28th November 2022 |
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Good morning. A poll found that two-thirds of adults will tell friends and family they are ‘fine’, even when they’re not. Most believe others don't care so they'd rather not talk about it. However, studies show sharing helps.
Here are a few responses that might open-up conversations: "Not bad. Could be better, though." "I have a pulse, so that’s good." "How do you think that I am doing?" "Do you want the short or the detailed version? "I’m under renovation." Try them.
Belarus. Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei died suddenly on Saturday. Makei's unexpected death came as a "deep shock" to Moscow, according to Russia. Makei died at 64 years of age. Belarusian authorities did not release further details about the circumstances surrounding his death. He was close to authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko and one of the longest-serving officials in the country.
China. Online video footage shows people throughout China protesting the government's COVID-19 restrictions. The footage comes after 10 people died in a fire at an apartment complex in the Chinese region of Xinjiang, sparking protests in the region. Protestors in Xinjiang believed that government measures to control the pandemic prevented residents of the apartment complex from escaping the fire. Residents throughout China continue to face pandemic control measures, which sometimes include closing off apartment blocks with steel gates.
World Cup. Iran’s football federation says it has lodged a complaint to FIFA over the removal of the word “Allah” from the Islamic Republic’s flag on social media posts by its counterpart in the United States, ahead of an upcoming World Cup game between the two countries. The United States Soccer Federation (USSF) said in a statement it had decided to forego the official flag on social media accounts in a show of solidarity with the “women in Iran fighting for basic human rights” in the wake of the death of 22-year-old Iranian woman Mahsa Amini in police custody. The US and Iran cut diplomatic relations in 1980.
1893 The First Time Women Voted
New Zealand became the first country in the world to grant women the right to vote.
NIGERIA
Inflation Prophecy
The Story
Nigeria's inflation crisis will ease in the months ahead, according to the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele.
What's the evidence to support the projection?
The CBN governor made the projection on Friday while speaking at the 57th yearly bankers’ dinner in Lagos. Noting that efforts made to boost supply side factors had started yielding results, Emefiele expressed confidence that the inflation rate in the country will drop below the 15% mark by the end of 2023. "We are confident of sustained period of disinflation in the coming months", he said.
Naira redesign already yielding results
The projection is encouraged by Nigeria’s economic growth, which Emefiele says has demonstrated the resilience of the non-oil sector that is supported by favourable monetary and fiscal policies. While stating that the Naira redesign has started yielding the intended results, Emefiele reiterated that the deadline for phasing out the old banknotes remains January 31, and urged those hoarding the old notes to take them to banks for new ones. SOURCE
AFRICA
Monarchical Presidency
The Story
Ruling for as long as a lifetime is a phenomenon mostly associated with monarchs. Some leaders have, however, succeeded in turning their country's supposed democratic system to a monarchy lookalike, as they hold on to power for decades.
What's the news?
Equatorial Guinea's president Teodoro Nguema Mbasogo has been announced the winner of the country's presidential election, giving him a "sixth" seven year term as president. "The results of the general election solemnly proclaim His Excellency Obiang NGuema Mbasogo President of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea for a term of seven years", said the head of the electoral commission, Faustino Ndong Esono Eyang.
What are the poll's figures?
The 80-year old, who has been in power since 1979, won the election by about 94.9% of the votes cast. He did not do it alone though, as he had help from the support of a coalition of 15 parties, including his own party, the Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea (PDGE). While observers say that the result was the true representation of the election, weeks of high-handedness by the government, including arrest of opposition figures under the guise of thwarting a "conspiracy" to commit attacks, are believed to have contributed to swinging the polls in Mbasogo's favour. SOURCE
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ASIA
Testing Xi
The Story
The weeks after Chinese President Xi Jinping secured a third five years term as leader of the communist party, and by extension the country, have been testing. Xi's challenges got worse over the weekend as protesters took to the streets, calling for Xi's resignation.
What's the protest about?
The protests were in reaction to China's zero-COVID strategy, which has greatly restricted the people's movement. We reported in the Friday edition of Freshly Pressed that China's Covid-19 control strategy appears to be ineffective as the country battles with increasing number of infections, with citizens expressing displeasure over the restriction placed on them. Things got to a head over the weekend as protesters took to the streets in major cities, including Beijing, after an apartment fire accident that killed 10 people.
How did the fire trigger protests?
Ten people, including a 3-year-old child, died in the deadly apartment fire in the far western city of Urumqi on Thursday night. In response, angry Chinese citizens took to the streets to demand an end to lockdowns. Local authorities said that a malfunctioning power strip caught fire on the 15th floor of the high-rise apartment complex and started the tragic fire. The protesters were, however, enraged that it took the fire department more than three hours to douse the flames. Many in the city questioned whether COVID rules had impeded first responders and prevented help from reaching people trapped inside.
Although the government dismissed the suggestion that the first responders were impeded by COVID-19 control measures, resentment had already begun to grow since parts of Xinjiang, including its regional capital Urumqi, had been placed under lockdown since August for more than 100 days. Videos from Friday night showed hundreds of residents of Urumqi breaking through the lockdowns around their residential compounds and marching toward the local administration while clamoring for the lockdown to be lifted. The protests continued until Sunday, spreading to the capital Beijing. SOURCE
CAREER
What Secretly Destroys People's Careers?
David Seidman
Coasting.
Once you've been in a job for a couple years, you're likely to reach a position where you can do the job with ease. You know all the right people, all the tools and technology, all the tricks. You've seen all the problems before. You can work without having to work. It's a great deal.
Until it isn't. You get passed over for promotion in favor of someone with better “trajectory”. You try to find another job, but you don't know the technologies they're looking for. When you do get an interview, they ask you about situations you've never faced, things someone else always took care of. Eventually you settle for a position with lower pay at a crappy company. And you swear never to coast again.
As soon as your job seems easy, find a way to make it harder or find a new one.
Tinubu declines Arise TV town hall meeting invitation
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Landslide kills 14 people attending a funeral in Cameroon
Sao Tome and Principe foils coup attempt
No more ‘state of Osun’, Adeleke’s directives on first day in office
Croatia win knocks Canada out of World Cup
Riots in Brussels after Morocco beat Belgium in World Cup match
‘Disgrace to football’: Iran coach demands Klinsmann resignation
EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY
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BIOGRAPHY
Archimedes
Archimedes of Syracuse (c. 287 – c. 212 BC) was a Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, astronomer, and inventor from the ancient city of Syracuse in Sicily. Although few details of his life are known, he is regarded as one of the leading scientists in classical antiquity.
Considered to be the greatest mathematician of ancient history, and one of the greatest of all time, Archimedes anticipated modern calculus and analysis by deriving and rigorously proving a range of geometrical theorems, including: the area of a circle; the surface area and volume of a sphere; area of an ellipse; the area under a parabola; the volume of a segment of a paraboloid of revolution; the volume of a segment of a hyperboloid of revolution; and the area of a spiral.
He is also credited with designing innovative machines, such as his screw pump, compound pulleys, and defensive war machines to protect his native Syracuse from invasion.
Archimedes died during the siege of Syracuse, when he was killed by a Roman soldier despite orders that he should not be harmed. Cicero describes visiting Archimedes' tomb, which was surmounted by a sphere and a cylinder, which Archimedes had requested be placed on his tomb to represent his mathematical discoveries.
TRIVIA
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