Week in News: 19th January – 25th January

Taiwan elects first female president in the Chinese speaking world

Tsai Ing-wen, leader of the Democratic Progressive party (DPP), has been elected as Taiwan’s next president with 56 per cent of the vote. Ms Tsai will become the first female president in the Chinese speaking world, as well as one of the first women to be elected leader of an Asian nation without the help of family connections. The landslide victory for the DPP, which favours Taiwan’s formal independence from China, has raised concerns about cross-strait relations in the region. Although Ms Tsai has stated that she intends to maintain the status quo in relations with China, meetings with officials from the US and Japan this week indicate that she is seeking to minimise Taiwan’s economic dependence on China. Beijing still refuses to recognise Taiwan as an independent state, and has threatened to invade if it ever declares formal independence.

Putin ‘probably’ approved the murder of Alexander Litvinenko

A public inquiry in the UK has found that the murder of ex-Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko in 2006 was ‘probably’ approved by President Putin. The report found that Andrei Lugovoi and Dmitry Kovtun deliberately poisoned Litvinenko by putting the radioactive substance polonium-210 into his tea, although the Kremlin has refused extradition of the two suspects to the UK. The use of polonium-210 points strongly toward state involvement, as the substance could only have been produced in a nuclear reactor. Mr Litvinenko had previously been an officer with the Federal Security Service (FSB) in Russia, but fled to the UK where he became a fierce critic of the kremlin. Following his murder, it also emerged that Litvinenko was working as a consultant for the British secret service, MI6, specialising in Russian organised crime.

State of economic emergency declared in Venezuela

Venezuelan president Nicholas Maduro has declared a state of economic emergency and asked parliament for powers to reform the economy by decree for 60 days. Venezuela, which depends on oil for 95% of its foreign currency, has announced that inflation in the 12 months up to September 2015 was 141.5% and that GDP shrank by 7.1% over the same period. President Maduro, leader of the ruling socialist party, faces the first opposition-controlled legislature in nearly 16 years and has requested the decree in an attempt to over-rule the centre-right coalition that currently controls the parliament. Mr Maduro rejects the idea that printing money fuels inflation, and believes that inflation is a capitalist conspiracy against consumers. Critics are concerned that a decree would allow Maduro to implement more of the same policies of exchange and price controls, thus driving the economy further into the ground.

Zika virus threatens the Americas

Health warnings have been issued in four Latin American and Caribbean nations following an outbreak of the Zika virus in Brazil. The virus is spread by mosquitoes and has been linked to microcephaly, a condition that leads to babies being born with abnormally small heads. The number of cases reported in Brazil has reached nearly 4,000 since October, representing a huge surge compared to only 150 reported cases in 2014. The virus is not contagious, however pregnant women have been advised to avoid travel to affected countries as it is believed the virus can be passed from mother to foetus via the placenta. Health ministers in Columbia, Ecuador, El Salvador and Jamaica have urged women to delay pregnancies for up to eight months, prompting criticism from women’s rights campaigners.

Near-record braking snowfall in US blizzard

A near-record breaking snowstorm, dubbed ‘Snowmageddon’, has affected some 85 million people across the eastern United States. At least 29 deaths have been reported since Friday, mainly as a result of car accidents, carbon monoxide poisoning and heart attacks suffered while shovelling snow. The storm was the third biggest in New York City’s history, with 26.8in of snow falling in a single day on Saturday. Emergencies were declared in 11 states and in the District of Columbia, and as many as 300,000 were left without power during the blizzard.