Headlines from Around the World: 10/20/14

The Ebola outbreak has amounted to 4000 deaths in the world and has affected West Africa, such as Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, the worst. One of those deaths belonged to Thomas Duncan, the first person diagnosed with Ebola in the United States. The UN says more than 233 health workers working in West Africa have now died in the outbreak, the world’s deadliest to date. A senior official said that they did not anticipate the scale of the Ebola outbreak. Chris Dye, from World Health Organization, said, “We’ve asked for a response of about $1 billion, so far we have around $300 million with more being pledged, so a bit less than half of what we need but it’s climbing quickly all the time.” President Barack Obama ordered screenings for Ebola at five American airports in the United States, including JFK International Airport in New York after being briefed by Center for Disease Control chief Dr. Tom Frieden earlier this week.

In North Korea, Kim Jong Un has been mysteriously absent from the public scene since September 4. According to Politico, there are a few reasons why that might be. First, Kim might think that he is securely in power and there is not a reason to be in public. Another possible reason is that his health issues are not getting better due to his obesity and being a smoker. There is also a history of heart disease in the family as well as kidney and liver problems.

Nobel Prizes were announced this week, including the Nobel Peace Prize as well as the Nobel prizes in physiology, physics, chemistry, and literature. The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Kailash Satyarthi (India) and Malala Yousafzay (Pakistan) for their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education. Kailash Satyarthi has headed various forms of peaceful protests and demonstrations that focus on exploitation of children for financial gain. He has also contributed to the development of important international conventions on children’s rights. Malala Yousafzay has already fought for several years for the right of girls to education and has shown that children and young people can contribute to improving their own situations. She is currently a leading spokesperson for girls’ rights to education. The Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine was awarded for the discoveries of cells that make up a positioning system in the brain. The Nobel Prize for Physics was awarded for the invention of efficient blue light-emitting diodes that enable bright and energy- saving white light sources. The Nobel Prize for Chemistry was awarded for the development of super-resolved fluorescence microscopy. Finally, the Nobel Prize for Literature was awarded to Patrick Modiano for uncovering the art of memory.