GRAPHITTI NEWS : 2016-01-10

Saturday, January 16, 2016

Burkina Faso Hostage Siege Over: 126 Freed, At Least 20 Killed In Islamist Attack

Army forces drive near Hotel Splendid where the attackers remain with sporadic gunfire continuing in Burkina Faso's capital Ouagadougou on January 15, 2016 © Ahmed Ouoba / AFP

The terrorist takeover of the luxury Splendid hotel in the Burkina Faso capital is over, with all three militants reportedly killed and 126 hostages freed. The number of victims of the assault has not been yet been calculated, but no less than 20 are presumed dead.

Interior Minister Simon Compaore told AFP that altogether 126 people have been rescued from the Splendid hotel, with three attackers reportedly being killed.

Lassa virus (inset) (Image source: telegraph.co.uk)

Following the loss of 43 lives to the Lassa fever outbreak out of the 86 reported cases, some residents in the affected states have remained indifferent. While some stated that they have not paid attention to the development, some indicated that they were no adequate awareness campaign to guide people against the spread of the disease.

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The coach of English Premier League football team Crystal Palace said in a press conference on Friday that he isn't dismissing the idea of signing Togolese striker Emmanuel Adebayor from Tottenham Hotspur.

JUST IN: Hostage Situation, Shootout With Suspected Islamist Militants At Hotel In Burkina Faso’s Capital

An ongoing hostage situation is being reported at a hotel in the city center of Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, after at least three armed turbaned men began shooting at a hotel frequently used by Westerners and UN staff, according to AFP.

“It is continuing at this time. We are trying to know how many attackers they are to better coordinate our actions. Hostages have been taken. The operation could take several hours,” an officer who requested not to be named told Reuters.

Guillaume Soro is accused of advising Burkinabe officials on how to stage a coup AFP

Burkina Faso has issued an international arrest warrant for the speaker of parliament in neighbouring Côte d'Ivoire over a short-lived coup last year, a judicial source said Friday.

Dr. Oby Ezekwesili

A former Minister of Education, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, has identified poor quality of teachers as one of the factors contributing to the continued decadence and loss of confidence in the Nigerian public schools.

BBC

President Muhammadu Buhari arrived to meet parents of the kidnapped Chibok girls after the parents and the activist insisted. They had been waiting for an audience with him as they mark the 600th day since their daughters were taken by Boko Haram militants.

A volunteer in protective suit (R) walks on his way to spray disinfectant onto the walls of homes that were inhabited by people who died of Ebola, in a village near Freetown, in 2014 ©Florian Plaucheur (AFP)

A woman in Sierra Leone is thought to have died from Ebola, officials said Thursday, just hours after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared an end to an epidemic of the disease.

IAAF Set For Explosive WADA Report Into Corrupt 'Scumbags'

WADA's second report, understood to include revelations of endemic corruption within IAAF and leading athletics federations, will likely make or break the reign of president Sebastian Coe ©Franck Fife (AFP)

The scandal gripping athletics promises to worsen with publication on Thursday of a second explosive report targeting corrupt "scumbags" and a leaked blood database that could have worldwide ramifications for track and field.

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Liberia has been declared Ebola-free by the World Health Organization (WHO), effectively putting an end to the world's worst outbreak of the disease.

Robert Mugabe has ruled since 1980 (AFP)

A rumour that Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe, 91, has suffered a heart attack is a "grim lie", his spokesman George Charamba is quoted by the state-run Herald newspaper (SEE INSIDE) as saying.

Lassa fever virus and health workers wearing HAZMAT suits. (Image source: telegraph.co.uk)

One person has died of Lassa fever at the National Hospital in Abuja, sending fears to residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). But the government allayed the fears but urged the people to be vigilant.

Audu Ogbeh, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Audu Ogbeh, has said that the incessant clashes between farmers and cattle herdsmen in the country would be brought to an end in the next two years. Mr. Ogbeh said on Tuesday that the federal government would create grazing areas in the country where the herdsmen would take care of their cattle.

More than 28,000 people have been infected by Ebola in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone since December 2013. (Image source: BBC)

Liberia is to be declared Ebola-free by the World Health Organization (WHO), effectively putting an end to the world's worst outbreak of the disease.

Bushmeat is a popular delicacy in parts of Africa AFP

A global programme to investigate diseases that jump from animals to humans has been launched in Kenya. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), says it has become necessary to invest in research into viruses that originate from animals.

The Director of Directorate of State Services (DSS) in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abubakar Bubuche, has warned residents on the activities of criminal syndicates using computer animation to manipulate pictures with the aim of extorting money from their victims.

UPDATE: Cameroon Mosque Bomber Was 'Worshipper'

The suicide bomber who struck at a mosque in northern Cameroon was praying alongside worshippers when he blew himself up, a security source said, AFP news agency reports.

Senator Saraki with President Buhari

The National Assembly yesterday debunked speculations that the 2016 budget was missing, and assured that the Senate and the House of Representatives are in the process of making copies of the money Bill available for the 109 senators and 360 members of the House.

Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma, the fourth President of Sierra Leone, is leading his country forward through his ambitious Agenda for Change programme.

Some supporters of Sierra Leone's President Ernest Bai Koroma have called for his mandate to be extended beyond February 2018, despite critics warning that this will violate the two-term limit imposed by the constitution.

In this Dec. 19, 2014 photo FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke attends a press conference in Marrakech, Morocco. FIFA said Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2016 that Valcke was dismissed. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

FIFA has fired Jerome Valcke for the second time, cutting ties with the secretary general four months after he was suspended while under investigation for wrongdoing at the scandal-scarred governing body.

President Buhari has taken a tough life against corruption AFP

A leading Christian evangelical pastor in Nigeria has urged President Muhammadu Buhari not to spend too much time hunting down "looters" in the former government because it could detract him from improving the lives of people in Africa's most populous state, the private Vanguard newspaper reports.

The US Pentagon says it has destroyed millions of dollars-worth of cash that terror group Islamic State (previously ISIS/ISIL) was using to pay wages and finance its operations in an airstrike on the jihadist Iraqi stronghold in Mosul.

Senator Bukola Saraki, president of Nigeria's 8th Senate

Senate President Bukola Saraki yesterday declared the commitment and patriotism of the present administration yielding the deserved results in the fight against insurgency, stressing the Nigeria is exponentially gaining victory over insurgency with a promise that Boko Haram would not be allowed to take over any Nigerian territory again.

Prof. Isaac Adewole, Minister of Health

The Federal Government disclosed, yesterday, that Lassa fever has claimed 41 lives from 93 reported cases in 10 states of the country even as the Senate has summoned the Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, over the outbreak of the disease.

Ciara Meyer © gofundme.com

A Pennsylvania, US constable fatally shot a 12-year-old girl during an attempt to evict her family from their home. The bullet was fired at the girl’s father, passed through his arm and hit the child, who died instantly.

During the six-week holiday season, nearly 1,800 South Africans were killed in 1,400 crashes on the country's roads.

OPEC President Sees Emergency Meeting In March

Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and President of the OPEC

OPEC president Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu said on Tuesday that he expects an extraordinary meeting of the oil cartel in "early March" to address nosediving crude prices.

A key oil benchmark plunged below US$31 per barrel Tuesday, continuing the downward trend of the previous day. Brent crude traded as low as US$30.50 on the market.

Babatunde Raji Fashola, Minister of Power Works and Housing (Image credit: oaktv)

The Minister of Power Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, on Monday unfolded a 13-point agenda to drive efforts towards enhancing power supply in the country.

Ibim Semenitari (Image source: cropped)

…as debt profile hits ₦300 billion

Following the sack of the last board members of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, the Federal Government is planning to restructure the commission into a holistic development agency to be manned by core professionals rather than politicians in order to transform the Niger Delta region.

Residents of a central New York village want to keep their logo that has been called racist and offensive because it appears to show a white man choking a Native American.

Al-Shabab 'Free' To Join Somalia Football Tournament

Al-Shabab is opposed to footballers wearing shorts AFP

The head of Somalia's Football Federation says militant Islamist group al-Shabab is welcome to take part in the country's Premier League. Abdiqani Said Arab told me in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, that if the militants like to play, they will be given a chance.

Mr Isa said he was not aware that the money was allegedly stolen from government coffers (Image source: Daily Trust)

A close associate of Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari has returned US$500,000 (£350,000) he allegedly received from the embattled former national security adviser Sambo Dasuki, the respected Daily Trust newspaper reports.

Some 4,000 residents of Whitesboro, a village in upstate New York, will decide in a vote on Monday whether to change their village seal, which depicts a white settler and a Native American wrestling.

President Mahamadou Issoufou - The president is accused of being authoritarian AFP

Lawyers in Niger have started a 24-hour strike to protest against what they call the arbitrary arrest of government opponents, and the refusal of authorities to give them access to their clients.

Police in Miumbai fed a man more than 40 bananas in a day to retrieve a gold chain he had stolen and swallowed (Image courtesy of National Research Centre for Banana www.nrcb.res.in)

Indian police successfully deployed an unusual technique to retrieve a gold chain that a thief had swallowed while officers were in hot pursuit -- they force-fed him more than 40 bananas.

Arthur Simpson-Kent as he was cuffed by Ghanaian police in Busa village in Ghana

The suspected killer of ex-EastEnders actress Sian Blake remains in custody and could be brought before a court in Ghana today. Arthur Simpson-Kent, 48, was reportedly eating a coconut on a beach when he was arrested on Saturday after he was "smoked from a thicket" where he had been hiding and arrested by armed police.

David Bowie has died after an 18-month battle with cancer

David Bowie has died aged 69 after battling cancer in secret for 18 months. The star underwent several radical transformations over 50-year career. Showbiz world united in grief after the death of one of the world's most celebrated musicians.

China Will Have 1.45 Billion People by 2030 Due to 2-Child Policy (Image source: ndtv.com)

China will stick to family planning restrictions for up to 30 years, a senior Chinese official said on Monday, rejecting concern that limits on the number of children had shrunk the pool of workers needed to support an aging population.

•Dickson (centre) with his wife, Rachael (right) PDP Acting National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus celebrating shortly after INEC's announcement...yesterday.

Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson yesterday won a second term after a tension-soaked election. The election came to a conclusion following the declaration of results of Saturday’s supplementary election results in the troublesome Southern Ijaw Local Government Area and 101 polling units across six local government areas.

*Commission retrieves Dasuki’s memos to Jonathan *Ex-MILAD refunds 60 per cent

All politicians who shared in the allegedly diverted US$2.1billion arms cash must return what they got or face trial, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has said.

German carpenter Clemens Bimek has crafted a male contraception “switch” – a valve that can stop, or start, the flow of sperm. The revolutionary invention, if approved, could change men’s reproductive future, turning a permanent vasectomy into a relic of history.

Ibadan Airport, Oyo State - looking moribund

Many local airports built by state governments have now become under-utilized and economically nonviable, Daily Trust investigations have shown. These airports, which cost the respective state governments billions of naira to build, are barely used. They are mainly used for occasional charter flights, the annual hajj airlift and, on few occasions, for military operations.

Most of the airports are idle because of lack of economic activities, proximity to more viable airports and security problems, findings revealed.

South Africa: Drought Leads To Failed Crops, Water Shortages

History repeats itself? The environmental effects of El Nino are expected to last until at least 2017, affecting the food security of 29 million people due to poor harvests, said the WFP report.

The main street of this dusty South African town is lined with empty buckets, marking each residents' place in line as they wait for their daily water ration to be brought in by unreliable trucks.

FG to contain Lassa fever spread – Health Minister

Sometime in 1969 in a town called Lassa in the part of Nigeria now known as Borno State, a nurse in a mission hospital died of a mysterious disorder. There were two similar reported cases in Chicago, and New Jersey, United States (US). Both individuals had recent travel history to Africa, one to Nigeria, the other to Liberia, and succumbed to the illness after returning to the US.

Cuffed: Simpson-Kent is held after he was found hiding among rocks on a beach in Ghana by a posse of villagers and a handful of police (Image source: mailonline.com)

Arthur Simpson-Kent who was wanted by the British Met Police in connection with the murders of his partner of the EastEnders actress, Sian Blake, and her two sons has been found and arrested on a beach in Ghana in the coastal resort Busua, two miles from the village of Butre. He was found by a posse of villagers and a handful of police.

(Image source: mailonline.com)

Crowd of voters at Ward 9, Unit 21, Okordi, Amasoma in Southern Ijaw LGA (Image source: PREMIUM TIMES)

*Gov weeps over ‘14 killed’ on polling day *Police: No one died during supplementary elections *Ballot-box snatching, violence mars elections

A weeping Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State yesterday said that 14 people- four policemen, two soldiers and eight civilians – were feared killed during the rerun governorship election in the State. He spoke of widespread violence in Brass, Nembe, Ekeremor town and parts of Southern Ijaw Local Government Area.

But the Police denied any death during the election.

Hong Kong International Airport (Image credits: Gaurav Amarnani)

A heavily pregnant Chinese woman wanted her unborn child to be born in Hong Kong so desperately, she hid in the airport for a week.

Saturday, January 16, 2016

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