"In survey conducted from Sept. 15 to 23, about 70 percent of adult Filipinos were satisfied, 16 percent were dissatisfied while 14 percent were undecided. This was five points higher than the June 2018 survey result showing only 65 percent were satisfied. Meanwhile, 20 percent were dissatisfied and 15 percent were undecided last June 2018".In this sense, far from even needing to attack democratic institutions as his opponents accuse him of doing, democracy is in reality Duterte's best friend. His popularity remains such that the kinds of crackdowns necessary to pursue and enact the rule of a genuinely unpopular autocrat are simply not needed as Duterte is perfectly capable of commanding a genuine and incredibly consistent democratic mandate without resorting to any political extremes.
The spokesman [Dmitry Peskov] went on saying that it was hard to understand which of the news stories emerging from the Skripal investigation were true or false.See also:
"The Kremlin does not want to keep addressing this issue, all the more so, having the media as a partner. All of these arguments - who looks like whom and so on - you know, in Red Square ... there are ten Stalins and 15 Lenins running, and all are extremely similar to the original," Peskov told reporters.
He noted that many news stories had appeared in the UK and other media outlets in recent months, saying, "No one can figure out which of these news stories are false and which are true."
The official stated the Kremlin did not want to engage in stirring up the issue of "investigations" into the identities of Skripal poisoning suspects Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov with the media. He reiterated Moscow's stance, saying that Russian intelligence services need original materials on the Skripal case to assist London and participate in the investigation.
"Today, we have notified the ambassador of the Russian Federation along with the US ambassador and others of the situation. In two days, I will be meeting with President Putin. We will be speaking about issues of concern for Serbia, therefore the situation in Kosovo and Metohija will definitely be the focus [of the talks]," Vucic said. "We will inform Putin of latest developments and will ask for his support at all international forums. We will ask him for advice, no doubt."Asked by reporters if he, like Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, would request Russia for military assistance, Vucic vowed he would do his utmost to preserve peace in the region.
"I would prefer Serbia - with all our respect and love for Syria and its people - to be a peaceful country, a country with developed economy, a country of the future and I will do my best to preserve peace," he noted.The Serbian media reported earlier that Putin and Vucic would hold talks in Moscow on October 2.
"Our economy is strong. Growth is running at a healthy clip," Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said during a press conference. "Unemployment is low. The number of people working is rising steadily. And wages are up. Inflation is low and stable. All of these are very good signs."Fed policymakers presented revised projections of future rate moves, as well as their outlook for the economy, unemployment, and inflation.
Comment: See also: