News

On a recent visit to Berlin, the Czech president “called on Germany to take on a leadership role in European security efforts that would inspire other countries” (Euractiv, March 22, 2023).

The Caribbean island nation of Haiti has struggled politically and economically for many decades. A crumbling infrastructure and extreme poverty continue to plague its people. In 2021 Haiti’s president was assassinated, and for the last couple of years politically connected gangs have terrorized the country (The Guardian, March 21, 2023).

On nightly news programs, there is often someone of note being “frog-marched” in manacles into or out of the Courthouse or Justice Building as photographers capture all the action. Within minutes, “Breaking News!” flashes across the screen, blasting the images around the world. Those shackled are mortified, totally humiliated as their reputation is tarnished and their life ruined.

Last year, over 43,000 people died in Somalia as a direct result of its regional drought (Wall Street Journal, March 20, 2023). Nearly half of these deaths were among children age five and younger! Thousands more are expected to die in the first six months of 2023, at a rate of about 135 people per day, all due to the continued drought in the Horn of Africa and the rising cost of food.