Backlash against al-Qaida affiliate sees 'dozens of fighters' killed in Iraq and Syria

Attempt to push back group that claimed responsibility for bomb attack on Shia suburb in BeirutAl-Qaida's most significant and powerful affiliate in Iraq and Syria was under attack on multiple fronts on Saturday, even as the group claimed responsibility for its latest outrage – bombing a Shia suburb of the Lebanese capital, Beirut, two days ago.The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant – known by the acronym Isil – was facing an assault in the western Iraqi province of Anbar, led by police and tribal fighters, after attempting to...

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South Sudan ceasefire talks open

Direct talks between teams representing the warring parties in South Sudan officially open in Ethiopia, despite earlier fears that the process had run into trouble....

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Egypt: Brotherhood Supporters Clash With Security Forces At Azhar

[Aswat Masriya]A group of students, who support the Muslim Brotherhood, clashed with security forces on Saturday at Al-Azhar University where the protesters hurled fireworks and rocks at the forces, the state news agency said....

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Police Arrest Suspected Members Of Gunrunning Syndicate In Kaduna

The Kaduna State Police Command on Saturday in Kaduna paraded seven suspected members of a gunrunning syndicate involved in the sale, manufacture and repair of locally made guns. The Commissioner of Police, Mr Olufemi Adenaike, said that the suspected gun-runners were arrested following a tip-off from a member of the public. Adenaike said that seven......

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Defection Is Political Miscalculation — Kaduna PDP Chairman

The Kaduna State chapter of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) chairman Chief Abubakar Gaya Haruna yesterday described the said defection of members of his party to the All Progressives Congress (APC) as mere “political madness.” He said it was rather unheard of that some people who claimed to have built the PDP decides to leave......

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G5 Defection: Tasks before PDP – GF

WITH the defection of five governors of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) and claims that more governors may leave soon, the leadership of the PDP Governors Forum (PDP-GF) has a mouthful of tasks to masticate.The post G5 Defection: Tasks before PDP – GF appeared first on Vanguard News....

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Political Issues and events that will shape 2014

Without any iota of doubt, 2014 is going to be an interesting year in the political sector of Nigeria. Many people see this year as a crucial year where major decisions will be taken on the future of Nigeria. In 2014, many issues and events are expected to come up and bound to shape the […]...

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Here Are The Things Americans Want The Government To Focus On In 2014

The Associated Press and Center for Public Affairs Research are out with a new poll this morning looking at what Americans want the government to work on in 2014 and their faith in the government's ability to actually accomplish anything. The results aren't surprising. Health care and the economy top the list of issues that Americans want the government to work on, but no one believes that Congress will actually get anything done. Seventy percent have no confidence that the federal government "can make progress on the important problems and...

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FG Charged On Security Pact With U.S, Israel

A former senator, Chief Anthony Agbo, on Saturday urged the Federal Government to enter into extensive security pact with the U.S. and Israel to check insecurity in the country. Agbo, the immediate past senator representing Ebonyi North senatorial zone, gave the advice at Mgbo, Ohaukwu Local Government Area, Ebonyi, in an interview with the News......

http://politicaldelight.com/news/fg-charged-on-security-pact-with-us-israel

Madagascar: Provisional Result in Crucial Madagascan Poll

[Deutsche Welle]Hoping their country would soon be lifted out of economic chaos and political instability, the people of Madagascar voted in presidential elections in late 2013. A provisional winner has just been announced....

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Madagascar: Former Finance Minister Wins Disputed Ballot

[Deutsche Welle]Madagascar's former finance minister, Hery Rajaonarimampianina, is winning the provisional presidential run-off vote tally. Alleged voting irregularities have delayed the final result....

http://politicaldelight.com/news/madagascar-former-finance-minister-wins-disputed-ballot

Kenya seeks for closer museum ties with China

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta on Friday called for increased partnership between museums in Kenya and China....

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Kenya: China to Help Kenya Safeguard Territory

[The Star]THE Chinese government has said it will continue supporting the Kenya Defence Forces to secure the country's borders and territorial waters. Defence Secretary Raychelle Omamo said China is involved in an on-going modernisation of the KDF....

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Kenya: Kenyans Have a Responsibility in Arresting Illegal LPG Trade

[The Star]The government of Kenya has long recognised the importance of Liquefied Petroleum Gas as an alternative household energy source that could replace use of biomass. The need to replace use of biomass as a primary source of energy in Kenya has become inevitable due to the undesirable results that come with its combustion....

http://politicaldelight.com/news/kenya-kenyans-have-a-responsibility-in-arresting-illegal-lpg-trade

Politics › A tale of two leaders in China and Japan

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe are locked in a spiralling diplomatic standoff but their burgeoning rivalry contrasts with striking personal parallels between the two, analysts say. While they have emerged through very different systems, one a democracy and the other a one-party state, they are…...

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China, Japan high on R& spending, US slides

China and Japan, for the first time, are spending big on biomedical research and development, while the spending by the US has come down....

http://politicaldelight.com/news/china-japan-high-on-rd-spending-us-slides

3 dead after Cambodian police fire on protesters

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — At least three people were killed Friday when police in Cambodia opened fire to break up a protest by striking garment workers demanding a doubling of the minimum wage, police and human rights workers said....

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Julian Assange Gave A Very Peculiar Response When He Was Asked About 'Getting Snowden Out Of The US'

A strange exchange occurred when members of the anti-secrecy organization WikiLeaks were asked about the flight of Edward Snowden at a Chaos Computer Club conference last week. WikiLeaks has been credited with helping Snowden escape extradition to the U.S. after the 30-year-old left Hawaii with at least hundreds of thousands of classified NSA files and flew to Hong Kong on May 20. At the Chaos Computer Club conference on Dec. 29, Assange said that "WikiLeaks was able to rescue Edward Snowden because we are an organized institution with collective experience." Top WikiLeaks adviser Sarah Harrison, who...

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NYT Wants Clemency For ‘Whistle-Blower’ Snowden

The New York Times editorial board is calling for President Barack Obama to take mercy on former NSA contractor-turned-leaker Edward Snowden. In an editorial published late Wednesday, the newspaper called Snowden a “whistle-blower” and said Obama should grant him clemency. While the Times concedes that Snowden broke the law in leaking data on the NSA’s vast surveillance and data-collection programs, the paper also said that, “considering the enormous value of the information he has revealed, and the abuses he has exposed, Mr. Snowden deserves better than a life of permanent exile, fear...

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Ted Cruz Hopes Canadian Citizenship Process Is 'Completed Soon'

AUSTIN, Texas - Canadian-born U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz has yet to renounce his Canadian citizenship as promised, but looks forward to the process being completed soon.

Catherine Frazier, a spokeswoman for the conservative tea party favourite from Texas, said Saturday that lawyers are preparing the paperwork.

She said Cruz, who was born in Calgary, Alberta, "has been fully focused on fighting for Texans' values and interests" and that he "looks forward to the process being completed soon."

Cruz took office last year, but is already being mentioned as a possible Republican presidential contender...

http://politicaldelight.com/news/ted-cruz-hopes-canadian-citizenship-process-is-completed-soon

Bangladesh protesters torch schools

Anti-government protesters in Bangladesh torched over 100 polling centers before the general elections scheduled for Sunday, police and officials said....

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VIDEO: China joins Syria chemical mission

A Chinese frigate which is taking part in the mission to remove Syria's chemical weapons stockpile under an agreement that followed a chemical attack near Damascus last year, has docked in Cyprus....

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Czech police probing fatal explosion find arms at Palestinian Embassy

Czech police investigating the fatal New Year's Day explosion at the Palestinian Authority Embassy in Prague found unregistered weapons at the mission, government officials reported Thursday....

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Czech Officials Find Illegal Weapons During Search of Palestinian Compound

Officials investigating an explosion that killed the Palestinian ambassador to the Czech Republic at his residence found illegal weapons, the Prague police chief said. ...

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World Brief | Europe: Daughter of Palestinian Envoy Killed in Czech Republic Suspects Foul Play

The daughter of Jamal al-Jamal, who was killed this week in an explosion at his home in Prague, said she believed he was murdered....

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Name Me PM Now, Czech Election Winner Urges President

Czech Social Democrat leader Bohuslav Sobotka urged the president to move quickly to name him prime minister, as the two men ready for talks on forming the country's next government. ...

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A Seemingly Petty Dispute Has Exposed The Gulf Between India And America

A diplomatic row between India and the US escalated after the Indian government announced a series of retaliatory measures against the US in response to the arrest of its deputy consul-general, Devyani Khobragade, in New York. On December 19th India's foreign minister, Salman Khurshid, said that the charges against Ms Khobragade should be withdrawn. Analysis On December 12th law-enforcement agencies in New York reportedly handcuffed Ms Khobragade in public after which she was strip-searched. Ms Khobragade is charged by the US authorities with visa fraud-she is accused of underpaying but...

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Is It Remotely Plausible That Kim Jong-un Had His Uncle Eaten By 120 Dogs?

The big news out of North Korea today is that, according to the Strait Times, Kim Jong-un fed his uncle to 120 hungry dogs after he was purged from the North Korean leadership. According to the report, Jang Song-taek was stripped naked and thrown into a cage with his aides, then dogs that had been starved for three days were set on them. The whole execution process apparently took around an hour, during which Kim and 300 other officials watched. It's an incredible twist to the already incredible story of...

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