Gambia: Yahya Jammeh gets a final deadline to step down
Regional leaders postpone military intervention until Friday at noon, giving last chance to Yahya Jammeh to step aside.
West African leaders have given Yahya Jammeh, who lost elections last month, until midday on Friday to hand over power and agree to leave the Gambia or face military action carried out by the regional bloc ECOWAS.
West African troops entered the country to bolster its new President Adama Barrow - who was sworn-in on Thursday - but military operations were suspended a few hours later in favour of a final diplomatic push to convince Jammeh, who has stubbornly refused to quit, to exit peacefully.
"We have suspended operations and given him an ultimatum," said Marcel Alain de Souza, head of the 15-nation Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS.
"We have suspended operations and given him an ultimatum," said Marcel Alain de Souza, head of the 15-nation Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS.
China eyes an opportunity to take ownership of climate change fight
The economic and environmental cost of pollution will drive Beijing’s policies regardless of what Donald Trump does
Twenty years ago, climate change was believed by many in Beijing to be a conspiracy cooked up by the western world to contain China’s development.
Since then, China has performed an about-turn, not only recognising climate change as a major global challenge but also, ahead of Davos this week, vowing to lead the world’s effort in combating it.
The election of Donald Trump, who, labelling climate change a “hoax” created by China, has reversed the conspiracy, casts a dark shadow on the prospect of future international climate cooperation. But for China, now could be a moment of opportunity.
Brawl erupts in Turkey's parliament over constitutional reform
At least two Turkish lawmakers have been hospitalized after fighting broke out in parliament. It's not the first time politicians have come to blows over a reform bill that would boost President Erdogan's powers.
The scuffle broke out after independent legislator Aylin Nazliaka handcuffed herself to the microphone on the parliament's rostrum to protest against the controversial reform package.
"I am chaining myself to the lectern to say no to the diktat of one man, to oppose the annulment of republican values and protest against parliament being handcuffed with this constitutional revision," she said.
The move prompted the parliament's deputy speaker to twice call a recess and halt debate on the draft constitutional amendments. The situation escalated when deputies from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) tried to unscrew the microphone. Television footage of the confrontation showed women from the ruling party and the opposition punching, kicking and slapping each other.
'Rubbish-selfies': How a blogger is trying to shame Guineans into cleaning up the capital
OBSERVERS
Wearing a face mask and armed with just her mobile phone, our Observer Fatoumata Chérif is waging a war against the build-up of rubbish in Conakry, the capital of Guinea. She has launched a campaign on social media to raise awareness about sanitation amongst her fellow citizens — and has met with some unexpected success.
Waste management in Conakry is a nightmare. The Guinean capital, which has 2 million residents, only has one landfill, which is located on the outskirts of the city. In 2016, Guinean authorities carried out a vast clean-up campaign with financing from the World Bank, with the aim to clean up 300,000 cubic metres of rubbish. However, these measures were largely insufficient, given that city dwellers generate between 600 and 1,000 tonnes of rubbish per day.
Marine Le Pen pulls ahead in poll: What does that mean for France and the EU?
Marine Le Pen leads the National Front, a right-wing populist party that was once relegated to the fringes of French politics.
When France's presidential election proceedings began last year, the universal favorite was François Fillon, the nominee of the center-right Republican Party. Marine Le Pen, head of France's right-wing populist and nationalist National Front party, was still considered a somewhat distant prospect.
But now, Ms. Le Pen has pulled ahead in one major poll, riding the wave of anti-establishment politics that have swept Europe over the past year. According to the French newspaper Le Monde, Le Pen currently leads the race with between 25 and 26 percent support, compared to 23 to 25 percent for her closest competitor, Mr. Fillon. In mid-December, Fillon held a three-point lead over Le Pen at 28 percent to her 25. The new poll numbers represent a shift that is causing real concern among Fillon's center-right supporters.
The dying officer treated for cancer with baking soda
The father of the alkaline diet, Robert O Young, is hailed as an inspiration by one of the UK's most popular food writers, Natasha Corrett, but he faces a jail sentence for practising medicine without a licence. One patient who believed he could cure her cancer, British Army officer Naima Houder-Mohammed, paid thousands of dollars for his alkaline treatment, which consisted mainly of intravenous infusions of baking soda.
In May 2009 Naima Houder-Mohammed was commissioned as a Captain in the British Army. The following year, tragedy struck. Naima was diagnosed with breast cancer.
She received treatment and was declared cancer-free. But in 2012, while training with the army skiing team, it was discovered the cancer had returned. Her condition was so serious she was offered end-of-life care.
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