• Fifteen Hong Kong opposition party lawmakers announced on Nov. 12 that they’ll resign en masse to protest the disqualification of four fellow pro-democracy legislators. The resignations followed Beijing’s top lawmaking body, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, empowered Hong Kong’s government to bypass the local judiciary in order to ban any lawmakers deemed “unpatriotic” or considered to be conducting themselves in a manner that “endangers national security.”
(“Hong Kong’s Pro-Democracy Lawmakers Quit Legislature Over Ouster Of Colleagues,” National Public Radio, Nov. 11, 2020; “‘An Own Goal’: Experts Question Resignation of Hong Kong Lawmakers,” Guardian, Nov. 11, 2020)
• After the Covid-19 pandemic hit Kenya, many city dwellers sent their children to live with family members in rural villages, believing it was safer there during the pandemic. At the same, these children become more susceptible to contracting malaria, which is spread by mosquitoes breeding in irrigation ditches in rural areas.
(“How COVID-19 Hinders the Fight Against Malaria,” The Economist, Oct. 31 2020)
• Early personnel announcements by President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team have given hope to progressives that the centrist former Vice President will bring innovative leaders into the new government. The American Prospect reports that reformers dominate agency review teams announced for the Treasury Department and Federal Reserve, but pro-industry players dominate the team assigned to the Office of Management and Budget.
(“Biden’s First Appointees Are a Mixed Bag,” American Prospect, Nov. 11, 2020; “Progressives’ Wish List for Biden Starts With Warren and Sanders,” New York Times, Nov. 11, 2020
This week’s News Summary was narrated by Anna Manzo.
