The Economist Continental Europe Edition July 11, 2020

Politics Brazil’s president, Jair Bolsonaro, who has downplayed the threat of covid-19, flouted social-distancing guidelines and said that his “athletic history” would protect him, tested positive for the coronavirus. Luis Abinader, a businessman from the centre-left Modern Revolutionary Party, won the Dominican Republic’s presidential election. His victory ends 16 years of rule by the Dominican Liberation Party. The vote, originally scheduled for May, was delayed because of covid-19. Fabián Gutiérrez, who was a secretary to Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, Argentina’s president from 2007 to 2015 and now its vice-president, was murdered. Mr Gutiérrez had agreed to co-operate with the prosecution in the “notebooks” scandal, centred on bags of cash delivered to officials during Ms Fernández’s presidency, and to her home. She denies wrongdoing. Mr Gutiérrez’s murder is not thought to…

The WHO admitted that the risks from airborne transmission of covid-19 may be higher than it had thought. A senior health official resigned in Israel as the number of new daily cases passed 1,000. The head of a panel of advisers said the government had “lost control” of the virus. India passed Russia to record the third-highest cumulative number of coronavirus infections. A recent increase in testing capacity may help authorities get a better picture of the progress of the disease. Melbourne, Australia’s second-biggest city, went back into lockdown. The border between the states of Victoria and New South Wales was closed. There were riots outside Serbia’s National Assembly when lockdowns were reimposed and the government threatened a curfew. For our latest coverage of the virus and its consequences please visit economist.com/ coronavirus or download…

The WHO admitted that the risks from airborne transmission of covid-19 may be higher than it had thought. A senior health official resigned in Israel as the number of new daily cases passed 1,000. The head of a panel of advisers said the government had “lost control” of the virus. India passed Russia to record the third-highest cumulative number of coronavirus infections. A recent increase in testing capacity may help authorities get a better picture of the progress of the disease. Melbourne, Australia’s second-biggest city, went back into lockdown. The border between the states of Victoria and New South Wales was closed. There were riots outside Serbia’s National Assembly when lockdowns were reimposed and the government threatened a curfew. For our latest coverage of the virus and its consequences please…

Politics Brazil’s president, Jair Bolsonaro, who has downplayed the threat of covid-19, flouted social-distancing guidelines and said that his “athletic history” would protect him, tested positive for the coronavirus. Luis Abinader, a businessman from the centre-left Modern Revolutionary Party, won the Dominican Republic’s presidential election. His victory ends 16 years of rule by the Dominican Liberation Party. The vote, originally scheduled for May, was delayed because of covid-19. Fabián Gutiérrez, who was a secretary to Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, Argentina’s president from 2007 to 2015 and now its vice-president, was murdered. Mr Gutiérrez had agreed to co-operate with the prosecution in the “notebooks” scandal, centred on bags of cash delivered to officials during Ms Fernández’s presidency, and to her home. She denies wrongdoing. Mr Gutiérrez’s murder is not thought to be politically motivated. A…

AMERICA’S PROBLEM with racism can be divided into two parts. One contains all the myriad injustices that still blight African-American lives a century and a half after the end of slavery. The other is the way that factions on the right exploit racial division as a political tool. An example of the first occurred on May 25th on a shabby street corner in Minneapolis, when George Floyd was killed by a white policeman. An example of the second occurred on July 3rd, at Mount Rushmore, against the monumental backdrop of the country’s greatest presidents, when Donald Trump sought to inflame a culture war centred on race to boost his chances of a second term. To be successful, a campaign for racial justice needs to deal with both. Leaders like Frederick Douglass…

AMERICA’S PROBLEM with racism can be divided into two parts. One contains all the myriad injustices that still blight African-American lives a century and a half after the end of slavery. The other is the way that factions on the right exploit racial division as a political tool. An example of the first occurred on May 25th on a shabby street corner in Minneapolis, when George Floyd was killed by a white policeman. An example of the second occurred on July 3rd, at Mount Rushmore, against the monumental backdrop of the country’s greatest presidents, when Donald Trump sought to inflame a culture war centred on race to boost his chances of a second term. To be successful, a campaign for racial justice needs to deal with both. Leaders like Frederick…