The Economist Continental Europe Edition January 16, 2021

Politics Protected by National Guard troops, the House of Representatives voted to impeach Donald Trump for inciting the recent mob attack on Congress, the first time that an American president has been impeached twice. It is uncertain if and when the Senate will hold an impeachment trial. Meanwhile, the FBI has reportedly warned officials of further armed protests ahead of Joe Biden’s inauguration on January 20th. Pro-Trump demonstrations are apparently being planned for all 50 state capitals as well as Washington, DC. Mr Biden nominated William Burns to head the cia. Mr Burns is a career diplomat who has been an ambassador to Russia and was instrumental in forging the nuclear deal with Iran in 2015, which Mr Trump pulled America out of. The Trump administration announced that it was…

New variants of the disease that are more infectious than the original strain were reported in Brazil and Ohio. Two cabinet ministers in Malawi died after contracting covid-19 as a second wave of the pandemic sweeps across sub-Saharan Africa. Hospitals in South Africa’s major cities have been overwhelmed, leading the government to close 20 border crossings. London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, declared a “major incident”. The death toll from covid in the city passed 10,000; 7,600 are being treated in hospital. British police toughened the use of new powers targeting a “stubborn number of people” wilfully flouting the rules. Andrew Cuomo, the governor of New York, promised to increase vaccination rates in his state, but also warned that “We simply cannot stay closed until the vaccine hits critical mass…We will have nothing left to…

New variants of the disease that are more infectious than the original strain were reported in Brazil and Ohio. Two cabinet ministers in Malawi died after contracting covid-19 as a second wave of the pandemic sweeps across sub-Saharan Africa. Hospitals in South Africa’s major cities have been overwhelmed, leading the government to close 20 border crossings. London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, declared a “major incident”. The death toll from covid in the city passed 10,000; 7,600 are being treated in hospital. British police toughened the use of new powers targeting a “stubborn number of people” wilfully flouting the rules. Andrew Cuomo, the governor of New York, promised to increase vaccination rates in his state, but also warned that “We simply cannot stay closed until the vaccine hits critical mass…We will have…

Politics Protected by National Guard troops, the House of Representatives voted to impeach Donald Trump for inciting the recent mob attack on Congress, the first time that an American president has been impeached twice. It is uncertain if and when the Senate will hold an impeachment trial. Meanwhile, the FBI has reportedly warned officials of further armed protests ahead of Joe Biden’s inauguration on January 20th. Pro-Trump demonstrations are apparently being planned for all 50 state capitals as well as Washington, DC. Mr Biden nominated William Burns to head the cia. Mr Burns is a career diplomat who has been an ambassador to Russia and was instrumental in forging the nuclear deal with Iran in 2015, which Mr Trump pulled America out of. The Trump administration announced that it was banning the import…

FOR MUCH of the past decade the pace of innovation underwhelmed many people—especially those miserable economists. Productivity growth was lacklustre and the most popular new inventions, the smartphone and social media, did not seem to help much. Their malign side-effects, such as the creation of powerful monopolies and the pollution of the public square, became painfully apparent. Promising technologies stalled, including self-driving cars, making Silicon Valley’s evangelists look naive. Security hawks warned that authoritarian China was racing past the West and some gloomy folk warned that the world was finally running out of useful ideas. Today a dawn of technological optimism is breaking. The speed at which covid-19 vaccines have been produced has made scientists household names. Prominent breakthroughs, a tech investment boom and the adoption of digital technologies during…

FOR MUCH of the past decade the pace of innovation underwhelmed many people—especially those miserable economists. Productivity growth was lacklustre and the most popular new inventions, the smartphone and social media, did not seem to help much. Their malign side-effects, such as the creation of powerful monopolies and the pollution of the public square, became painfully apparent. Promising technologies stalled, including self-driving cars, making Silicon Valley’s evangelists look naive. Security hawks warned that authoritarian China was racing past the West and some gloomy folk warned that the world was finally running out of useful ideas. Today a dawn of technological optimism is breaking. The speed at which covid-19 vaccines have been produced has made scientists household names. Prominent breakthroughs, a tech investment boom and the adoption of digital technologies during the…