The Economist Menu Weekly edition Search Sign in Espresso Daily briefing Take five minutes to catch up on today’s essential news THE WORLD IN BRIEF Updated less than 1 hour ago (08:19 GMT London) Health ministers from the G7 group of rich economies will meet later on Monday to discuss their response to the Omicron variant of covid-19. The highly mutated strain was detected in several more countries around the world over the weekend, with many banning arrivals from southern Africa. Israel and Japan went a step further and forbade all foreigners from entering. South Africa’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa, said the travel bans brought in against his country were unscientific and discriminatory. Anthony Fauci, the Biden administration’s chief medical adviser, said it would take two weeks before a judgment could be made on the threat caused by the new variant. Nissan, Japan’s third-largest carmaker, announced plans to invest $17.6bn over the next five years to ramp up its electric-vehicle production. It hopes to launch 23 new models and generate half of its global sales from electric or hybrid vehicles by 2030. Last year the share was only 10%. Singapore and Malaysia re-opened their common land border—one of the world’s busiest—to vaccinated travellers. Those making the crossing must also test negative for covid-19, but will avoid quarantine. The border had been closed for nearly two years. Before that as many as 300,000 Malaysians skipped into Singapore every day, mostly to work. With 40% of the votes counted, Xiomara Castro, a left-wing candidate, claimed victory in Honduras’s presidential election. She currently leads Nasry Asfura, her National Party opponent, by 20 percentage points; he has yet to concede defeat. Ms Castro would be the first leftist leader of the country since her husband, Manuel Zelaya, was ousted in a coup in 2009. Listen to The World in Brief We break down what’s happening around the world each day. Start listening In a referendum on Sunday, Swiss voters by a wide margin backed the country’s use of covid-19 certificates, which offer proof of vaccination, a negative test or immunity through having contracted the virus. Covid-19 tests are no longer free and the restrictions had sparked widespread protests. But cases are rising rapidly. Coinstore, a cryptocurrency exchange based in Singapore, began operations in India. That was despite a looming threat that India’s government may soon ban most private digital currencies, which officials fear could be a trap for naive investors. Almost a quarter of Coinstore’s customers are based in India, and it plans to open offices in Bangalore, Delhi and Mumbai. Thousands of people gathered in Belgrade, Serbia’s capital, to protest against the government’s inaction on alarming levels of air pollution. On Saturday demonstrators blocked key bridges and roads in protest against two new laws they say favour the interests of foreign investors over the environment. A report in 2019 claimed Serbia had Europe’s worst per person rate of pollution-related deaths. Fact of the day: 93,475, the number of asylum applications France received last year (the second highest in the EU, after Germany). Britain received 36,041. Relations between the two countries have grown tense after migrants drowned trying to cross the English channel. Read the full article. TODAY’S AGENDA Updated 12 hours ago (20:00 GMT London) Ghislaine Maxwell on trial PHOTO: REUTERS In 2019 Jeffrey Epstein, a disgraced American financier, hanged himself in a Manhattan jail while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges. His victims, deprived of the chance to see him held accountable, may now get a measure of justice. On Monday his alleged accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, a British socialite, goes on trial. Prosecutors claim that Ms Maxwell groomed and trafficked underage girls for abuse by Epstein and lied about her involvement under oath. She denies the charges. The lurid story has felled others too. In March Leon Black resigned as chief executive of Apollo Global Management, a private-equity firm, following revelations that he paid Epstein $158m for tax advice. Jes Staley, the former boss of Barclays, a bank, relinquished his post this month after Britain’s financial-services watchdog concluded that he had mischaracterised his relationship with Epstein. Both deny knowledge of the abuse, and Mr Staley is contesting the regulator’s findings. The abuser may be dead, but fallout from the scandal continues. Germany pioneers legal cannabis in the EU PHOTO: DPA In Germany’s 177-page coalition agreement, one announcement should leave many people on a high: the country will become the first in the EU to legalise the recreational use of cannabis and its sale through licensed vendors. Though the Netherlands is often associated with weed-touting coffee shops, possession and sale of marijuana is still a crime (albeit loosely policed). In October Luxembourg became the first European country to allow cultivation of plants for personal use. Italy will probably hold a referendum on decriminalising cannabis in 2022. Europe had lagged behind North America. Some 18 American states have legalised marijuana. In Canada, where cannabis became legal to buy and consume in 2018, supplies can now be ordered via Uber. One explanation for Europe’s pivot is the tax it stands to gain from legalisation. Germany could rake in almost €5bn a year from a cannabis tax and savings in police and prosecutorial costs. ESPRESSO Get Espresso in your inbox Our morning briefing, delivered before breakfast six times per week Sign up Iran’s nuclear programme PHOTO: AP Talks on the future of the nuclear deal signed by Iran and six world powers resume on Monday. Iranian negotiators will meet all but the Americans. The Iranians refuse to talk to them. Donald Trump, the former American president, pulled out of the deal in 2018. In response to American sanctions, Iran has breached the agreement in various ways, most notably by enriching uranium to 60% purity—a level “that only countries making bombs have”, says Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Iran may be trying to drive a hard bargain. The new administration of Ebrahim Raisi, a conservative cleric, says America must admit to wrongdoing in ditching the deal, immediately lift all sanctions and guarantee that any new agreement will last beyond President Joe Biden’s tenure. Those conditions are impossible to meet, say the Americans, who under Mr Biden hoped to re-enter the old deal, before negotiating a “longer and stronger” one. A confrontation is looming. India clamps down on crypto PHOTO: AFP Reports last week that the Indian government plans to ban private cryptocurrencies (barring a few exceptions) sent a shudder through the country’s crypto-sphere. What those “exceptions” are and what constitutes a “private” currency is unclear; popular tokens including bitcoin and ether are hosted on public blockchain. No matter. Prices of virtual currencies on Indian crypto exchanges fell by around 20%. The exchanges, overwhelmed by panic-selling, were slow to process withdrawals. India’s central bank has expressed “serious concerns” that cryptocurrencies may be used for money-laundering. It plans to launch its own digital currency next month. Lawmakers worry that prime-time television adverts for cryptocurrencies, many featuring Bollywood stars, mislead naive investors. Government officials complain that it is a Ponzi scheme. A new crypto bill is due to be introduced in the winter session of parliament, which starts on Monday. Indians who trade in cryptocurrencies—more than 15m people—will hold their collective breath. “Citizen Ashe”, a documentary on a model athlete-activist PHOTO: AP With a gold chain and a pair of aviator glasses, Arthur Ashe cut a stylish figure on the tennis court. Tall and wiry—his childhood nicknames were “Skinny” and “Bones”—he bested his rivals with powerful serves, elegant backhand returns and attacking approach shots. He became the first African American player to win the men’s singles title at the Australian Open, US Open and Wimbledon. He was impressive off the court too, as “Citizen Ashe”, a new documentary, attests. Ashe had been barred from playing on certain courts as a child in segregated Virginia, and as an adult he used his public platform to criticise apartheid in South Africa. After contracting HIV from a blood transfusion, he set up a foundation to support AIDS research. He died in 1993 and remains a model for athlete-activists everywhere. “To have a potential to do a lot of good and not exercise this,” he once said, “is the worst cowardice.” Good books, like good friends, are few and chosen; the more select, the more enjoyable. Louisa May Alcott Subscribe Group subscriptions Reuse our content Help and contact us Keep updated Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn YouTube RSS Published since September 1843 to take part in “a severe contest between intelligence, which presses forward, and an unworthy, timid ignorance obstructing our progress.” The Economist About Advertise Press centre Store The Economist Group The Economist Group Economist Intelligence Economist Impact Economist Events Working Here Which MBA? GMAT Tutor GRE Tutor Executive Jobs Executive Education Navigator Executive Education: The New Global Order Executive Education: Business Writing Terms of Use Privacy Cookie Policy Manage Cookies Accessibility Modern Slavery Statement Do Not Sell My Personal Information Copyright © The Economist Newspaper Limited 2021. All rights reserved.