Anti-police brutality protesters have emerged across the West African country last week calling for the government to end its controversial police unit called the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, known in the country as “SARS.” Reuters reported that the protesters – which are comprised of many young people in the country – have been using social media...
Tag: oct 20 2020
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$70B A YEAR REQUIRED TO TACKLE COVID’S EFFECT ON POVERTY
David Malpass, the President of the World Bank Group, said last week the bank will require at least $70 billion a year to reduce COVID’s impact on poverty, according to Nairametrics. “To put the financial challenge in perspective, consider the 100 million people we fear have already been pushed into extreme poverty by COVID-19. To...
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ILLEGAL BORDER CROSSINGS ON THE RISE
Border Patrol agents on the U.S.-Mexican border recorded their busiest month since 2006 involving illegal border crossings, according to a report in last Thursday’s Wall Street Journal. The agency said agents caught 54,771 migrants trying to enter the country illegally and immediately expelled 48,327 of them. Despite the high number in September, the number of...
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DIVIDED STATES OF AMERICA
A recent Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll showed the vast majority of Americans believe democracy is not working very well in what is seen as a “Divided States of America.” The U.S. has seen several major events this past year, including violent protests over the death of George Floyd, 30 million Americans...
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BIDEN’S “ECHO OF FDR” NOT RINGING: TRUMP 2020 BY DEFAULT?
Joe Biden, the Democratic nominee for president, has made it clear that – if elected – his approach to COVID and the federal government’s role would be vastly different from President Trump’s position of letting states take a tailored approach. The New York Times reported that Biden’s plan “echoes” Franklin D. Roosevelt’s big-government approach and...
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ELECTION FALLOUT FEARS
Top business leaders in the U.S. issued a statement last Thursday warning that following Election Day in the U.S., the outcome could take a heavy toll on the economy and markets. The CEOs also voiced concerns to the Financial Times if election results are drawn out and disputed. And, as we reported, there is particular...
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COVID KILLING COMMUNITY COLLEGES
As we had forecast in February when politicians launched the COVID War and a panicked public ran out to buy toilet paper and schools sent students home, college towns would become the new Rust Belt 2.0. Undergraduate enrollment in U.S. colleges and universities is 4 percent lower this autumn than last, and first-year students have...
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WISCONSIN BREAKS THE LAW
A judge in Wisconsin dealt Governor Tony Evers a setback last Wednesday by blocking an order he imposed that would limit the number of people in bars and restaurants at one time. Evers’ office called Sawyer County Circuit Judge John Yackel’s decision to issue a temporary restraining order “dangerous” and “leaves our state without a...
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TOP WHO OFFICIAL: LOCKDOWNS ARE A “LAST RESORT”
Hans Kluge, the WHO’s Regional Director for Europe, said in an interview last week that knee-jerk lockdowns to slow the spread of coronavirus do more harm than good and should be used only as a “last resort.” Darren McCaffrey, a reporter for Euronews, tweeted that Kluge said lockdowns can affect mental health and increase the...
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AMERICANS UNWILLING TO GET FIRST VACCINE SHOT
New polls show Americans are cautious about receiving the first batch of coronavirus vaccines. The Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll revealed only 20 percent of registered voters said they would be willing to take a vaccine once it hits the market. About half said they wanted to wait for more public consumption to see if there...