The Economist Continental Europe Edition June 20, 2020

Politics Brazil reported a record 35,000 new cases of covid-19 in a day. Even that grim figure is widely regarded as an undercount. India is now recording tens of thousands of new infections each week. In America, Florida, Texas and Arizona set daily records for new cases. Although many places are easing lockdowns, Anthony Fauci, the leading adviser to the White House on infectious diseases, warned that the pandemic is far from over: “The numbers speak for themselves.” Beijing went into “wartime mode” to battle an outbreak of covid-19, the first in the Chinese capital after eight weeks with no cases reported of local transmission. Many of the cases are linked to a wholesale food market. A court in China sentenced the country’s former insurance regulator, Xiang Junbo, to 11…

A randomised trial conducted by scientists at Oxford found that dexamethasone, a cheap steroid drug found in many countries, reduced the death rates for patients on ventilators by 35% and by 20% for those needing oxygen. The president of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernández, said he and his wife have covid-19. The remaining lockdown restrictions were lifted in France, enabling bars and restaurants to reopen fully. In England all shops were allowed to open their doors to customers again. Next year’s Oscars ceremony was postponed by two months until April 25th. It is not yet clear whether the event will be held in a theatre or virtually. The English Premier League resumed its season, three months after it was suspended. The football matches are being played behind closed doors. For our latest coverage of the virus…

A randomised trial conducted by scientists at Oxford found that dexamethasone, a cheap steroid drug found in many countries, reduced the death rates for patients on ventilators by 35% and by 20% for those needing oxygen. The president of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernández, said he and his wife have covid-19. The remaining lockdown restrictions were lifted in France, enabling bars and restaurants to reopen fully. In England all shops were allowed to open their doors to customers again. Next year’s Oscars ceremony was postponed by two months until April 25th. It is not yet clear whether the event will be held in a theatre or virtually. The English Premier League resumed its season, three months after it was suspended. The football matches are being played behind closed doors. For our…

Politics Brazil reported a record 35,000 new cases of covid-19 in a day. Even that grim figure is widely regarded as an undercount. India is now recording tens of thousands of new infections each week. In America, Florida, Texas and Arizona set daily records for new cases. Although many places are easing lockdowns, Anthony Fauci, the leading adviser to the White House on infectious diseases, warned that the pandemic is far from over: “The numbers speak for themselves.” Beijing went into “wartime mode” to battle an outbreak of covid-19, the first in the Chinese capital after eight weeks with no cases reported of local transmission. Many of the cases are linked to a wholesale food market. A court in China sentenced the country’s former insurance regulator, Xiang Junbo, to 11 years in prison…

SEVENTY-FIVE years ago in San Francisco 50 countries signed the charter that created the United Nations—they left a blank space for Poland, which became the 51st founding member a few months later. In some ways the UN has exceeded expectations. Unlike the League of Nations, set up after the first world war, it has survived. Thanks largely to decolonisation, its membership has grown to 193. There has been no third world war. And yet the UN is struggling, as are many of the structures, like the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), designed to help create order out of chaos. This system, with the UN at its apex, is beset by internal problems, by the global struggle to cope with the rise of China, and most…

SEVENTY-FIVE years ago in San Francisco 50 countries signed the charter that created the United Nations—they left a blank space for Poland, which became the 51st founding member a few months later. In some ways the UN has exceeded expectations. Unlike the League of Nations, set up after the first world war, it has survived. Thanks largely to decolonisation, its membership has grown to 193. There has been no third world war. And yet the UN is struggling, as are many of the structures, like the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), designed to help create order out of chaos. This system, with the UN at its apex, is beset by internal problems, by the global struggle to cope with the rise of China, and most of…