International

Drug Deaths Soar to the Highest Level on Record in America. In 2018 alone, 72,000 Americans died after an overdose of drugs — a record year.   The situation is so difficult that the life expectancy of the Americans has fallen two years in succession. Our correspondent in the US Björn Soenens and video journalist Daan Wallis made this documentary about the drug crisis. The epidemic not only affects the homeless or unemployed or people with hopeless lives. They are teachers, pilots, police officers, firefighters, lawyers, bankers. It's everybody. About 200 people die every day from heroin, fentanyl or oxycodone. It was large pharmaceutical companies that erupted the crisis in the mid-90s of the last century through aggressive marketing for opiates: heavenly painkillers for chronic p...

US Central bank hints at Interest rate cuts in the Future. The Fed currently finds that intervention to steer the value of the dollar is unnecessary and therefore leaves interest unchanged.   Jerome Powell, the president of the American central bank (the Fed), declared that to the great displeasure of President Trump. However, Powell hints at a possible interest rate cut in the near future, because inflation seems to be falling somewhat. The American president wants interest rates to go down so that the dollar becomes cheaper and exports are boosted. Goods are then relatively less expensive to buy abroad. According to the report, Trump even had it investigated at the end of last year,  whether it is possible to remove Powell from his position if he uses an interest that Trump d...