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WORLD NEWS Wednesday 16 september 2020
Survey: U.S.'s international reputation takes a virus hit

By PAN PYLAS rope. It said that in the U.K.,
LONDON (AP) — The inter- Spain, France and Ger-
national reputation of the many, ratings for Trump are
United States has declined similar to those received
further in the wake of its by George W. Bush near
handling of the coronavirus the end of his presidency,
pandemic, according to when his reputation was
new research Tuesday from dented by violence in Iraq
the Pew Research Center. as well as the start of the
In some of the 13 countries global financial crisis.
surveyed, favorable views Trump was also perceived
of the U.S. have fallen to re- in a more negative light
cord lows. Pew started poll- than other world leaders.
ing on the topic nearly two German Chancellor Ange-
decades ago. la Merkel received the most
Although the international support, with a median of
image of the U.S. has been 76% of people across the
in decline since President nations polled having con-
Donald Trump took office fidence in her. French Presi-
in 2017, Pew found it has dent Emmanuel Macron
been dented further by also received largely favor-
what is perceived to be a In this file photo dated Friday, Jan. 31, 2020, Brexit supporters hold British and US flags during a able ratings while those to-
badly handled response to rally in London. wards British Prime Minister
the pandemic. Pew found Associated Press Boris Johnson were more
that a median of just 15% mixed. Pew also found that
of respondents say the U.S. eyebrows around the world over the U.S.-led war in battle in November against the ratings for Russian Presi-
has done a good job dur- during the past few months Iraq. Germans are par- his Democratic opponent, dent Vladimir Putin and
ing the crisis, in contrast to with some of his comments ticularly negative in their former vice president Joe Chinese President Xi Jin-
perceptions around the on the virus and how it views of the U.S., with only Biden. ping were overwhelmingly
World Health Organization should be handled. 26% of those polled view- The president's ratings were negative too, though not
or the European Union, The international declines ing the country favorably, low across the board, par- as negative as Trump's.
both of which enjoy major- that Pew gauged were just above the 25% level in ticularly in Belgium where Pew collated said it used
ity approval. widespread, including 2003, when Germany, like just 9% of those polled had data from nationally repre-
Though new infections in among the U.S.'s tradition- France, opposed the Iraq a favorable view of Trump. sentative surveys of 13,273
the U.S. appear to have al allies. In the U.K., for ex- war. The Japanese were the adults from June 10 to Aug.
moderated over the past ample, Pew found that just Of the countries surveyed, most positive, though even 3, in Canada, Belgium,
few weeks, the country has 41% of people express a fa- only South Korea was there only 25% expressed Denmark, France, Germa-
the world's highest official vorable opinion of the U.S., found to have a majority confidence in Trump. ny, Italy, the Netherlands,
virus-related death toll with the lowest recorded rate. of people with a favorable Pew said attitudes toward Spain, Sweden, the UK,
around 195,000 deaths. In France, only 31% see the view of the U.S., with 59% Trump have consistently Australia, Japan and South
Much of the blame inter- U.S. positively, matching support. been much more negative Korea. Due to restrictions
nationally appears to have the low level recorded in Pew also gauged opinions than those toward his pre- related to the pandemic,
been laid at Trump's door. 2003 when the two coun- surrounding Trump, who is decessor, Barack Obama, all surveys were conducted
The president has raised tries were at loggerheads facing a tough re-election especially in Western Eu- by phone.q

Gaza militants fire rockets at Israel as pacts signed in U.S.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Pales- cepted by air defenses. Hamas responsible for all
tinian militants in the Gaza Magen David Adom, the attacks and typically re-
Strip fired two rockets into Israeli emergency service, sponds to rocket fire with
Israel on Tuesday, wound- said it treated two people airstrikes on militant targets.
ing two people in an at- for injuries from broken Israel and Hamas have
tack that was apparently glass. fought three wars and sev-
timed to coincide with the The military earlier said that eral smaller skirmishes since
signing of normalization rocket sirens sounded in 2007. Egypt and Qatar
agreements between Israel Ashdod and Ashkelon, cit- have brokered an informal
and two Arab countries at ies in southern Israel near cease-fire in recent years in
the White House. the Gaza Strip. which Hamas has reined in
The Palestinians are op- The Islamic militant group rocket attacks in exchange
posed to the agreements Hamas has ruled Gaza for economic aid and a
with the United Arab Emir- since 2007, when it seized loosening of the blockade,
ates and Bahrain, viewing power from the interna- but the arrangement has
them as a betrayal of their tionally-backed Palestinian broken down on a number Representations of the U.S., Israeli, Emirati and Bahraini flags are
cause by the Arab coun- Authority. Israel and Egypt of occasions. projected onto a wall of Jerusalem's Old City, marking the day
of a signing ceremony in Washington signifying the two Gulf na-
tries, which agreed to rec- have imposed a crippling Israelis have embraced the tions' normalization of relations with Israel, Tuesday, Sept. 15,
ognize Israel without secur- blockade on the coastal agreements with the UAE 2020.
ing territorial concessions. territory since then. and Bahrain, which are Associated Press
The Israeli military said two A number of Palestinian only the third and fourth
rockets were fired from militant groups operate Arab countries — after recognize Israel. City Hall in word "peace" in English,
Gaza and one was inter- in Gaza, but Israel holds Egypt and Jordan — to Tel Aviv was lit up with the Hebrew and Arabic.q