollo 8. But the injustice had the same corrosive effect. As James Baldwin wrote in the early 1960s, racism “compromises, where it does not corrupt, all the American efforts to build a better world—here, there or anywhere.” Today more than 350 cities nationwide erupted after George Floyd, an unarmed African-American man, was killed by…