Singapore Woman, Son Reunited After AP's 'McRefugee' Story

Mary Seow holds a boarding pass after she checked in with her son, in the background carrying a backpack, at the airport in Hong Kong, Saturday, Nov. 21, 2015. Seow, a Singaporean woman who went missing nearly five years ago, has been reunited with her son after her plight was reported in an Associated Press story about people who sleep at 24-hour McDonald's outlets in Hong Kong. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)

After being tricked into selling her Singapore home and traveling to China to invest the proceeds, Mary Seow eventually found herself homeless in Hong Kong, having lost touch with her family. Nearly five years after she was reported missing, and after her story was told this month in an Associated Press article about people who sleep at 24-hour McDonald's outlets in Hong Kong, she has been reunited with her son and was on her way back to Singapore on Saturday.

Seow, 60, said she did not expect to be heading back to Singapore so soon after the story broke on Nov. 12.

Zimbabwe's Mr Ugly Pageant Turns Ugly

Newly crowned "Mr Ugly" Zimbabwe, Maison Sere, poses in Harare on November 20, 2015 ©Jekesai Njikizana (AFP)

A 42-year-old unemployed man was crowned Zimbabwe's ugliest man at a pub pageant in Harare -- but the contest turned ugly when the runner-up accused judges of bias. Maison Sere, who was missing several teeth and dressed in torn overalls, beat off five other contestants for the US$500 Mr Ugly prize -- a large sum in a country facing massive unemployment.

Mali Announces 10-Day State Of Emergency In Wake Of Attack

The Radisson Blu is a popular spot for the local business and political élite, and also for travellers and expatriates—an immense amount of wealth and privilege concentrated in a seven-story hotel. Credit Photograph by Joe Penney / Reuters / Landov

Islamist militants killed 27 people in an attack on a top hotel in the capital of Mali before Malian commandos stormed the building and rescued 170 people, many of them foreigners. Two militants were killed. President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita announced the death toll and said seven people were wounded in the attack, which has been claimed by jihadist group Al Mourabitoun and al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).

Friday’s assault on the Radisson Blu hotel comes a week after deadly Islamic State attacks in Paris that killed 130 people. The Mali attack was the latest in a series of deadly raids this year on high-profile targets in the country, which has battled Islamist rebels based in its desert north for years.

UN Official: Over 120 Leaders To Attend Paris Climate Summit

The attacks in Paris are affecting crucial climate change talks in the French capital starting later this month, but more than 120 world leaders strongly support the conference and have confirmed they will attend, a senior U.N. official said Friday.

Janos Pasztor, the U.N. assistant secretary-general for climate change, told a news conference that preparations and some activities are affected, including a huge march on Nov. 29 by supporters of an agreement to reduce carbon emissions that has been cancelled by the French government.

However, Pasztor said dozens of leaders still plan to attend.

Singapore Jails Church Leader Who Funded Wife's Music Career

City Harvest Church founder Kong Hee, (C), arrives at court for his sentencing hearing Friday, Nov. 20, 2015 in Singapore. The founder of the popular Singapore church was found guilty Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2015, of misappropriating about US$35 million in donations to support his wife's singing career in Asia before helping her break into the U.S. market for evangelization purposes. (AP Photo/Joseph Nair)

A Singapore court on Friday sentenced the founder of a popular church to eight years in jail for misappropriating more than US$35 million in donations to support his wife's singing career. Kong Hee, the founder and senior pastor of City Harvest Church, was found guilty last month on three counts of criminal breach of trust.

Arms Deal: Ex-Military Chiefs Offer To Refund Contract Sums

•EFCC may seize Dasuki’s, others’ assets       •Targets mansions in Abuja, Kaduna      •One top Nigerian, two Israeli suspects sneak out

There were indications last night that some of the former military chiefs and military officers under investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have volunteered to refund some money for jobs undone.

A source privy to the activities of the Special Investigative Committee said: “About four of such former officers have offered to make refunds. I think Dasuki does not know the extent to which the panel had gone in probing the arms deals.

EBOLA OUTBREAK: Ebola Cases In 3 Family Members Confirmed In Liberia

Liberian health minister, Dr. Bernice Dahn

Three members of a family in Liberia have contracted Ebola, two months after the country was declared free of the virus for the second time, health officials said on Friday. The most recent outbreak, which officials are calling the fourth wave, was confirmed after a 15-year-old boy with symptoms of Ebola — including fever, weakness and bleeding — was admitted to John F. Kennedy Medical Center in Monrovia, the capital, on Tuesday, the Liberian health minister, Dr. Bernice Dahn, said at a news conference. The boy was then placed in isolation in the hospital.

Another senior health official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the record, said the teenager was taken to the main Ebola treatment unit on Wednesday. He had started showing symptoms of Ebola last week, the official said.

Hotel Attack In Mali's Capital Leaves At Least 19 Dead

Mali trooper assist a hostage, centre, to leave the scene, from the Radisson Blu hotel to safety after gunmen attacked the hotel in Bamako, Mali, Friday, Nov. 20, 2015. (AP Photo/Harouna Traore)

Islamic extremists armed with guns and grenades stormed the Radisson hotel in Mali's capital Friday, and security forces swarmed in to free guests floor by floor. As evening fell, officials said no more hostages were being held and that at least 19 people had been killed. U.S. and French special operations forces assisted Malian troops in responding to the attack by an unknown number of gunmen. Shooting continued into the late afternoon, and a U.N. official said two attackers were dead.

An extremist group led by former al-Qaida commander Moktar Belmoktar claimed responsibility for the siege at the Radisson Blu hotel in the former French colony, and many in France saw it as a new assault on their country's interests a week after the Paris attacks.

FOR THE RECORD: Emir Cries Out As Benin Republic Invades 16 Nigerian Villages, Hoists Flag

Neighbouring Benin Republic has invaded 16 villages in Okuta, the border town in Baruten Local Government Area of Kwara State, causing fear and tension in the affected communities. In their determination to annex the Nigerian villages, Vanguard reliably gathered that authorities of Benin Republic had gone ahead to construct offices for its gendarmerie (Police station) in the affected communities and also hoisted the country’s flag.
Vanguard checks revealed that the development negated the boundary delimitation of 1914 between Britain and France which the two countries had respected. The affected villages include Ogomne, Bwin, Gandasunon, Kpuru and Woru Wuren Kparu.

Others are Ajuba1, Ajuba 2, Saka Yeruman Kparu, Monta, Dotin Kparu, Halidun Kparu, Yakubun Kparu, Sonsi, Gunosani, Alhaji Kparu, Yodo Mankparu and Simen Kparu.

South Sudan Votes To Create New States

The ten states of South Sudan grouped in the three historical provinces of the Sudan (Image source: wikipedia.org)

South Sudan's parliament has voted to approve changes to the constitution to allow for the creation of 28 states, nearly triple the current number of 10, following an order from President Salva Kiir. It will now be a formality for the president to sign the amendment into law, a South Sudanese lawyer has told the BBC.

Nepal Facing 'Medical Crisis' As Supplies Run Short

A Nepalese pharmacist waits for customers in Kathmandu, where protests at the border with India have led to crippling shortages of fuel and now a lack of medical supplies ©Prakash Mathema (AFP)

Bindu Ghimire's chemotherapy appointment is approaching, but supplies of the drugs the 61-year-old desperately needs are in short supply as a political crisis in her native Nepal deepens. Protests at the border with India have already led to crippling fuel shortages in the landlocked Himalayan nation, and now medical supplies are also running short.

"So far, the medicine had been available, but the pharmacy is not sure if they can provide it next time," the 61-year-old's son Shashi Shekhar Ghimire told AFP.

"I don't know what I will do if we don't get it," said Ghimire, whose mother has stage two colon cancer and needs a chemotherapy session every 21 days.

"It is getting very difficult."

DOPING IN ATHLETICS: Marta Dominguez Stripped Of 2009 World Title For Doping Offence

Marta Dominguez has been stripped of her 2009 world steeplechase title

Spanish runner Marta Dominguez has been stripped of her 2009 world steeplechase title after being found guilty of an anti-doping violation. The 40-year-old, who has also been handed a three-year ban, was accused of doping in 2013 after blood abnormalities.

No Concerns For Leadership Prize Package — Mo Ibrahim Foundation

Dr Mo Ibrahim speaks on governance in Ghana

The Mo Ibrahim Foundation, a non-grant making organization with a focus on good leadership and governance in Africa, is set to award the 2014 winner of the Achievement in African Leadership prize, to a former President of Namibia, Hifikepunye Pohamba, in Accra on Friday.

The Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership is a US$5 million award, paid over 10 years and US$200,000 annually for life thereafter, while the foundation will consider granting a further US$200,000 per year for ten years towards public interest activities and good causes espoused by the Ibrahim laureate.

We Can No Longer Pay ₦18,000 Minimum Wage — 36 State Governors

From Left. Zamfara State Governor, Abubakar Yari; Gov. Abdulfatai Ahmed of Kwara State And Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta, at the National Economic Council Meeting in Abuja on Thursday

The 36 state governors have said that they can no longer pay the ₦18,000 minimum wage that was signed into law in March 2011 by former President Goodluck Jonathan, owing to the poor state of the economy. Organised labour in its immediate reaction, however, kicked against the governors’ stance, saying workers are ready to shut down the country, if the governors push them into it.

Rising from a crucial meeting that ended at the early hours of yesterday, at the Old Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja under the umbrella of Nigerian Governors Forum, NGF, the governors said that dwindling prices of oil had drastically affected their states’ income.

Specifically, they said that the burden of the wage was lighter when oil sold at US$126 as against the current US$41 per barrel.

Liberia President Says Ritual Killings On The Rise

Liberia's President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf attends a Mujeres por Africa foundation meeting in Madrid, Spain, November 16, 2015. Reuters/Juan Medina

Liberia's President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf on Thursday vowed to crack down on those responsible for a rise in ritual killings in the West African country as it seeks to emerge from the shadow of an Ebola epidemic.

In some areas of central Africa, body parts are prized for their supernatural powers and are used in black magic ceremonies. Local media have reported at least 10 related murders in Liberia since the summer.

Guinea President Sacks Minister, Officials Over Violence

Guinean President Alpha Condé, pictured in October 2015, has sacked the country's Interior Minister Mahmoud Cisse, Secretary of State for Religious Affairs El Hajd Abdoulaye Diassy and his deputy Aboubacar Fofana ©Sajjad Hussain (AFP)

Guinean President Alpha Condé sacked his interior minister and two other government officials for "gross misconduct", for their handling of deadly violence that broke out at a religious gathering last weekend. Interior Minister Mahmoud Cisse, Secretary of State for Religious Affairs El Hajd Abdoulaye Diassy and his deputy Aboubacar Fofana were dismissed, according to orders from Conakry, which gave no further explanation and did not name any replacements.

A source in the presidency told AFP that "President Condé blames his now former colleagues for the catastrophic event management at Touba", a popular Muslim pilgrimage site where violence broke out last week.

South Sudan Camp Conditions 'Deplorable'

Thousands have fled to the camp because of insecurity and hunger, MSF says (Image credits: AFP)

Medical charity MSF has described conditions in a UN camp in Malakal, South Sudan, as "overcrowded and deplorable". BBC News reports that the 48,000 people living in the camp have fled because of the insecurity caused by the civil war - with 16,000 arriving in July and August alone.

The charity said in a statement that "more space must be immediately allocated to the people seeking shelter".

It added that the MSF hospital in Malakal is now filled "beyond capacity with children suffering from life-threatening pneumonia, malaria and other illnesses".

People Unlikely To Change Their Mind, Even When Facts Contradict Their Views – Study

© Ralph Orlowski / Reuters

A fresh study has confirmed that people are reluctant to change their minds and adapt their views, even when new information has been presented. This holds true even if they stand to lose money. The research from the University of Iowa is based on previous studies indicating that people are particularly likely to stick to their original viewpoint when they’ve had to write their beliefs down — a phenomenon known as the ‘explanation effect’, which also affects future actions.

‘#JeSuisNigeria anyone?’ Web Users Condemn Deafening Hush On Nigeria Bombings Amid Paris Attack Buzz

But if Beyoncé fell on stage, that'll be the front page. #PrayForNigeria #TheMediaDontCareAboutUs @MetroUK (Image credits and source: FASINA on Twitter)

Social media users are embracing the #PrayForNigeria hashtag, criticizing main stream media for ignoring or underreporting the latest terrorist attacks there, as an outpour of prayers and sympathy continues to flow to victims of Islamic State in Paris. The mainstream media (MSM) has been focusing on stories related to France since the Paris attacks. Hashtags such as #PrayforParis have been dominating social media, while attacks by Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) on Beirut, the capital of Lebanon; and Ankara, the capital of Turkey, were largely underplayed by the mainstream media. 

Some 43 people were killed and hundreds wounded in two suicide bomb attacks in a residential area of Beirut last Thursday, while explosions in Ankara last month killed 102 people and injured over 400.

Meanwhile in Nigeria, a total of 50 people died in two terrorist attacks targeting civilians at market places over the last two days, with dozens more injured.

Sepp Blatter Disappointed At Rejection Of Appeal Against Provisional Ban

Michel Platini (left) Sepp Blatter (right) are currently suspended over an alleged payment in 2011

Sepp Blatter's lawyers have said the outgoing FIFA president is disappointed after his appeal against a provisional ban was rejected and insisted there was no evidence of an improper conduct over a £1.3million payment to Michel Platini. Blatter and Platini both had their appeals against 90-day provisional bans rejected by FIFA's appeals committee. They remain suspended, pending an ethics committee hearing into the case which surrounds a FIFA payment of 2million Swiss francs to UEFA president Platini in 2011 for work carried out more than nine years previously.

The pair insist there was an oral agreement for the payment made in 1998 when the Frenchman started work as technical advisor for Blatter. No written agreement exists, however, and Platini's job ended in 2002 when he joined FIFA's ethics committee.

UPDATE Samson Siasia: No Word From Nigerian Kidnappers

Samson Siasia was coaching Nigeria's Under-23s in The Gambia when his mother was taken (Image credits: Getty Images)

Twenty-four hours after his mother's kidnap Samson Siasia has said nothing has yet been heard by her family. "We've not heard anything from them or from the police," the ex-international Nigerian footballer told the BBC.

"I am just hopeful. We are also hopeful to hear from the police to know how far they have gone [in the investigation]," he said.

Three kidnappers took Ogere Siasia from the family home in Bayelsa state in the oil-rich Niger Delta on Tuesday.