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World News
TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS
Putin voted as world’s most powerful person RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin has been named the world’s most powerful person by Forbes magazine. He has beaten US President Barack Obama into second place on the US magazine’s 2013 list. Pope Francis features at number four after Chinese President Xi Jinping. Mr Obama’s “lame duck period” had started earlier than usual while Mr Putin had consolidated his control of Russia, Forbes says. German Chancellor Angela Merkel ranked number five - one of only two women to feature in the top 20. British PM David Cameron is 11th most powerful, in the magazine’s opinion - well ahead of his French counterpart but well behind American philanthropist Bill Gates. It is the first time in three years that Mr Obama has dropped to second place on the Forbes list. It comes as relations between the US and Russia have been hit by the civil war in Syria. Mr Putin, who has been dominating Russian politics for 12 years, was re-elected president in March 2012. Mr Obama, on the other hand, has emerged bruised from a 16-day US government shutdown caused by a budget and debt crisis in Washington, Forbes says: “Putin has solidified his control over Russia, while Obama’s lame
Vladimir Putin ended Barack Obama’s three-year run as the most powerful person.
duck period has seemingly set in earlier than usual for a two-term president - latest example: the government shutdown mess.” Russia granted asylum in August to former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden, who is wanted in the US over intelligence leaks. A month later, Mr Putin “played the trump card again” by averting Mr Obama’s threatened missile strikes on Syria with a plan for Damascus to hand over chemical weapons, the magazine says. “Anyone watching this year’s chess match over Syria and NSA leaks has a clear idea of the shifting individual power dynamics,” it adds. (BBC)
Top 10 most powerful people Forbes 2013 1) Vladimir Putin, Russian President 2) Barack Obama, US President 3) Xi Jinping, Chinese President 4) Pope Francis, Roman Catholic Church 5) Angela Merkel, German Chancellor 6) Bill Gates, co-chair, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation 7) Ben Bernanke, Federal Reserve chairman 8) Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud 9) Mario Draghi, European Central Bank president 10) Michael Duke, Wal-Mart CEO
New York to raise cigarette sale age NEW York City Council has voted to raise the minimum age for buying cigarettes from 18 to 21. New York will now become by far the most populous place in the US to impose such a high age limit, the Associated Press reports. The new age limit includes electronic vapour cigarettes. Across the US there is a minimum age for smoking of 18. Some states have raised the limit to 19 and at least two other towns have raised it to 21. The bill’s sponsor, City Councilman James Gennaro, said it would “literally save many, many lives”. Mr Gennaro, whose mother and father died from tobacco-related illnesses, said: “I’ve lived with it, I’ve seen it... but I feel good today.” Critics of the measure have argued that young people may turn to the black market for cigarettes. New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, who supported the bill,
November 2 - 8, 2013
Malaria kills hundreds in Cameroon NEARLY 800 people have died in a recent malaria outbreak in northern Cameroon, one described by public health officials as “a severe and sudden epidemic.” Doctors treating more than 12,000 victims of the disease say those who died in the past three weeks were mostly young children and pregnant women. Heavy rains have flooded the region around Maroua, giving mosquitoes ideal breeding conditions. “This is a severe and sudden epidemic. I see no end in sight,” Dr. Amos Ekane, a malaria specialist treating more than 2,000 victims in Maroua, told CNN. Wednesday, a panel of Cameroonian journalists on state radio criticised the government for not spreading the news about the outbreak and not requesting international aid. According to the Public Health Ministry, more than 12,000 people are seriously ill and have been admitted to hospitals. But there are fewer than 10 treatment centers are available to help those who’ve contracted the mosquito-borne illness, and thousands of children and women are forced to sleep in the open or in overcrowded rooms without mosquito nets. “Three of my children have died here. Here is my wife lying helplessly with drips tied to this tree,” Abubakar Ardo Miro told CNN, pointing out the conditions at the overcrowded Maroua regional hospital. “Only a few qualified physicians are available in the regional government hospital to handle malaria cases. This cannot yield a favorable result,” Ekane warned. The Cameroon Medical Council -a body governing the medical core in the West African nation -- estimates a ratio of one doctor to every 40,000 patients. Less than 1,000 physicians currently work in the country, the council says, and toil under poor conditions and low wages. “This is really a mess to the Cameroon government,” Tataw Eric Tano, a newspaper publisher in
Cameroo, told CNN by phone. The government footed the bill to transport thousands of voters to parliamentary and municipal elections earlier this month, he said, but is not transporting dying patients to other areas with less-crowded hospitals. Observers have criticised President Paul Biya of ignoring the mounting malaria death toll as he focuses on lavish preparations to celebrate his 31 years in the presidency November 6. “Even the propaganda state radio CRTV is talking against this,” said political analyst Prince Tanda. Health experts blame the upsurge of malaria cases on the poor use of malaria nets that were distributed free of charge among nearly 9 million Cameroonians in 2010. But a dwindling economy and the scarcity of food has forced some families to use the nets for other purposes. “There is no reason for me to sleep under this net while my children need food to eat,” Elias Mbengono, a local fisherman, told CNN as he demonstrated how he could use the nets to catch fish for his family. Climate change researcher Kevin Enongene said recent heavy rains and flooding in Northern Cameroon have transformed villages into mosquito breeding grounds. Lake Chad continues to spill water over its banks and no levee has been created to stop the flood, Enongene said. “This should be taken seriously,” he added. Public health experts are now targeting the heads of families in a daily campaign to stave off the malaria epidemic in Maroua. “Sleep under the mosquito bed net. Do not use them as fishing nets,” one campaign banner read. But state public health officials are raising fears that the death toll could reach the thousands in the next few weeks if international support is not received soon. More than 660,000 people around the world died from malaria in 2010, according to the World Health Organisation. (CNN)
Bodies of migrants found in Niger New York will now become by far the most populous place in the US to impose such a high age limit.
has 30 days to sign it into law. The measure would then come into effect after 180 days. “We know that tobacco dependence can begin very soon after a young person first tries smoking so it’s critical that we stop
young people from smoking before they ever start,” Mr Bloomberg said in a statement. A plan by Mr Bloomberg to make shops keep cigarettes out of public view was shelved earlier this year. (BBC)
RESCUE workers in Niger say they have found the bodies of 87 people who died of thirst after their vehicles broke down as they tried to cross the Sahara. Rescue worker Almoustapha Alhacen said the corpses were in a severe state of decomposition and had been partly eaten, probably by jackals.
Those found are thought to be migrant workers and their families. Most were women and children. Niger is on a popular migrant route between sub-Saharan Africa and Europe. But among those who make it across the desert, many end up working in North African countries. (BBC)