(Reuters) – Two bomb attacks at a bus station and a market in north Nigeria on Monday killed at least 27 people and wounded around 60, officials said. No group immediately claimed responsibility for either attack. Boko Haram insurgents have repeatedly set off bombs targeting civilians, especially in the northeast where they are trying to carve out an Islamic state. The first one, in the city of Gombe, involved two explosions in quick succession. “The […]
Other News
Over 15,000 gather in Dresden for latest anti-immigration demo – police
Anti-immigration movement PEGIDA gathered in Dresden on Monday (December 22) for the latest in a series of public actions criticising the German government for ignoring its fears of being overrun by Muslims. According to police estimates, 17,500 demonstrators from the grass-rootsmovement staged a rally in front of the city’s Semperoper opera house, waving flags and holding banners reading: “Against religious fanaticism”. Grass-roots movement PEGIDA, or Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the West, has drawn […]
Top firms’ greenhouse gas emissions rise, despite call for cuts
Greenhouse gas emissions by the world’s top 500 companies rose 3.1 percent from 2010 to 2013, far off the cuts urged by the United Nations to limit global warming, a study showed on Monday. The top 500 firms by capitalisation accounted for 13.8 percent of world greenhouse gas emissions and 28 percent of gross domestic product in 2013, according to the report, drawn up by the information provider Thomson Reuters and BSD Consulting, a global […]
Nokor wants joint U.S.-Nokor investigation into Sony hack, U.S. calls it “absurd”
(Reuters) – Washington’s U.N. envoy on Monday dismissed as absurd North Korean demands for a joint U.S.-North Korean investigation of the hacking of Sony Pictures and threats of retaliation if the United States refused. “It is exactly the kind of behavior we have come to expect from a regime that threatened to take ‘merciless countermeasures’ against the U.S. over a Hollywood comedy, and has no qualms about holding tens of thousands of people in harrowing […]
Oil slides as Saudi Naimi tells market to forget OPEC cuts
(Reuters) – Oil prices resumed their downward march on Monday, doubling back on the biggest one-day gain in over two years, after Saudi Arabia’s powerful oil minister said OPEC would not cut production at any price. After a weekend of comments from several Gulf OPEC members reiterating their intent not to intervene in oil markets despite oil prices that have halved since June, Ali al-Naimi told the Middle East Economic Survey it was “not in […]
China condemns cyberattacks, but says no proof Nokor hacked Sony
China said on Monday (December 22) that it opposed all forms of cyber attacks but there was no proof yet that North Korea was responsible for the hacking of Sony Pictures, as charged by the United States. It also made no reference to any joint action with the United States or other nations to counter any similar cyberattacks. “We resolutely oppose all forms of cyberattacks and cyber terrorism. Meanwhile, we also oppose any country or […]
Condition of Muhammad Ali ‘vastly improved’
(Reuters) – The condition of Muhammad Ali has “vastly improved” since he was admitted to the hospital over the weekend with a mild case of pneumonia and doctors hope to discharge the boxing legend soon, a spokesman said on Monday. Ali, 72, was admitted to a hospital in an undisclosed location on Saturday morning. “The Ali family continues to request privacy and appreciates all of the prayers and well wishes,” spokesman Bob Gunnell said. “No […]
Packers, Steelers and Cowboys head to playoffs
(Reuters) – The Green Bay Packers, Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys booked their places in the playoffs after victories on Sunday while the New England Patriots earned a first round bye for the postseason. Sunday’s results meant that defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks also secured a place in the playoffs before crushing their NFC West rivals the Arizona Cardinals 35-6 in the evening finale. The Packers gained their berth with a 20-3 win at […]
NASA prepares for next phase of Hubble successor
Inside a sealed, airtight clean room at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt,Maryland, an international of team scientists and engineers all dressed in white jumpsuits is building what its members hope will provide a deeper look into space than ever before, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). “The James Webb Space Telescope is the scientific successor to the Hubble Space Telescope. It’s really the next big space telescope that is being built, so it […]
UN chief Ban Ki-moon praises Ebola health workers
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, two days back from visiting Ebola areas of Africa, said today the disease remains an emergency but affected nations should “avoid travel restrictions, border closures and other counter-productive obstacles.” Ban who visited Mali Guinea Liberia, and Sierra Leone last week and left from Ghana Saturday night, told reporters upon arrival at the UN headquarters, “My presence in the office today is meant to send an important message: where people show no […]
U.N. council overrides China to add Nokor to agenda
Members of the U.N. Security Council on Monday (December 22) voted to override China’s objections and formally add the situation in North Korea, including allegations of grave human rights abuses, to the council’s agenda. There were 11 votes in favor, two against and two abstentions. Veto powers Russia and China voted against the inclusion of North Korea on the council’s agenda, but as there are no vetoes in procedural votes of the council, the Chinese […]
New York mayor calls for pause in protests after police killings
(Reuters) – New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio sought to ease tensions with the police force on Monday, calling for a suspension of protests against the use of excessive force until after the funerals of two officers killed by a gunman over the weekend. De Blasio, a Democrat who has come under intense criticism from some police unions for his handling of protests over police killings of unarmed black men, asked the city to […]
