Hard Numbers: Poland restricts abortion, US arms Taiwan, OECD migration drops, Guinea post-election violence

October 22, 2020

Women protest against imposing further restrictions on abortion law in Poland in Szczecin. Reuters

2: Accepting a legal challenge by the ruling conservative Law and Justice party, Poland's top court has ruled that having an abortion due to fetal defects is unconstitutional. The verdict means that abortion in the overwhelmingly Catholic country will now only be legal in two instances: after a pregnancy caused by rape or incest, and when the mother's health is at risk.

1.8 billion: The Trump administration has notified the US Congress it intends to sell $1.8 billion worth of new missiles and related military hardware to Taiwan. China, which regards the island as part of its territory, will as usual make a stink, but the US regularly sells arms to Taiwan despite the "One China" policy.

46: The pandemic has caused (legal) migration to 37 of the world's most developed countries to plummet by 46 percent in the first half of the year compared to the same period in 2019 — the sharpest six-month decline ever. The OECD warns that weaker labor demand, travel restrictions, and widespread remote work may prevent such migration flows from returning to pre-pandemic levels "for some time."

10: At least 10 people have died in post-election violence in Guinea. President Alpha Condé is currently leading the count after the October 18 vote, but challenger Cellou Dalein Diallo has claimed victory for himself and insists Condé should not have been allowed to run due to (recently overturned) constitutional term limits.

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A woman lights a cigarette placed in a placard depicting Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, during a demonstration, after the Hungarian parliament passed a law that bans LGBTQ+ communities from holding the annual Pride march and allows a broader constraint on freedom of assembly, in Budapest, Hungary, on March 25, 2025.

REUTERS/Marton Monus

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American President Donald Trump's X Page is seen displayed on a smartphone with a Tiktok logo in the background

Avishek Das / SOPA Images via Reuters Connect

In August 1991, a handful of high-ranking Soviet officials launched a military coup to halt what they believed (correctly) was the steady disintegration of the Soviet Union. Their first step was to seize control of the flow of information across the USSR by ordering state television to begin broadcasting a Bolshoi Theatre production ofSwan Lake on a continuous loop until further notice.

Hard Numbers: Poland restricts abortion, US arms Taiwan, OECD migration drops, Guinea post-election violence

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In this episode of Europe in :60, Carl Bildt discusses the outcomes of the NATO Summit and where Europe stands with the Israel-Iran conflict.

Hungary’s capital will proceed with Saturday’s Pride parade celebrating the LGBTQ+ community, despite the rightwing national government’s recent ban on the event.

GZEROMEDIA

Subscribe to GZERO Media's newsletter: Signal

Think you know what's going on around the world? Here's your chance to prove it.

Small businesses are more than just corner shops and local services. They’re a driving force of economic growth, making up 90% of all businesses globally. As the global middle class rapidly expands, new opportunities are emerging for entrepreneurs to launch and grow small businesses.

The two-day NATO summit at the Hague wrapped on Wednesday. The top line? At an event noticeably scripted to heap flattery on Donald Trump, alliance members agreed to the US president’s demand they boost military spending to 5% of GDP over the next decade.