
By Carissa F. Etienne (*) Though the devastating health effects of tobacco use are well known, tobacco’s negative repercussions extend well beyond the obvious health outcomes.

Spain has agreed to extradite to Colombia a former FARC rebel accused of carrying out 300 forced abortions on women fighters, some of them underage. Hector Arboleda Albeidis Buitrago, who has Spanish nationality, was detained in Madrid in December 2015.

Falkland Islands lawmaker MLA Ian Hansen is on a Caribbean mission to improve trade and industry links with the region, and seeking political support for the Islands. The tour includes Barbados, Dominica and Guyana, according to Barbados TODAY news agency.

In order to protect their precious marine resources, the authorities of St Helena have launched a project that prohibits all types of destructive fishing gear in a wide sea area, and that only allows the fishing of tunas one at a time.

Leaders of Germany's Social Democrats have chosen Martin Schulz, for many years president of the European Parliament, as their candidate to unseat Chancellor Angela Merkel. Schulz promised supporters his campaign for September's elections would focus on hard-working people.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has taken a stand on social media against the temporary US ban on refugees and immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries. PM Trudeau underscored his government's commitment to bringing in those fleeing persecution, terror & war.

The Trump administration is standing firm over its ban on immigration from seven countries despite court rulings and mass protests against it. In a statement, President Trump said visas would once again be issued once the most secure policies were in place, and denied it was a Muslim ban. The move has been widely condemned.

Iraq will lobby against new travel limits to the United States by Iraqis, arguing both countries need to uphold their fight against Islamic State (IS), Iraqi parliamentarians said on Sunday. The Iraqi government has so far declined comment on an executive order signed by new U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday that suspends the entry of travelers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for at least 90 days.

The residential ship, The World, has broken the record for the most southerly navigation reaching 78°43•997´S and 163°41•421´W at the Bay of Whales in Antarctica’s Ross Sea. The World recorded this polar record at 10:41hrs ship’s time on Saturday. Commanded by Captain Dag H. Saevik this is the furthest south any vessel has ever sailed.

Strong consumer spending helped the UK's economy to grow faster than expected at the end of last year. The economy grew by 0.6% in the October-to-December period, the same rate as in the previous two quarters, according to an initial estimate from the Office for National Statistics.