
Welcome to Thursday, where Trump becomes first president impeached twice, China goes back into lockdown, and a 45,000-year-old wild boar makes news. We also scan what sets "Made in Africa" ID tech apart.
SPOTLIGHT: D.C. TO ROME TO KAMPALA, DEMOCRACY IS A COUNTING QUESTION
At 6 p.m. local time Wednesday in Rome, while much of the world was transfixed on Washington, D.C., Italian reporters were huddled in a vast room of the nation's Parliament to witness another political crisis unfolding.
Former Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi announced that his minor party would pull out of the government, plunging Italian politics into deep uncertainty that may only be resolved with a new snap election. Pundits accused Renzi of acting for his cynical personal interest, trying to force out Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte to make space for his own comeback to the center of the political stage. Others noted that the announcement baffled Italians, who had just heard the news that their country had recorded 507 new COVID-19 deaths that day, pushing the toll past 80,000. Some argued that the far-right would win if the country heads to the polls.
Still, with all the melodrama, this governmental "crisis' is largely politics-as-usual in Italy, which has had 72 different government coalitions in the 78 years of its wobbly post-War parliamentary system. But despite all the instability, democracy itself is not in question in Italy.
Of course the "crisis' underway across the Atlantic is of another tenor, and order of magnitude. Just minutes after Renzi's announcement, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to impeach President Donald Trump — for an unprecedented second time — after the Republican leader incited a mob to block the counting of his election defeat in Congress. Five people died in the violence, and Trump continues to falsely insist that the election was "stolen" from him. The American presidential system of government, typically noted for its stability, has shown what happens when a president is particularly power-hungry. And yes, just a week before President-elect Joe Biden is slated to be inaugurated, democracy itself is in question in the U.S.
Meanwhile in Uganda, voters are heading to the polls Thursday in the aftermath of one of the most divisive election campaigns in recent history, with at least 55 people killed in related violence. The incumbent, 76-year-old Yoweri Museveni, has been in power for 34 years. The leading opposition candidate, the 34-year-old pop star turned politician Bobi Wine, said that the army killed one of his bodyguards and that he has been detained and prevented from campaigning several times. The government has also shut down the internet and banned international election observers. In Uganda, democracy is constantly in question.
A celebrated Italian political theorist, Norberto Bobbio, once remarked that democracy is a process by which heads are not chopped, but counted. It's always a good reminder of how crucial it is to respect the counting.
— Alessio Perrone
THE SITUATION: 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW
• Capitol riot aftermath: Donald Trump becomes the first president in U.S. history to be impeached twice, charged with inciting an insurrection on the Capitol. Meanwhile Airbnb blocks Washington, D.C. reservations ahead of President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration, as unprecedented military security is called in.
• COVID-19 latest: A WHO team of scientists has arrived in China to investigate virus origins. One in five English hospitals has hit capacity, Spain breaks an October record with 39,000 new cases reported yesterday, and Pope Francis fulfills ""ethical duty" to receive the vaccine.
• Ugandan elections: After a violent campaign with attacks on media and human rights advocates, Ugandans hit the polls amid an internet blackout. Yoweri Museveni is pursuing a sixth term against a former pop star half his age.
• Italian political crisis: Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announces the resignation of two ministers over disagreements on allocating the 209 billion euro ($254 billion) EU pandemic recovery fund.
• Hong Kong arrests: Police in Hong Kong arrest 11 people suspected of helping a group of 12 pro-democracy activists, 10 of whom were subsequently arrested by China, in a failed attempt to flee the country.
• Tesla recall: The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has asked Elon Musk to recall 158,000 cars over potential failure of display consoles.
• Oldest animal art: Scientists in Indonesia have discovered what appears to be the world's oldest painting depicting animals, dating back at least 45,000 years. The paintings of three wild boar were discovered in a limestone cave on the island of Sulawesi.



