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WORLD NEWS Monday 20 July 2020
Netanyahu's graft trial resumes amid Israeli virus anger

By TIA GOLDENBERG which has seen daily cases
Associated Press rise to nearly 2,000. It has
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli also been slammed for its
Prime Minister Benjamin handling of the economic
Netanyahu's corruption tri- fallout of the crisis.
al will resume in earnest in While Israel has pledged
January, with thrice-weekly billions of dollars worth of
evidentiary hearings set to aid, it hasn't all been doled
begin then, a Jerusalem out to those in need, and a
court decided Sunday. plan to give a stipend to all
It was not immediately Israelis, even the wealthy,
clear if Netanyahu would has been panned by the
be required to be present country's leading econo-
at each hearing, although mists. The first and second
some Israeli media re- round of restrictions has
ported he would. Regard- battered the economy
less, the grueling judicial and sent unemployment
schedule will keep Netan- skyrocketing to more than
yahu's legal woes firmly in 20%, up from 3.9% before
the national consciousness the outbreak.
and conversation — and The anger has boiled over
continue to raise questions into protests over the past
over whether he can keep Liat Ben Ari, center, plaintiff in the trial against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seen in the few week s that have cul-
serving while simultaneous- district court in Jerusalem, Sunday, July 19, 2020. minated in violent clashes
ly standing trial. Associated Press with police.
The court's decision came The protests haven't been
after the trial's second dia moguls for more agree- the trial's evidentiary stage in new cases, Netanyahu on a massive scale, partly
hearing, a procedural de- able coverage of himself would begin in January and his emergency gov- due to restrictions on large
liberation that set the pace and his family. and would take place ernment — formed with the gatherings, but the rising
for the remainder of the Netanyahu denies wrong- three times a week. goal of dealing with the cri- frustration appears to be
proceedings. doing, painting the accu- Netanyahu's lawyer also sis — appeared to neglect among the greatest chal-
The trial opened in May sations as a media-orches- asked for a delay in the the numbers and moved lenges Netanyahu has
after a two-month delay trated witch hunt pursued proceedings because forward with its reopening faced in his decade-plus in
prompted by concerns by a biased law enforce- of the virus, saying mask- plans and other policy pri- power.
over the coronavirus. Its re- ment system. wearing impeded his job of orities. The trial's resumption thus
sumption comes as Netan- At the first hearing in May, questioning witnesses. It has since reimposed re- comes at inopportune tim-
yahu faces mounting dis- just before appearing in The trial resumes as Netan- strictions, including a week- ing for the long-serving
content over his handling front of the judges, Netan- yahu faces widespread an- end only lockdown set to leader. Netanyahu had
of the health crisis and its yahu took to a podium in- ger over his government's begin later this week. hoped to ride on the good-
economic fallout. side the courthouse and handling of the coronavirus Israel has seen nearly will he gained from over-
Netanyahu is charged with flanked by his party mem- crisis. 50,000 virus cases since the coming the first wave of
fraud, breach of trust and bers bashed the country's While the country ap- outbreak began, with 406 infections going into his
accepting bribes in a series legal institutions in an angry peared to have tamped deaths. More than 21,000 corruption trial but the in-
of scandals in which he is tirade. down a first wave of infec- people have recovered. creasingly souring mood
alleged to have received Netanyahu did not appear tions, what's emerged as a Netanyahu and his govern- has dropped his approval
lavish gifts from billionaire at Sunday's hearing. hasty and erratic reopen- ment have been criticized ratings and may deny him
friends, and exchanged According to the court, ing has sent infections soar- for a baffling, halting re- the public backing he had
regulatory favors with me- the judge decided that ing. Yet even amid the rise sponse to the new wave, hoped for. q

China blasts dam to release floodwaters as death toll rises

BEIJING (AP) — Authorities in cen- China's worst floods in recent years had caused widespread flooding Major cities have been spared so
tral China blasted a dam Sunday in 1998, when more than 2,000 across 15 villages and agricultural far, but concern has risen over Wu-
to release surging waters behind it people died and almost 3 million fields in Jiangxi province. More han and other downstream me-
amid widespread flooding across homes were destroyed. than 14,000 people were evacu- tropolises that are home to tens of
the country that has claimed Last week, the gargantuan Three ated. millions of people.q
scores of lives. Gorges Dam on the Yangtze Seasonal flooding strikes large
State broadcaster CCTV reported opened three floodgates as the parts of China annually, especially
the dam on the Chuhe River in An- water level behind the massive in its central and southern regions,
hui province was destroyed with dam rose more than 15 meters (50 but has been especially severe this
explosives early Sunday morning, feet) above flood level. Another summer. More than 150 people
after which the water level was ex- flood crest is expected to arrive at have died or are missing in flood-
pected to drop by 70 centimeters the dam on Tuesday. ing and landslides brought on by
(more than 2 feet). Elsewhere, soldiers and workers the torrential rains — 23 of them
Water levels on many rivers, includ- have been testing the strength of since Thursday alone. In this photo released by China's Xin-
ing the mighty Yangtze, have been embankments and shoring them About 1.8 million people have hua News Agency, water flows out from
unusually high this year because of up with sandbags and rocks. On been evacuated and direct losses sluiceways at the Three Gorges Dam
torrential rains. Saturday, firefighters and others attributed to flooding are estimat- on the Yangtze River near Yichang in
Blasting dams and embankments finished filling in a 188-meter (620- ed at more than 49 billion yuan ($7 central China's Hubei Province, Friday,
to discharge water was an ex- foot) break on Poyang Lake, Chi- billion), according to the Ministry of July 17, 2020.
treme response employed during na's largest freshwater lake, that Emergency Management. Associated Press