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Sonko Court Appearance Sparks Unrest In Senegal’s Capital

— DAKAR, Senegal Sonko To prevent his followers from following him, authorities took Senegalese opposition leader Ousmane Sonko from his car on Thursday. This led to violence in several areas of the capital as they carried him to a court hearing.
On the third day of protests in support of Sonko, who placed third in the most recent presidential election and is anticipated to be a major contender in next year’s election, police used tear gas in many Dakar neighborhoods to disperse demonstrators.
Several demonstrators attacked French businesses and set fire to buses used by Senegal’s national public transportation system. The village of Thies, located 68 kilometers (42 miles) east of the capital, the southern towns of Ziguinchor and Bignona and the northern metropolis of Saint-Louis, also reported unrest.
Sonko asserts that the government of President Macky Sall is attempting to sabotage his bid for office in the 2024 election due to his legal issues. Sall has been pushed by the opposition leader to openly declare that he would not run for reelection a third time.
Sonko told reporters on Thursday afternoon that “the dictatorship of Macky with police repression” was the face of Senegal.
Sonko asserts that the government of President Macky Sall is attempting to sabotage his bid for office.
Sonko was scheduled to appear in court concerning a civil complaint brought by Senegal’s tourism minister against him for alleged defamation earlier that day. An opposition convoy supporting him took more than an hour between his residence and the courthouse.
When he arrived at court, he requested to see a doctor, claiming that the police had mistreated him when they pushed him out of his car. The hearing has been postponed till March 30 by Judge Pape Mouhamed Diop.
He is also charged with rape in a second case when a female massage parlor employee accused him of assault. He may spend up to 10 years in prison and would not be permitted to run for president if found guilty. There is no specified date for this trial.
Sonko was taken from his car against his will by Senegalese authorities on Thursday for the second time in a month because they said his activities were disruptive. Police forced him out of his car by breaking the glass in the middle of February.
After Sonko was detained for disrupting public order en route to the courthouse for his scheduled appearance in the rape case in 2021, days of violent protests broke out. The deadliest violence to strike Senegal in years claimed at least 13 lives.
SOURCE – (AP)
News
US Homelessness Rises 18% as Many Cannot Afford Affordable Housing
(VOR News) – Federal officials said on Friday that the United States experienced a significant rise in homelessness this year, totaling 18.1%, mostly attributed to a lack of affordable housing, severe natural disasters, and an influx of migrants in various areas of the country.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development reported that federally mandated counts conducted nationwide in January indicated that over 770,000 individuals were categorized as homeless;
However, this statistic does not account for certain individuals or those residing with friends or family due to a lack of personal housing. This increase follows a 12% rise in 2023, which HUD ascribed to the cessation of pandemic assistance and soaring rents.
In 2023, newly homeless individuals also contributed to a surge in homelessness.
The data reveals that 23 per 10,000 Americans are homeless, with a disproportionately elevated rate of Black individuals affected by homelessness.
HUD Agency Head Adrianne Todman asserted that the focus must remain on “evidence-based initiatives to prevent and eradicate homelessness,” emphasizing that “no American should experience homelessness, and the Biden-Harris Administration is dedicated to guaranteeing that every family has access to affordable, safe, and quality housing.”
A roughly 40% rise in family homelessness, significantly affected by the surge of migrants in major urban areas, was among the most concerning trends.
HUD reports that family homelessness rose by under 8% in 373 towns, while it more than quadrupled in 13 communities affected by migration, including Denver, Chicago, and New York City. In 2024, around 150,000 children experienced homelessness on a single night, representing a 33% rise compared to the prior year.
The rise in the number was also affected by calamities, notably the catastrophic Maui wildfire that transpired last year, marking the deadliest wildfire in the United States in nearly a century. During the census night, more than 5,200 individuals were accommodated in emergency shelters in Hawaii.
Renee Willis, the incoming interim CEO of the National Low Income Housing Coalition, stated that “the tragic, yet foreseeable, result of insufficient investment in the resources and protections that assist individuals in securing and sustaining safe, affordable housing is a rise in homelessness.”
“The incidence is increasing as individuals grapple with exorbitant housing expenses, as cautioned by advocates, researchers, and those with firsthand experience.”
These statistics support more communities cracking down on homelessness.
Communities, especially in Western states, have started implementing camping regulations in response to the often perilous and unsanitary tent encampments.
This follows the Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision last year that banning outdoor camping does not contravene the Eighth Amendment. Proponents for the homeless said that penalizing individuals in need of shelter would render homelessness a criminal offense.
Ann Oliva, CEO of the National Alliance to End, stated, “The reduction in veteran homelessness provides a definitive framework for tackling homelessness more broadly.”
We can replicate this success and reduce homelessness nationwide with bipartisan backing, adequate funding, and strategic policy measures. Federal investments are crucial to tackling the nation’s housing affordability crisis and ensuring that all Americans have access to secure, stable housing.
The population of homeless individuals has effectively diminished in several major urban areas.
Dallas’ systemically changing homeless population dropped 16% from 2022 to 2024.
Since 2023, unsheltered in Los Angeles has diminished by 5%, resulting in an increase in housing availability for the homeless.
The highest population of homeless individuals in the United States is located in California, the most populous state, followed by New York, Washington, Florida, and Massachusetts.
The United States has had almost a decade of success, which stands in stark contrast to the significant increase in homelessness observed in the past two years.
According to the original 2007 research, the United States made steady progress in reducing homelessness for approximately a decade, with the government particularly focusing on increasing money to assist veterans in securing housing. From 2010 to 2017, the population of homeless individuals declined from about 637,000 to approximately 554,000.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress implemented emergency rental assistance, stimulus money, support for states and local governments, and a temporary eviction moratorium, resulting in a modest increase to approximately 580,000 in the 2020 figure, which remained relatively consistent over the subsequent two years.
SOURCE: USN
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News
The Federal Reserve Was Sued By Big Banks Over Annual Stress Tests.
(VOR News) – A number of financial firms and industry associations have taken legal action against the Federal Reserve of the United States in reaction to the annual stress tests that are administered to banks.
In addition to the American Bankers Association, the Ohio Bankers League, the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, and the United States Chamber of Commerce, the Bank Policy Institute, which is a group that represents large financial institutions such as JPMorgan, Citigroup, and Goldman Sachs, is joining the other organizations in filing the lawsuit.
The plaintiffs have said that the purpose of the action is to “resolve longstanding legal violations by subjecting the stress test process to public input as required by federal law.”
The Federal Reserve litigation aims to achieve this goal.
Despite the fact that the organizations have said that they do not have a negative stance on stress testing, they are of the opinion that the method that is now being utilized is insufficient and “produces vacillating and unexplained requirements and restrictions on bank capital.”
It is standard procedure for the Federal Reserve to carry out a stress test on an annual basis. This test ensures that financial institutions have adequate reserves to cover the risk of bad loans and establishes the maximum amount of share repurchases and dividends that can be distributed.
After the market closed on Monday, the Federal Reserve issued a statement indicating that it is considering adjustments to the stress tests applied to banks.
Additionally, the Federal Reserve will seek public feedback on “significant changes to improve the transparency of its bank stress tests and to reduce the volatility of resulting capital buffer requirements.”
This information was included in the announcement. As a result of “the evolving legal landscape,” the Federal Reserve claimed that it had made the choice to modify the tests. This statement was made in reference to the changes that have taken place in administrative laws over the course of the past several years.
There were no particular modifications that were described in this paper that were provided to the framework of the yearly stress testing before it was implemented. There is a likelihood that the revisions will be regarded as a win by the major banks; yet, it is possible that those modifications will be too little, too late.
Furthermore, it is possible that the revisions will not go far enough to satisfy the concerns of the banks regarding onerous capital requirements. This is a possibility.
The Federal Reserve says the changes will not materially affect capital requirements.
It was stated in a statement that was issued by Greg Baer, the Chief Executive Officer of the Bank of the Philippines, that “The Board’s announcement today is a first step towards transparency and accountability.”
Baer expressed his support for the Federal Reserve’s action. The statement issued by Baer, on the other hand, was a veiled allusion to additional actions. He stated, “We are reviewing it closely and considering additional options to ensure timely reforms that are both good law and good policy.”
The British Bankers Association (BPI) and the American Bankers Association (ABA) are two examples of organizations that have voiced their concerns in the past about the stress test procedure.
The aforementioned organizations have argued that the process is not transparent and has resulted in increasing capital rules, which have a detrimental effect on the lending practices of banks and the expansion of the economy.
The groups claimed in July that the Federal Reserve had broken the Administrative Procedure Act by not asking for public comment on its stress scenarios and by maintaining strict confidentiality about supervising models. Both of these acts were claimed to have happened.
SOURCE: CNBC
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American Airlines Has Canceled All Domestic Flights Due to a Technical Issue.
Joe Biden Commutes Sentences For 37 Of The 40 Federal Death Row Prisoners.
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American Airlines Has Canceled All Domestic Flights Due to a Technical Issue.
(VOR News) – Due to technical difficulties, American Airlines (AA) was forced to cancel all of its flights departing from the United States on Tuesday morning.
This decision was reached as a result of information that was provided by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
American Airlines’ findings were based on FAA data.
The airline is currently dealing with a lot of problems as a consequence of a considerable number of customers claiming that their planes have returned to gates after being stopped on runways at a number of different airports.
A decision has been reached by American Airlines to cancel each and every flight that was planned to fly in the United States prior to the implementation of cancellation.
The following is a comment that American Airlines provided in a post that was published on X, which was formerly known as Twitter. Take the following example:
“Our team is working to resolve a technical issue.” Despite the fact that they have not been able to provide an estimated time for the problem to be resolved, the organization has emphasized that they are making every effort to restart operations as quickly as possible.
There have been a number of aircraft throughout the United States that have been grounded as a result of the grounding. Travelers have taken to social media to vent their frustration with the delays and the lack of definite dates for their flights. A great number of flights have been canceled as a direct consequence of the grounding.
In spite of the fact that its technical staff is currently working to solve the system issues, American Airlines continues to handle customer complaints on social media channels.
During the time that they are striving to restart regular operations, the airline is advising passengers who have been affected to return to the airport. Regarding the nature of the technology challenges and the extent of those concerns, there is still a large amount of uncertainty.
There are thousands of customers on American Airlines’ domestic network who are experiencing major implications as a result of this circumstance that is becoming progressively dire.
During the time that they are working to fix the broad system breakdown, the airline is successfully leveraging social media to maintain communication with customer service representatives. As a consequence of this, the airline is able to maintain communication with its passengers.
American Airlines lists other similar examples:
There was a technical problem that happened on Monday at Alaska Airlines (AS), and it had an effect on the entire system. The disruption was directly responsible for the downtime of the company’s website, and as a consequence of the outage, the operations of the aircraft were adjusted.
In an effort to enhance their capacity to retain control over the flow of aircraft, the airline temporarily suspended flights at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport for a period of forty minutes. They adopted this course of action in order to enhance their ability to maintain control.
Due to a technical fault, consumers were unable to book tickets through the contact centers, mobile app, or website of the airline. As a consequence of this, the airline encountered considerable delays in providing satisfactory service to its passengers.
Southwest Airlines (WN) was forced to cancel every flight that was set to depart from various locations across the country earlier this year as a result of a different occurrence that occurred the previous year.
In response to Southwest’s request, the Federal Aviation Administration issued the order to terminate the flight’s operations on the ground. It was necessary to take this action in order to address the difficulties that were brought about by the existing technical impediments.
Southwest Airlines has had more than 1,500 American Airlines flight delays as of late morning Eastern Time, as indicated by the data that was given by Flight Aware. In the United States, this single factor was responsible for more than half of all the delays that were experienced by airplanes.
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SOURCE: AI
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