Newsweek 1/22/2021

It was the European Union’s second-most dynamic economy, with 4.9 percent growth in gross domestic product recorded in 2019, ranked 16th in the world for foreign investments. Like most economies, Hungary took a serious hit with the COVID-19 pandemic; but could its pre-crisis dynamism and strong fundamentals help speed its recovery and preserve investments? Yes, say the experts. “We estimate 6 percent economic contraction in 2020, but we could recover the bulk of that this year and hope to continue growing from mid-2022,” asserts Mihály Patai, deputy governor of the central bank, who predicts the country will maintain a growth rate 2-3 percent above the eurozone average. Hungary has handled the health aspects of COVID-19 well, claims Zoltán Kovács, Secretary of State for International Communication and Relations, and International Spokesman for…

1980 According to Newsweek, as Russian troops “fanned relentlessly” across Afghanistan, President Jimmy Carter’s response was “to order a tough new set of economic and political reprisals against the Soviet Union, including an embargo on technology and a sharp cutback in grain exports.” This “new cold war” further escalated tensions that did not resolve until roughly 10 years later with the end of the Soviet Union. Today, the U.S. imposes sanctions on various Russian companies and agencies in response to its invasion of Ukraine, cyber attacks, election interference and other abuses. 1972 “Venereal Disease in the U.S. is epidemic,” wrote Newsweek, with syphilis and gonorrhea “rising sharply among the middle and upper classes, whose members hitherto fancied themselves above the scourge.” According to the CDC, cases of both diseases have again been on…

THE ARAB SPRING PROTEST MOVEMENT TOOK the Middle East and North Africa by storm 10 years ago, sparked in part by the January 2011 death of Mohamed Bouazizi, a Tunisian street vendor. Bouazizi had set himself on fire two weeks earlier in a suicidal act of anti-establishment defiance that fanned the flames of revolutionary fervor across the region. But while the early days of the Arab Spring were defined by hope, excitement and indignation, many countries where mass demonstrations occurred would see brutal crackdowns, an influx of foreign interests and fighters as well as civil war, muddling the legacy of the pan-Arab revolt for democracy. A decade after Bouazizi’s iconic self-immolation, Newsweek looks back at some of the countries most affected by the Arab Spring and examines where they are today. Tunisia Then-Tunisian President…

I’M 11-YEARS-OLD AND I’M IN the fifth grade at Upper Moreland School in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, and my favorite subject at school is math. But I also love to dance and make cakes. This year on Mother’s Day in May, I made a bundt cake and gave slices of it away to different moms. Straight away they began asking me to bake them cakes. I was already interested in baking because I enjoy watching different baking shows, like Nailed It! and Sugar Rush. But when I heard that people wanted my cakes, I realized I could just go for it. So, I started my cake business: Lovely London Delights. At first, I had to try a few different times to see how long it would take the cakes to bake perfectly. There…

“Amen and Awoman.”—REP. EMANUEL CLEAVER (D-MO) CONCLUDING THE OPENING PRAYER OF THE 117TH CONGRESS“OUR DEMOCRACY IS UNDER AN UNPRECEDENTED ASSAULT.”—PRESIDENT-ELECT JOE BIDEN“I wish I could say that I’m shocked. It’s another instance in a string of misapplications of justice.”—WISCONSIN LT. GOV. MANDELA BARNES IN RESPONSE TO PROSECUTORS DECLINING TO CHARGE THE OFFICER WHO SHOT JACOB BLAKE“Our country experienced a traumatic and entirely avoidable event as supporters of the President stormed the Capitol building following a rally he addressed. As I’m sure is the case with many of you, it has deeply troubled me in a way that I simply cannot set aside.”—TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY ELAINE CHAO ON HER RESIGNATION“IT’S IMPORTANT THAT WE’RE EXPOSED TO A WIDE SPECTRUM OF OPINION, BUT WHAT WE HAVE NOW IS THE DIGITAL EQUIVALENT OF THE MEDIEVAL…

THEY KNEW IT COULD HAPPEN. THEY FEARED THAT Donald Trump would pull a “Samson,” bringing down the whole house on top of him in the two weeks before he left the White House. Officials from the FBI, the Secret Service, Homeland Security, the District of Columbia government, the Pentagon, the National Guard and the Joint Task Force–National Capital Region who spoke to Newsweek on condition of anonymity in the days before the Capitol Hill riot, all talked about the potential for protesters, militias and paramilitary goons—egged on by the president—to storm Capitol Hill and even the Capitol building itself. A half-dozen sources spoke openly about this very scenario: that the mob would attack the “People’s House” and that somehow the system would break down. They speculated that this could occur because…