CNN news 2011-11-01
CARL AZUZ, CNN ANCHOR: Fridays are awesome, especially when we get to talk about not one but two amendments to the U.S. Constitution. I`m Carl Azuz, and you`re watching CNN Student News.
First up, a good day for the stock market, not just the U.S. one. Markets in Japan, China, Britain, Germany and France did well. When stocks go up, usually it means investors are feeling positive. The experts think a big reason for yesterday`s positivity was a deal over Europe`s debt crisis.
AZUZ (voice-over): After a marathon of talks, European leaders came to an agreement on how to tackle three related problems. First, Greece`s debt will be reduced. Second, they found ways to increase the power of a bailout fund. And, third, they`re making new rules to help make Europe`s banks stronger.
AZUZ: So why are other markets reacting well to this deal? Well, remember what we said yesterday. Different economies are connected. So if the crisis in Europe had gotten worse, it could have had an impact worldwide. This deal hopefully indicates that won`t happen.
AZUZ (voice-over): Next up, we`re heading to Southeast Asia to the country of Thailand. Its capital city, Bangkok, home to millions of people and many of them are dealing with this: massive flooding. Thai officials say it`s the worst to hit their country in half a century.
Homes flooded, people`s belongings destroyed. We`re talking about billions of dollars in damages. Experts thought that most of Bangkok could end up under floodwaters yesterday, and it might take more than a month before those waters go back down in some areas.
AZUZ: Thailand`s government declared five holidays starting yesterday. A lot of people used that as a reason to get out of Bangkok. But CNN`s Sara Sidner is there. She has more on the evacuation efforts.
SARA SIDNER, CNN REPORTER: We`re in northern Bangkok, and what you`re seeing right now is a road, the road to the north, that`s now a river.
What`s happening here is that the army is going and helping to get people to safety. And you`re seeing truckloads of people coming from areas that have been inundated with water. But what`s also happening here is that people are trying to figure out just how far this water is going to go into town.
So far, 9.5 million people in Thailand have been affected by these floods, and there have been hundreds of people killed so far. This water is supposed to crest in the next few days, and there is great concern that it will make it all the way into the business district, which will further hurt the economy here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) AZUZ (voice-over): On this day in history, back in 1636, Harvard College was founded in Massachusetts. That means the school is 375 years old today.
In 1886, the Statue of Liberty was dedicated in New York Harbor. The famous landmark was a gift of friendship from France to the U.S.
In 1919, the U.S. Congress passed the Volstead Act. That enforced the 18th Amendment, which made it illegal to make or sell alcohol.
And in 1962, the Cuban missile crisis came to an end. It was a tense standoff between the U.S. and the Soviet Union that could have caused a nuclear conflict.
AZUZ: Jim Clancy has a report on another historic event. It hasn`t happened yet, but it`s coming in just a few days. According to estimates from the United Nations, this coming Monday the world population will hit 7 billion. But with more and more people, there are some concerns about whether there are enough resources to go around. Watch this report.
JIM CLANCY, CNN REPORTER (voice-over): October 31st, 2011: that`s the date the U.N. says the 7 billionth person will be born on Earth, 7 billion. That`s a crowded planet.
JEFFREY SACHS, DIRECTOR, THE EARTH INSTITUTE: It took only 12 years to go from 6 billion to 7 billion, and it`s expected to take maybe another 14 years to go to 8 billion. So the trajectory is still rising quickly.
CLANCY (voice-over): Sachs says all those people mean more demands for food, more stresses on the land, and more loss of water. But that`s not the biggest problem.
SACHS: The big problem is that in the poorest countries, families are still having six, seven or eight children. That`s what`s putting this tremendous growth of population continuing, because in the high income countries, fertility rates have come down to two children on average or even less.
CLANCY (voice-over): This map shows you birth rates across the world. Multiple births about five are centered in Africa. Most lower birth rates are in developed countries. Dr. Sachs says rapid population growth in poor countries often creates conflict and political stress at borders.
And on top of that, cultural values and available health care in developing countries creates a barrier to proper birth control -- Jim Clancy, CNN, Atlanta.