SANTIAGO: Hugo Chavez, Venezuela’s cancer-stricken president, made his presence felt at a regional summit yesterday with a flowery letter from his sickbed in Cuba that was laced with literary references and calls for Latin American unity. Chavez has not been seen in public since cancer surgery in Cuba in mid-December, missing his own inauguration for a new six-year term this month and fueling uncertainty over the illness jeopardizing his 14-year rule.
Vice President Nicolas Maduro, a former bus driver who Chavez has named as his preferred successor, read the 15-minute long, typed letter to heads of state gathered in Chile. “I’m sorry I can’t attend this meeting in Santiago de Chile, but as you all know, since December I’ve been battling once again for my health,” read the letter, which was sprinkled with quotes from well-known Latin American writers including Chilean poet Pablo Neruda.
Bulgaria sacks education minister
SOFIA: Bulgarian Prime Minister Boiko Borisov sacked his education minister yesterday after more than a thousand scientists complained that the state research fund was funding worthless projects and hiring unqualified people.
The dismissal highlighted Bulgaria’s problems rooting out corruption and cronyism, still a major concern five years after it was admitted to the European Union and more than 20 years after the fall of communism.
150,000 displaced in Mozambique floods
MAPUTO: Intense flooding in Mozambique has displaced at least 150,000 people, the United Nations said yesterday, with the figure expected to rise further as fresh rains spread flooding northward. Heavy rains and overflowing rivers have already killed at least 40 people in the southeastern African country, which is experiencing its worst floods in more than a decade.
Nigeria to tackle worst ever lead poisoning
ABUJA: Nigeria will release funds this week to tackle the world’s worst lead poisoning outbreak which has killed at least 400 children, a senator said yesterday, ending months of official inaction in which 1,500 more children were put at risk. In May last year the government pledged 850m naira ($5.4m) to help clean up the lead and treat the thousands poisoned by contamination from an artisan gold mine in the Bagega area of northern Zamfara, but medical charity Doctor’s Without Borders (MSF) said the money never materialised.Agencies
