The RoundUp: Pray for Cameroon, France Enters 2nd Lockdown, Amy Coney Barrett Sworn In on Hillary's Birthday
A roundup of global news, published every Thursday afternoon. Here’s the big stories for the week ending October 30th.
1. Pray for Cameroon: An article from CNN gives us insight on a school shooting that took place in Kumba, Cameroon. The gunmen, whom local authorities have alleged are separatist fighters, stormed the Mother Francisca International Bilingual Academy and opened fire before escaping. They took the lives of at least seven children and left 12 injured. Considering the context of the ongoing movement to split English- and French-speaking Cameroon, this has given rise to the hashtag #EndAnglophoneCrisis to raise awareness of the tragic event. Read more.
2. Amy Coney Barrett Is Sworn In: A week before the U.S. Presidential elections, Amy Coney Barrett was confirmed by the Senate with a 52-48 vote. The newly minted Supreme Court Justice is a controversial pick due to her lack of experience. In fact, she only started serving as a judge three years ago when nominated to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. Mother Jones deemed her the least experience judge in thirty years. Justice Clarence Thomas, who matched Barrett’s inexperience when he was nominated, swore her in. The ceremony took place at the White House late Monday night in an apparent effort to troll Hillary Clinton, as that also happened to be the accomplished lawyer’s 73rd birthday. Read more.
3. France On Lockdown : Following an uptick in COVID-19 cases, France announced its second nationwide lockdown. On a larger scale, according to NBC, after a summer of low infection numbers, cases have surged in Europe, and the European Union is now seeing new cases per capita exceed the new infection rate in the United States. “I know the weariness and this feeling of a day with no end that is overcoming all of us,” French president Emmanuel Macron said in a national address on Wednesday. “We must stick together and remain united and not give in to the poison of division. This period is hard precisely because it is testing our resilience and our unity.” Read more.
