1.New D.C Phone #
Washington D.C is getting a new area code after 70 years. The dcist reports that the longstanding (202) area code is running out. Each area code can produce roughly eight million seven-digit phone numbers, and the North American Numbering Plan Administrator — the official regulator of area codes in the U.S., Canada and some Caribbean countries — says (202) is expected to run out of numbers within two years. The 13-month process to implement the new (771) area code started in September last year.
2.Cameroon Anglophone Crisis
The nearly 5-year conflict in Cameroon is getting worse. AlJazeera reports that recent attacks are the latest escalation in the nearly five-year conflict between government security forces and armed separatists which has displaced more than 700,000 civilians and forced another 63,800 across the border to Nigeria, according to a United Nations report this week.
3.Latin America COVID-19 Surge
Latin America is bracing itself after a warning about a new surge of the pandemic that could be worse than last year’s. NBC shares that the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) reported that Countries in Latin America could see a worse surge in coronavirus cases than the previous surge last year, with Brazil, Uruguay and Cuba already suffering more. Director Carissa Etienne said the end of the Southern Hemisphere summer, following holidays where people grouped together and spread cases, had prompted spikes. She urged citizens to stay at home and governments to think hard before lowering movement restrictions.
