BREAKING: Gun attack at Istanbul restaurant

Source: RT - January 30, 2017

A gun attack has been reported at a restaurant in Istanbul. At least one person was reportedly killed and two others injured, according to Turkish media.

The incident happened at a popular restaurant near the historic Anadolu Hisar fortress on the Asian side of Istanbul.

Russian Ailines still Allow Middle Eastern Passengers to Fly to U.S. Despite Ban

Source: THE MOSCOW TIMES

Russian airlines are not stopping foreign nationals affected by a U.S. travel ban on some Middle Eastern countries from boarding flights bound for the United States, pending advice from the country's aviation authorities.
"Russian airlines are following Russian legislation in regards to their passengers, including those who are taking connecting flights,” an unnamed source told the Interfax news agency. “No passenger, regardless of nationality, is being barred from taking flights to the United States without a valid reason.”

Trump ban 'a test' for African unity

Source: BBC - January 30, 2017

Protests have intensified against President Trump's temporary ban on travellers coming into the US from a group of mainly-Muslim countries.
Mr Trump has accused the media of misrepresenting the new rules as a ban on Muslims.
So how has this affected those on the continent hoping to settle in the United States? Particularly those of Somali origin?
Fauzia Mohamud, a Somali refugee living in Kenya, says the US travel ban has crushed all her hopes:

Trump gives Pentagon 30 days to develop strategy to defeat ISIS in Iraq & Syria

Source: RT January 28, 2017

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order directing the US military to develop a preliminary plan to defeat Islamic State in both Iraq and Syria. He discussed the issue earlier in a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Read more

Putin & Trump signal new Russia-US partnership with 1st phone call on ISIS, trade & Ukraine

“It is the policy of the United States that ISIS be defeated,” reads the order published on the White House website on Saturday. “Within 30 days, a preliminary draft of the Plan to defeat ISIS shall be submitted to the President by the Secretary of Defense.” 
The comprehensive plan should include guidelines on the use of public diplomacy, information operations, and cyber strategies “to isolate and delegitimize ISIS [Islamic State, formerly ISIL] and its radical Islamist ideology.”

BREAKING: British actor Sir John Hurt dies aged 77

Source: BBC, January28, 2016

British actor Sir John Hurt - known for roles in Harry Potter and Elephant Man - has died aged 77, his agent says

Trump suspends U.S. refugee program, suspends entry from some countries

Source: REUTERS. January 28, 2016


President Donald Trump on Friday put a four-month hold on allowing refugees into the United States and temporarily barred visitors from Syria and some other Muslim-majority countries, saying the moves would help protect Americans from terrorist attacks.
Civil rights groups condemned the measures as discriminatory.
"I'm establishing new vetting measures to keep radical Islamic terrorists out of the United States of America. Don't want them here," Trump said earlier on Friday at the Pentagon.
"We only want to admit those into our country who will support our country and love deeply our people," he said.

Al-Shabab fighters attack Kenya military base in Somalia

Source: BBC, January 28. 2017

Islamist militant al-Shabab fighters have launched an attack on a Kenyan military base in southern Somalia.

The al-Qaeda-linked group says it has killed more than 50 soldiers and seized military vehicles and weapons.
But a Kenyan military spokesman said the dawn attack was repelled, the base was not overrun and scores of insurgents were killed in the fighting.

Bargaining Chips: Why Russian Orphans Might Become Political Pawns Once Again

 Source THE MOSCOW TIMES January 27, 2017

By the time the ban came into effect, Jennifer and Josh Johnston, an American couple, were only one court hearing away from taking four-year-old Anastasia home with them from an orphanage outside Moscow.
“When our time with Anastasia was over, we promised her we would come back and take her. She said she would wait,” says Jennifer.
The happy reunion never happened. In January 2013, Russia introduced the notorious Dima Yakovlev law banning the adoption of Russian orphans by U.S. nationals. “We broke our promise,” Jennifer said, her voice cracking.
Since then, there have been hundreds of sleepless nights and many tears over conference calls with other families hit by the ban with U.S. officials. A mountain of paperwork was also gathered for the class action suit filed at the European Court of Human Rights by 45 U.S. families on behalf of themselves and 27 Russian children.

Gambia's new President Adama Barrow arrives home

 

Source: BBC January 27, 2017

Gambia's President Adama Barrow has returned to the country to assume power - days after his predecessor Yahya Jammeh left to go into exile.

President Barrow's plane touched down at Banjul airport where jubilant crowds waited to welcome him.
Mr Barrow, who has been in neighbouring Senegal, won elections in December.
However a handover was stalled when Mr Jammeh, Gambia's president of 22 years, refused to step aside.
He left for exile at the weekend after mediation by regional leaders and the threat of military intervention.
Mr Barrow, dressed in white robes and a cap, stepped off the plane in Banjul as heavily armed troops from Senegal and Nigeria stood by.

Niger Delta villagers lose UK court bid to sue Shell over pollution

Source: BBC - January 27, 2017

A British court has blocked Nigerian villagers' attempt to sue oil giant Shell for allegedly polluting their fishing waters and farmland.

The two communities in the Niger Delta - the Ogale and Bille - claim decades of oil spills have ruined their homes.
They wanted their case heard in the UK.

BREAKING: Lagos, Nigeria: Court sentences Ugo-Ngali to 10 years in Prison for Oil Subsidy Fraud

Source: Vanguard of January 26, 2017

Mrs. Ada Ugo-Ngali, Managing Director of Ontario Oil and Gas Limited, had fainted two weeks ago at the Lagos State High Court in Ikeja after being convicted of N754m oil subsidy scam by the court. Ugo-Ngali stood in the dock while Justice Lateefa Okunnu was delivering judgment in a N1.9bn subsidy scam trial in which she and three others were defendants. She suddenly slumped as the judge was about to pronounce the sentence.

Tributes to Nigerian novelist Buchi Emecheta

 

Source: BBC January 26, 2016

Tributes are being paid to Nigerian novelist Buchi Emecheta, who died at her home in London on Wednesday at the age of 72.
She was one of Nigeria's veteran writers, an author of more than 20 books including The Joys of Motherhood, Second-Class Citizen, The Bride Price and The Slave Girl, and had received many literary awards.

Asia stocks hit three-and-a-half-month high on Dow's surge, dollar slips

Source: REUTERS, January 25, 3017

Asian stocks rose to 3-1/2-month highs on Thursday, cheered by the Dow Jones Industrial Average breaching the 20,000-level for the first time, though concerns about U.S. President Donald Trump's protectionist stance kept the dollar on the defensive.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS rose 0.7 percent to its highest since Oct. 11.
South Korea's Kospi .KS11 advanced 0.9 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng .HSI climbed 1.2 percent and Shanghai edged up 0.2 percent.

It’s Payback Time, Says Nigerian Traditional Ruler Suing Shell

Source: Thisday Live, Januaey 26, 2017

A Nigerian traditional ruler from Rivers State has accused oil giant, Shell of pocketing “blood money” after leaking pipelines conveying crude oil allegedly polluted his community’s drinking water with deadly diseases.

Emere Godwin Bebe Okpabi, who is the leader of Nigeria’s Ogale people, has taken the Royal Dutch Shell company to the High Court in London as he says they are responsible for the “devastating” pollution.

The court will rule on whether the case is under the UK’s jurisdiction today.
“They are running away from their responsibility,” King Okpabi told the London-based Telegraph newspaper. “Now it is time for payback.”

Islamists lose Benghazi district to Haftar's forces

Source: BBC - Jamuary 25, 2017

Jihadist fighters in Libya have lost one of their last remaining strongholds in the country's second city.

Forces loyal to the military leader, Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, said they had driven local Islamist militias out of the Ganfouda district of Benghazi.
The area had been under siege for months and saw some of the worst fighting over control of the city.
Some fighters were affiliated to the Islamic State group or Al Qaeda.
The besieged district, nine miles west of the city centre, has been largely cut-off from the rest of Benghazi in blockades setup by Field Marshal Haftar's forces.

Trump orders building of Mexico border wall, targets U.S. 'sanctuary' cities

Source Reuters. January 25, 2017

President Donald Trump signed directives on Wednesday to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border and strip funding from cities that shield illegal immigrants as he charged ahead with sweeping and divisive plans to transform how the United States deals with immigration and national security.

Russian Health Ministry Abandons Plans to Spend Additional 70 Billion Rubles on Fighting HIV Epidemic

Source: The Moscow Times of 25th January 2017

The Russian Health Ministry has abandoned a proposal to allocate additional funding to the fight against the spread of HIV. According to the RBC news agency, the ministry submitted a four-year plan to the federal government this week that does not include a proposal to spend 70 billion rubles ($1.2 billion) on new efforts to treat HIV-infected patients and fight the spread of the disease.

The Health Ministry’s plan reportedly abandons the injection of another 17.5 billion rubles (almost $300 million) into Russia’s annual budget for treating HIV patients and fighting the spread of the deadly disease, following objections from Russia’s Finance Ministry.

Donald Trump's aides keep leaking stories about his fragile ego

Source: INDEPENDENT 24th January, 2017

It seems like President Donald Trump's aides can't stop talking to reporters about how he hates being embarrassed.

On Sunday a story broke to Politico that Trump's closest advisers have to monitor the flow of information to him because of his mood:

Somali hotel bomb attack 'kills 28', say ambulance staff

BBC 25TH JANUARY, 2017

Ambulance workers in the Somali capital Mogadishu have told the BBC they have counted 28 dead bodies at a hotel following a bomb attack by militants.

They said 43 others, including seven journalists, were injured after bombs exploded at the Dayah hotel - although there have been no official numbers.

Somali security minister Abdirizak Omar Mohamed earlier said four attackers had been killed by security forces.

Sberbank Planning Joint Venture With Chinese E-Retail Giant Alibaba

Source: The Moscow Guardian 18/01/2017

Russia's largest bank is planning a potential joint venture with Chinese e-retail giant Alibaba, the Kommersant newspaper reported Wednesday.

Representatives from state-owned Sberbank and the Alibaba Group have already met this month to discuss the potential project, the newspaper reported, citing an unnamed source.

Nigeria air strike error kills dozens in refugee camp

Source: BBC 18/01/2017

A Nigerian military jet has mistakenly bombed a camp for displaced people in the north-east, killing at least 52 people and injuring many more.

Aid workers are among the dead in Rann, with the Red Cross saying six of its employees were killed.
The MSF aid agency said that over 200 people had been injured and appealed for help with medical evacuations.
President Muhammadu Buhari, whose army is fighting Boko Haram militants, expressed dismay and urged calm.

Nigeria Boko Haram crisis: Aid agencies 'wasting funds'

SOURCE: BBC January 11, 2017

Most aid groups operating in Nigeria's north-east are wasting funds meant to help victims of the Islamist Boko Haram insurgency, a state governor has said.

Only eight of 126 registered agencies in Borno state were there to genuinely help, Kashim Shettima said.
He criticised the UN children's agency (Unicef) for buying bullet-proof cars, saying he did not use such vehicles.
Last month, the UN launched a $1bn (£825,000) appeal for those facing hunger and starvation in the region.