• After a wave of mass floods and civil unrest in Sudan, aid workers warn of a “generational catastrophe” as millions of children are unable to attend school. The Guardian reports that extreme poverty, a lack of qualified teachers and strikes by teaching staff, the Covid-19 pandemic and low vaccination rates are among the many factors that have contributed to the crisis.
(“Sudan Faces ‘Generational Catastrophe’ As Millions of Children Miss School,” Guardian, Oct. 5, 2022)
• Famed Guatemalan investigative Journalist Jose Ruben Zamora, founder of the El Periodico newspaper was arrested and detained in late July after security forces stormed his home and offices. Zamora and his finance manager Flora Silva both sit in a military prison while government prosecutors build a case, on charges of money laundering, blackmail and corruption. Throughout his career Zamora and his newspaper faced 195 lawsuits and a commercial boycott. In 2008, he survived an assassination plot.
(“Guatemala’s War on the Truth,” The Nation, Aug. 23, 2022; “To Prosecute Any Critical Voice: Jailed Guat. Journalist Zamora’s son on His Father’s Arrest,” Committee to Protect Journalists, Oct. 12, 2022)
• In the latter days of the Carter administration, the Paperwork Reduction Act created a new agency in the White House: the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs or (OIRA). The agency was designed to be final stopping place for the approval of all new government regulations. In the early days of the Reagan White House, which was hostile to all government regulation, the administration adopted an executive order that required OIRA to use cost-benefit analysis. This review protocol systematically and deliberately understated benefits and overstated costs. The order explicitly prohibited regulations unless the benefits could be shown to outweigh the costs.
(“Reclaiming the Deep State,” American Prospect, Oct. 4, 2022)
This week’s News Summary was narrated by Anna Manzo.
