The world at a glance

Las Vegas, Nevada

Bloomberg surge: The former mayor of New York, Mike Bloomberg (pictured), has surged into second place in the race for the Democrat presidential nomination, which is now seen – by the betting markets at least – as a two-horse race between him and the left-winger Bernie Sanders ( see page 15). Bloomberg entered the contest too late to run in any of the states to vote in primaries or caucuses to date, but he has already spent $300m on TV advertising. His surge in the polls means that for the first time, he qualified for a candidates’ TV debate, held in Las Vegas on Wednesday. Bloomberg’s rise has led to increased scrutiny of his record, and bitter exchanges with Sanders, who accused him of aping Donald Trump in trying to “buy” the presidency.

Nevada, which holds its main caucuses this weekend, is the third state to vote in the candidate selection process. Sanders is expected to win, while Joe Biden is tipped to perform more respectably than in the first two states. Some in the party fear a fiasco similar to that in Iowa, where technology problems delayed the result.

Washington DC

Politicised justice: More than 2,000 former federal prosecutors and Justice Department officials have publicly called for the US attorney general, William Barr, to resign, after he controversially intervened to lower his department’s sentencing recommendation for Roger Stone. A long-time Republican campaigner and friend of President Trump, Stone was due to be sentenced this week for obstructing the probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Trump has publicly attacked the judge, prosecutors and even jury members in the case for supposed bias – and publicly congratulated Barr on his decision. Barr denies being pressured by Trump, and last week, in a rare show of dissent, he called on the president to stop “undercutting” him by tweeting about court cases – saying it made it “impossible for me to do my job”.

Wilmington, Delaware

Boy Scout bankruptcy: The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) has filed for bankruptcy as it struggles with declining membership and hundreds of sexual abuse claims. In response to scandals in organisations such as the Catholic Church and USA Gymnastics, some states have recently changed their laws to allow more time for victims of sexual abuse to sue perpetrators. This has brought a wave of new civil lawsuits against the BSA from victims whose cases were previously prevented by statutes of limitations. The filing, which was made in Delaware, will allow the BSA to bring all the lawsuits into one court and to try to negotiate a settlement, rather than using its funds to fight each case in court. The group is setting up a trust fund to provide compensation to victims.

Cayman Islands

Tax haven blacklisted: The Cayman Islands, a British overseas territory, is to join the likes of Oman, Samoa, Fiji and Vanuatu on an EU blacklist of “non-cooperative” tax havens, in a sign of the UK’s loss of influence on EU decision-making following its departure from the bloc. The decision was taken last week at a meeting of national ambassadors to the EU27, the FT reported; it was ratified by finance ministers this week. Previously, intensive UK lobbying had kept the Cayman Islands off the list. Blacklisted states face significant obstacles in accessing EU funds, and EU firms must take more onerous compliance measures if they do business in the jurisdictions. The Cayman Islands is home to fewer than 70,000 people, but has more than 100,000 registered companies.

Washington DC

Power struggle: The US Senate, which earlier this month acquitted President Trump on impeachment charges, has passed a resolution blocking him from using military force against Iran without the permission of Congress. The legislation was backed by the Senate by 55 to 45, with eight Republicans defying Trump, and party leaders, to join the Democrats in a bipartisan effort to limit the president’s powers. The rare rebuke to the president is likely to prove symbolic, however: the Senate vote fell short of the two-thirds “super-majority” needed to nullify a presidential veto. Some legislators from both parties remain angry about Trump’s decision in January to authorise the killing of the Iranian general Qassem Soleimani – and are eager to enforce congressional authority over matters of war and peace. Trump viewed the resolution as a personal affront, tweeting that “If my hands were tied, Iran would have a field day. Sends a very bad signal.”

Brasília

Racism row: Brazil’s far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, has angered many in the country’s large black community by appointing a controversial black journalist – who denies that racism exists in Brazil – to lead the Palmares Cultural Foundation, an influential government-funded institute charged with defending the rights and heritage of black Brazilians. Bolsonaro first appointed Sérgio Camargo to the job at the end of last year, but his nomination was suspended following a backlash. Last week the Supreme Court overruled the suspension, and Bolsonaro confirmed the appointment. Camargo describes himself as a “black right-winger, an anti-victimist”. He has previously argued that “black people complain because they are stupid and misinformed by the Left”.

Pansi, Burkina Faso

Church atrocity: Armed militants killed at least 24 people and injured a further 18 in a gun attack on a Protestant church in Pansi, a village in northeastern Burkina Faso, last Sunday. It was the latest in a string of jihadist attacks on churches and other civilian targets in the country. Pansi lies in Yagha province, an especially volatile region close to the border with Niger. About 60% of Burkina Faso’s 20 million people are Muslim and a quarter are Christian. It has long been a relatively peaceful nation and was considered to be resistant to Islamist extremism, but it has seen a deadly spillover of violence from neighbouring Mali in recent years. More than 1,800 people were killed in jihadistlinked attacks in Burkina Faso last year, and some 760,000 people have fled their homes, according to official figures.

Juba

Locust plague: Swarms of desert locusts that are ravaging crops and grazing land across east Africa have spread further inland. Kenya has seen its worst locust infestation for 70 years; Somalia and Ethiopia their worst in 25 years. Now the pests have reached South Sudan, where 60% of the population already faces severe food insecurity as the country struggles to emerge from civil war. The UN food agency warned of a potential food crisis if the outbreak is not brought under control. Desert locusts can travel nearly 100 miles per day and can eat their own body weight in vegetation. Large swarms, of 40 to 80 million adults, can consume in one day crops that would provide food for 35,000 people.

Wuhan, China

Coronavirus spreads: The number of people infected with the coronavirus Covid-19 rose to above 75,000 worldwide on Wednesday – all but 1,000 of them in China, where more than 2,000 people have died. There have been only six fatalities outside China. Of recent deaths reported in China, well over 90% have been in Hubei province, where the outbreak began in the city of Wuhan, giving grounds for cautious optimism about limiting its spread. However, the WHO warned that reports of a decline in new cases should be treated with caution, and that “every scenario is still on the table”; there was concern over outbreaks in Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan.

Responding to growing anger over Beijing’s handling of the crisis, President Xi (above) sacked the Wuhan and Hubei party bosses – and stated, in a speech last week, that he had given instructions on fighting the disease as early as 7 January. However, this merely fuelled debate over why the risks were not clearly communicated to the Chinese public at that point. Data from Chinese health officials released this week showed that 80% of Covid-19 cases had been mild, and that the death rate was 2.3%.

Aleppo, Syria

Assad attacks: The UN warned that “the biggest humanitarian horror story of the 21st century” is unfolding in northwestern Syria, and demanded an immediate ceasefire. In recent weeks, the Russianbacked Assad regime has advanced rapidly, consolidating its hold on Aleppo and capturing large parts of neighbouring Idlib province. Its forces have targeted hospitals, schools and refugee camps. Some 900,000 people have fled their homes since December, leaving many stranded in sub-zero temperatures.

New Delhi

Criminal politicians: India’s Supreme Court has condemned the “alarming rise” of “criminal candidates” in Indian politics, and ordered party bosses to explain why so many recently elected MPs have criminal records. In 2019, 43% of new MPs had one, up from 24% in 2004. The issue “comes down to cold, hard cash”, political scientist Milan Vaishnav told the BBC. Candidates who can fund themselves (via “rents” to the party) are attractive to bosses – and many such candidates have criminal records.

Doha

Taliban-US “deal”: A spokesman for the Taliban has said that a peace deal with the US will be signed at a ceremony in the Qatari capital, Doha, by the end of the month. US media reported that President Trump had signed off on a peace deal in principle earlier this month, which would agree the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan after almost two decades. And last week the US defence secretary, Mark Esper, said the two sides had reached a preliminary agreement. Despite the Taliban’s announcement, militant attacks on military targets in Afghanistan continued this week.