Israel Approves Over 350 New Settlements In Occupied Jerusalem

Israeli construction cranes and excavators at a building site of new housing units in the Jewish settlement of Neve Yaakov, in the northern area of east Jerusalem. (AFP Photo/Ahmad Gharabli)

Jerusalem City Council has approved the construction of almost 400 new settlements in two districts of the city and its southern part, including annexed areas situated beyond the Green Line, RT.com reports.

EBOLA OUTBREAK UPDATE: Death Toll In Ebola Outbreak Rises To 7,588 – WHO

Dr. Peter Piot, a scientist who helped to discover the virus in 1976, says vaccine would take time to develop

* Nearly 20,000 cases recorded worldwide to date

* Virus spreading in north and west of Sierra Leone (Updates with new WHO statement with global figures)

The global death toll from Ebola has risen to 7,588 out of 19,497 confirmed cases recorded in the year-old epidemic raging in West Africa, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday.

Indonesia To Ban Virginity Tests For Female Civil Servants…Except Police

AFP Photo / Ahmad Zamroni

Authorities in Indonesia plan to ban virginity tests for female civil servants following widespread condemnation that the country’s police force still uses the “degrading” practice to vet candidates.

2015 ELECTIONS: OTHER VIEWS – Insurgency, Fraud Pose Risks For Credible Nigerian Election

Nigeria has made an effort to clean up voter registration for elections next February, but holding a credible poll is a daunting prospect amid chaotic distribution of ballot cards and an Islamist insurgency that could disenfranchise millions.

EBOLA OUTBREAK: First Conviction In Sierra Leone Under Ebola Laws

A medical worker listens as UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon gives a speech during his visit to an Ebola treatment unit in Freetown on December 19, 2014 ©Evan Schneider (UN/AFP)

A village chief has become the first person in Sierra Leone to be jailed under laws aimed at preventing the spread of the Ebola virus, court officials and lawyers said. Amadu Kargbo was sentenced to six months in jail by a court in the southwestern city of Moyamba for secretly burying the dead and failing to report a sick patient, court official Foday Fofanah, AFP reports.

Jonathan Says 2015 Elections Will Be Violence-Free

President Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday promised that his administration would give security agencies the necessary support to ensure that the 2015 general elections are violence-free.

SPORT DOPING: WADA Takes 3,000 Russian Samples For Testing - Minister

Vitaly Mutko

Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko has revealed that a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) commission visited Moscow and took around 3,000 samples from local athletes for testing.

NEWS FROM ANOTHER POINT OF VIEW: Chinese Man Eats 160 Eggs To Mark Christmas

Pictures dated December 23, 2014 shows Chinese competitive eater Pan Yizhong picking up an egg at a buffet restaurant in Changsha, in central China's Hunan province. Chinese competitive eater who marked the Christmas season by consuming 160 eggs in one sitting said on Wednesday he was in good health and planned more extreme stunts.

Pan Yizhong, 46, sported a red and white Santa hat as he gobbled 150 quail eggs and 10 chicken eggs in less than 40 minutes on Tuesday to promote a restaurant in central China's Hunan province.

South Africa's Zuma Hints At Fifth Wife

South Africa's President Jacob Zuma has hinted he may be ready to take a fifth wife to accompany him through old age, according to The Star.

FANS TREAT: Lupita Nyong'o Writes A Poem To Fans On Instagram

Photo: www.glamour.com

She won the Oscar for her role as Patsey in 12 Years a Slave and she graced the cover as PEOPLE’s Most Beautiful issue – Lupita Nyong’o had a very good year. But not only is she beautiful and talented, she’s got some serious social media game. 

Nyong’o, 31, posted a poem to Instagram Monday to accompany a holiday photo.

See Poem:

CHINESE SENSE? Fear-Mongering ‘AIDS Demolition Team’ In China Bullied Residents Out Of Homes

AFP Photo / Hoang Dinh Nam

Authorities in a large Chinese city are investigating a work gang of a property development company, which bullied local residents into vacating their homes, threatening to infect them with AIDS unless they comply.

EBOLA OUTBREAK: 'Ebola Outbreak To Continue Until End Of 2015,' Says One Of Scientists Who Discovered Virus

Ebola virus discoverer Peter Piot speaks after an informal consultation at the World Health Organization.

Number of Ebola cases in Sierra Leone is expected to peak over the coming weeks. The outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus that has killed more than 7,300 people in west Africa so far is likely to last until the end of next year, a leading professor has said.

BLOOD ON BLATTER’S/FIFA’S HANDS? Qatar’s World Cup Migrant Workers ‘Died At Rate Of 1 Every 2 Days’ In 2014 – Report

New data reveals that Nepalese construction workers building the 2022 World Cup facilities in Qatar have been dying at a rate of one every two days in 2014 due to bad working conditions, the Guardian reports.

40 NASS Bills Awaiting Presidential Assent, Says Zakari

President Goodluck Jonathan

The Chairman, House Committee on Information, Zakari Mohammed, yesterday, said 40 bills were awaiting President Goodluck Jonathan’s assent to become Acts of the National Assembly.

Fed Govt Alerts Of Plans By ISIS To Recruit Youths As Fighters

Director-General, Mr. Mike Omeri (Photo: thenationaonline.com)

Agents of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) are scouting to recruit youths as fighters, the Federal Government alerted yesterday. It urged members of the public to be at alert and shun any such recruitment into the terror group.

Former US President George H. W. Bush, 90, In Hospital

Former US president George H.W. Bush attends a game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Houston Texans at NRG Stadium on November 23, 2014 in Houston, Texas ©Bob Levey (Getty Images/AFP)

Former US president George H. W. Bush, 90, has been admitted to a Texas hospital suffering shortness of breath, a family spokesman said. "President Bush was taken by ambulance to the Houston Methodist Hospital as a precaution after experiencing a shortness of breath earlier this evening," his spokesman Jim McGrath said.

2015 Election Campaign: Buhari Raises N54.4m From ‘Crowd Funding Platform’

Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd) (credits: nairaland.com)

The Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, has said his desire not to become a hostage to anyone is the reason behind his decision to rely on the sacrifices of ordinary Nigerians to fund his campaign, The Punch reports.

Edo Female Footballers Protest Non-Payment Of Two Years Salaries

Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State (Photo: The Nation)

Edo State female footballers playing for the state owned female club known as the Edo Queens in the Nigeria Premier League (NPL) on Tuesday protested the non-payment of over two years salaries and allowances.

Jonathan Seeks ‘Hall Of Shame’ For Criminals

President Jonathan receiving the Grand Patriarch of Nollywood Award presented to him today (Tuesday) by Legends of Nollywood. (Photo: Abati on Twitter)

President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday pushed for a designated place to be created and named “Hall of Shame” where names of criminals and societal misfits will be documented. Stressing that he muted the idea while he was the Governor of Bayelsa State, the President said that it will serve as deterrence to those who may want to indulge in criminality in the country, according to The Nation.

US$3.2 Million To Be Paid To American Freed By Cuba

Alan Gross, alongside his wife Judy, waves as he leaves a press conference after being released by Cuba on December 17, 2014 in Washington,DC ©Saul Loeb (AFP)

Alan Gross, the American freed last week after five years in a Cuban jail, has reached a US$3.2 million settlement with the US government, media reports said Wednesday.