General News

A Canada-bound airliner was forced to make an emergency landing after severe turbulence injured 21 passengers, including three children, officials said.

The Air Canada flight from Shanghai to Toronto was diverted to Calgary after the turbulence hit.

Eight passengers suffered neck and back injuries and 13 more were taken to hospital for observation.

Those hurt were in a stable condition, an emergency services spokesman said.

Air Canada's chief operating officer Klaus Goersch said passengers had been through a "very unsettling experience".

The Boeing 777 with 332 passengers and 19 crew on board landed at Calgary without further incident, the airline said in a statement.

"To start with it was just OK, normal just up and down, and all of a sudden it was really violent and just shaking everybody," said Yi Lee.

"Suddenly the flight is just going down and everything is really scary. The girl sitting next to me, she was sleeping and she just fly up (to the ceiling)," said Linda He.

Mr Goersch praised the crew's response and said some of the passengers taken to hospital had quickly been discharged.

Source: bbc.com

Security is being stepped up in major European cities ahead of New Year celebrations, with officials wary of possible terror plots.

New Year fireworks and festivities have been cancelled in the Belgian capital Brussels because of an alert.

Extra measures will also be in place in cities including Paris, London, Berlin and Moscow.

Meanwhile in Turkey, security services say they have thwarted a major plot to attack celebrations in Ankara.

Earlier this week, Austrian police claimed a "friendly intelligence service" had tipped them off that major European capitals were at risk of being attacked over the holiday period.

Brussels alert

Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said the Brussels decision had been taken "given information we have received".

Last year 100,000 people turned out in Brussels to welcome in the New Year.

"In these circumstances, we can't check everyone," Brussels Mayor Yvan Mayeur said.

Earlier in the week, police arrested two people suspected of planning attacks during the festive season and seized propaganda for so-called Islamic State (IS) as well as military clothing and computer equipment.

Belgium has been on high alert since the terror attacks of 13 November in Paris. Several of the perpetrators are thought to have been based in Belgium.

Ankara 'plot'

On Wednesday Turkish police arrested two suspected IS members over an alleged plot to attack celebrations in Ankara.

They reportedly entered Turkey from Syria and were planning two separate attacks on crowded areas, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.

Suicide vests and explosives were found during police raids.

A double suicide bombing killed more than 100 people in Ankara in October. Turkey has blamed IS, but no group has sad it carried out the attack.

Security will also be stepped up in Istanbul, with local media reports saying that some officers will be wearing Father Christmas outfits and other disguises to patrol crowds undetected.

'Without fanfare'

In Paris a New Year fireworks display has been abandoned, but the traditional gathering on the Champs-Elysees will take place amid tight security.

Projections on the Arc de Triomphe will be shorter than normal, four giant screens will be placed at intervals to avoid creating tightly packed crowds and the fireworks display has been cancelled.

Iran's navy conducted rocket tests last week near US warships and other commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, the American military has said.

The tests threaten to cause new tensions between the two nations following their landmark nuclear deal.

Iran fired "several unguided rockets" about 1,370m (1,500 yards) from two US vessels and a French frigate, US military spokesman Kyle Raines said.

The tests were "highly provocative", said Cmdr Raines.

The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow waterway between Iran and Oman that provides passage for nearly a third of all oil traded by sea. The strait is also crucial for ships taking part in the war against so-called Islamic State.

In 2012 Iran threatened to block the strait, which lies at the entrance of the Gulf and is 33km (21 miles) wide at its narrowest point.

The latest incident, which took place on Saturday according to the US, follows a series of weapons tests by the Islamic Republic. Iranian media and officials did not immediately comment on the reports.

Iranian ships announced over maritime radio their intention to carry out the test 23 minutes before the rockets were fired.

"Firing weapons so close to passing coalition ships and commercial traffic within an internationally recognised maritime traffic lane is unsafe, unprofessional and inconsistent with international maritime law," Cmdr Raines said.

The US Navy's 5th Fleet is based in nearby Bahrain. It conducts anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf and serves as a regional counterbalance to Iran.

Old tensions

Iran signed a long-term deal with six world powers in July to limit its sensitive nuclear activities in return for the lifting of crippling sanctions.

However, this year it has also broadcast footage of a missile attack on a mock-up of an US aircraft carrier and aired film on state TV of an underground missile base.

The Strait of Hormuz was the scene of a battle between the US and Iran in April 1988, when the US attacked two Iranian oil platforms used for surveillance and sank or damaged six of its vessels, including two naval frigates.

Tensions had erupted after the near-sinking of missile frigate USS Samuel B Roberts by an Iranian mine.

In July 1988, the USS Vincennes was patrolling the strait when it shot down an Iran Air flight heading to Dubai, killing 290 people on board. The ship's crew apparently mistook the plane for an Iranian F-14 fighter.

Source: bbc.com

Burundi's President Pierre Nkurunziza has threatened to fight African Union (AU) peacekeepers if they are deployed to the country.

The AU announced two weeks ago that it would send 5,000 troops to protect civilians in the country, even without the government's consent.

"Everyone has to respect Burundi borders," Mr Nkurunziza said in his first public response to the AU plan.

At least 400 people have been killed and 220,000 displaced since April.

The violence began after Mr Nkurunziza announced he would seek a third term in office. He survived a coup attempt in May, and secured a landslide victory in disputed elections in July.

There have been fears that the violence could spiral into civil war and possible ethnic conflict.

• Letter from Africa: Has the African Union grown some teeth?
• Is Burundi on the verge of ethnic conflict?
• Tit-for-tat killings spread fear

Under Burundi's constitution, foreign troops can only intervene if the warring parties ask for it, or if there is no legitimate government in place, the president said in comments broadcast on state radio.

Any violation of those principles would be considered "an attack on the country and every Burundian will stand up and fight against them," he said.

Other government officials have already criticised the AU proposal saying it would violate the country's sovereignty.

If the deployment goes ahead, it would be the first time the AU uses its power to deploy a force without a country's consent.

A clause in the organisation's charter allows it to intervene in a member state because of grave circumstances, which include war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity.

Diplomatic moves to prevent a civil war in Burundi have recently accelerated with the UN, the European Union and the East African Community fearful of the impact of worsening violence both on the local population and the region.

The government has said there is no threat of genocide.

A peace meeting held in neighbouring Uganda on Tuesday to find a solution to the crisis ended without any agreement.

A recent AU fact-finding mission reports of arbitrary killings, torture and the arbitrary... "closure of some civil society organisations and the media".

Ethnic conflict between Hutus and Tutsis in the 1990s claimed an estimated 300,000 lives.

Mr Nkurunziza is the former leader of a Hutu rebel group, who has been in power since a 2005 peace deal.

Both the government and the opposition are ethnically mixed.

Timeline - Burundi crisis

• April 2015 - Protests erupt after President Pierre Nkurunziza announces he will seek a third term in office.

• May 2015 - Constitutional court rules in favour of Mr Nkurunziza, amid reports of judges being intimidated. Tens of thousands flee violence amid protests.

• May 2015 - Army officers launch a coup attempt, which fails.

• July 2015 - Elections are held, with Mr Nkurunziza re-elected. The polls are disputed, with opposition leader Agathon Rwasa describing them as "a joke".

• November 2015 - Burundi government gives those opposing President Nkurunziza's third term five days to surrender their weapons ahead of a promised crackdown.

• November 2015 - UN warns it is less equipped to deal with violence in Burundi than it was for the Rwandan genocide.
• December 2015 - 87 people killed on one day as soldiers respond to an attack on military sites in Bujumbura

Profile: President Nkurunziza

Find out more about Burundi

Source: bbc.com

South Africa's justice minister has thrown out a bid by the Thembu king to reopen his criminal trial so that he can avoid serving 12 years in prison.

King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo had failed to provide any new evidence to justify a retrial, Michael Masutha said.

The monarch is due to report to prison on Wednesday after being convicted of kidnapping, assault and arson.

He comes from the Thembu clan, to which South Africa's first black president, Nelson Mandela, belonged.

King Dalindyebo is the first monarch to be convicted of a crime in South Africa since minority rule ended in 1994.

He ascended to the throne in 1989, and has about 700,000 subjects.

The late Mr Mandela grew up in the Thembu royal household, and was the 51-year-old King Dalindyebo's uncle.

South Africa has 10 officially recognised monarchs representing different ethnic groups and clans.

Nelson Mandela, who grew up in the Thembu royal household, died two years ago, aged 95

The case against King Dalindyebo was related to a dispute he had with some of his subjects more than two decades ago.

He was accused of kidnapping a woman and her six children, setting their home on fire and beating up four youths, one of whom died, because one of their relatives had failed to present himself before the king's traditional court.

King Dalindyebo appealed to Mr Masutha to reopen his trial after failing in the courts to have his conviction and sentence set aside.

His legal team said he would not report to prison on Wednesday, as they intended to apply for his bail to be extended yet again, the national broadcaster, SABC, reports on its website.

Last week, a court extended King Dalindyebo's bail while Mr Masutha considered his request for a retrial, making it possible for him to spend Christmas at home.

'Deplorable behaviour'

Many people feel King Dalindyebo has disgraced the royal family, and that he will be hard-pressed to find any sympathy, correspondents say.

There is already talk of his son, Prince Azenethi Dalindyebo, being crowned as the next monarch.

King Dalindyebo was a member of the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) party, but it revoked his membership following his conviction.

Sentencing him in October, the Supreme Court of Appeal said: "His behaviour was all the more deplorable because the victims of his reign of terror were the vulnerable rural poor, who were dependent upon him. Our constitution does not countenance such behaviour.

"We are a constitutional democracy in which everyone is accountable and where the most vulnerable are entitled to protection."

Source: bbc.com

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the end of the Ebola outbreak in Guinea, two years after the epidemic began there.

Guineans are expected to celebrate the landmark with concerts and fireworks.

The disease killed more than 2,500 people in the West African state, and a further 9,000 in neighbouring Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Liberia was declared Ebola-free by the WHO in September, and Sierra Leone in November.

• Ebola: Mapping the outbreak
• Ebola basics: What you need to know

However, Liberia has had new cases since the declaration.

A country is considered free of human-to-human transmission once two 21-day incubation periods have passed since the last known case tested negative for a second time.

"It's the best year-end present that God could give to Guinea, and the best news that Guineans could hope for," Ebola survivor Alama Kambou Dore told AFP news agency.

Local health workers echoed a warning from the WHO that vigilance was still vital despite the mood of celebration.

"We have to be very careful, because even if open transmission has been stopped, the disease has not been totally defeated," said Alpha Seny Souhmah, a Guinean health worker and Ebola survivor.

Ad campaigns have run in countries affected by Ebola calling for an end to stigma

In a statement, the WHO congratulated the Guinean government and people for showing "extraordinary leadership in fighting the epidemic".

But it also noted that there had been 10 new small outbreaks of the virus between March and November.

"The coming months will be absolutely critical," said Dr Bruce Aylward from the WHO's Ebola response team.

"This is the period when the countries need to be sure that they are fully prepared to prevent, detect and respond to any new cases."

The WHO will maintain surveillance and outbreak response teams in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia throughout 2016, Dr Aylward added.

Analysis: Tulip Mazumdar, health correspondent, BBC News

This is another major milestone in the bumpy road to the end of the worst Ebola outbreak in history. It all started in Guinea when the virus emerged, probably from fruit bats, in a rural community deep in the forest.

Guinea saw far fewer cases than neighbouring Liberia and Sierra Leone, yet the virus has been circulating there for longer than anywhere else.

I remember travelling through Guinea at the height of the outbreak, and there was still a lot of denial about Ebola; people told me it was a made-up disease. Suspicion is still rife in some communities, and many simply do not trust their government.

Ebola has made a comeback in Liberia after the country twice declared the end of the epidemic, and there is every possibility it could return to Guinea. It will be up to communities to keep the killer virus at bay, by reporting suspicious deaths and encouraging loved ones to seek treatment if they show symptoms of Ebola.

But medical facilities also need to respond quickly, which will happen for the extra 90-day "heightened surveillance" period. A key question is what will happen after that, particularly for the thousands of Ebola survivors who are still facing health problems.

More than 100 health workers also lost their lives in the fight against the disease.

Many survivors still live in fear of the stigma and long-term side effects associated with the virus.

The government in Guinea has blamed the virus for poor economic performance and says it has also caused people to distrust the country's health services.

President Alpha Conde has doubled the health budget since winning re-election in October.

Source: bbc.com

More than one million refugees and migrants have reached Europe by sea since the start of 2015, the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) says.

More than 80% of the 1,000,573 people arrived in Greece, with the majority landing on Lesbos island, it said.

About 844,000 travelled to Greece from nearby Turkey. Most of the others - over 150,000 - crossed the Mediterranean from Libya to Italy.

The migrant crisis is Europe's worst since World War Two.

Migration to Europe in graphics

Migrants offered 'bad weather discounts'

The migrants reaching Europe by land

The number of sea arrivals has increased vastly since 2014, when it was recorded at slightly more than 216,000.

"Increasing numbers of refugees and migrants take their chances aboard unseaworthy boats and dinghies in a desperate bid to reach Europe," the UNHCR said on its website.

"The vast majority of those attempting this dangerous crossing are in need of international protection, fleeing war, violence and persecution in their country of origin."

About 49% of those crossing the Mediterranean Sea are from Syria, with 21% coming from Afghanistan, it added.

The number of those dead or missing at sea is now at 3,735.

The BBC's Paul Adams in Lesbos says that while the island feels less overwhelmed than usual, thousands more people are still waiting to be registered so they can travel further into Europe.

A wave of attacks by female suicide bombers in north-eastern Nigeria has killed more than 50 people.

In the latest blasts two bombers struck a market in the town of Madagali in Adamawa state, an army official said. More than 25 people were killed.

In neighbouring Borno state, several attacks in Maiduguri killed more than 30 people and injured over 100.

Last week, Nigeria's leader said the war against Islamist Boko Haram militants had been "technically won".

The attacks are being blamed on the group.

The BBC's Abdullahi Kaura Abubakar in the capital, Abuja, says Boko Haram jihadists appear to be trying to prove that they can still inflict widespread destruction.

• Who are Boko Haram?

President Muhammadu Buhari, who took office in May promising to defeat the group, told the BBC last week that the militants could no longer mount "conventional attacks" against security forces or population centres.

It had been reduced to fighting with improvised explosives devices (IEDs), he said.

The twin suicide blasts in Madagali were confirmed by the Adamawa state military chief, Brig-Gen Victor Ezugwu.

Maina Ularamu, a community leader and former local government chairman, told AFP two female suicide bombers killed at least 30 people.

'Fired indiscriminately'

Further north, during an attack on Dawari village on the outskirts of Maiduguri, security forces had intervened and killed 10 suicide bombers, spokesman Col Mustapha Anka said.

Residents said militants armed with rocket-propelled grenades drove into the village in trucks and began firing indiscriminately.

Muhammad Kanar, from the National Emergency Management Agency, told the BBC the injured had been taken to three hospitals in the city for treatment.

Hours later a female suicide bomber killed one person as people queued in the morning by a mosque in the city.

A resident in Maiduguri's Ushari Bulabulin district, who asked not to be named, told the BBC Hausa Service: "People were being scanned before they were allowed to pass, and she went into the middle of the gathering. She killed one person and injured six or seven...

"We cannot see the lower part of her body - the bomb must have completely destroyed the lower part of her body," he said.

The military has not commented on the latest attack on the mosque, which is believed to be about a kilometre from the village.

Boko Haram started its insurgency in 2009 and has sworn allegiance to Islamic State and often displays its trademark black flag

• Founded in 2002, initially focused on opposing Western-style education - Boko Haram means "Western education is forbidden" in the Hausa language
• Launched military operations in 2009
• Thousands killed, mostly in north-eastern Nigeria, hundreds abducted, including at least 200 schoolgirls
• Joined so-called Islamic State, now calls itself IS's "West African province"
• Seized large area in north-east, where it declared caliphate
• Regional force has retaken most territory this year

Read:

Using football to tackle Boko Haram

Why Boko Haram remains a threat

Source: bbc.com

A US grand jury has decided not to bring charges against a white policeman over the killing of a 12-year-old black boy armed with a toy gun.

A local prosecutor in Ohio state, Tim McGinty, called the events that led to the death of Tamir Rice a "perfect storm of human error".

But he said it was not unreasonable for the officer to fear for his life.

Public officials in Cleveland on Monday urged the public to remain calm and to protest peacefully.

State Senator Sandra Williams said any unrest would hamper progress but still called the decision a "grave miscarriage of justice".

The announcement comes at a time when the deaths of black men at the hands of police have sparked a national debate.

Rice was carrying a non-lethal pellet gun when police approached him in Cleveland in November 2014, in response to a 911 call reporting a man waving and pointing a gun at people.

Rice's gun was a toy but looked like a real weapon

The caller said the gun might not be real and the perpetrator could be a juvenile.

Mr McGinty, who announced the grand jury's decision on Monday, faulted the emergency services dispatcher for not relaying that information to police.

Officers Timothy Loehmann and Frank Garmback have said the gun looked real and urged Rice to raise his hands three times.

Mr Loehmann shot Rice twice after the boy pulled the gun from his waistband.

The officers said they believed Rice was older than 12. He weighed about 175lbs (79kg) and stood 5ft 7in (1.7m) tall.

The toy gun lacked an orange safety tip and Mr McGinty urged toy manufacturers to stop making replicas that look like real guns.

The Rice family have said police fired too quickly and should have used a Taser, a non-lethal weapon.

Footage from a surveillance camera shows Mr Loehmann firing moments after police arrived at the scene.

Although the officers' actions were not criminal, Mr McGinty said Cleveland had learned from the shooting.

"It should never happen again, and the city has taken steps so it doesn't,'' Mr McGinty said.

Source: bbc.com

Government has given plastic producers a six months ultimatum to help solve the country’s sanitation problem or face a blanket ban on the production of plastics.

The latest threat from government comes on the back of what some have described as the lack of commitment by the plastic producers to combat the plastic filth which has engulfed the country’s capital especially.

In mid-2015 President Mahama gave indications that government may have to go the Rwandan way of banning plastics into the country. His comments generated a huge public debate about the production and use of plastics in Ghana.

It was on the back of this that plastic producers pleaded with government to reconsider the decision by promising to make their products biodegradable.

Government suspended the ban which should have come into effect in November.

Environment Minister, Mahama Ayariga in an interview indicated that “there is an understanding that the flexy plastic manufacturers will work out a strategy with us on how to keep the environment clean from their products such as helping with sanitation management.

“They have also promised to provide litter bins and help in reducing waste especially plastic waste.”

These the minister says should be looked at immediately, or government would slap them with the ban.

Source: ghanaweb.com

Benin's Prime Minister walked away unscathed after the helicopter in which he was travelling crashed in the country's northwest, his daughter said.

It is unclear why the helicopter carrying Lionel Zinsou crash-landed in a stadium.

"My father is fine. There were no victims in the helicopter accident in Djougou," Marie-Cecile Zinsou tweeted.

Earlier this month, Mr Zinsou confirmed he would run as a candidate in Benin's 2016 presidential elections.

The helicopter crashed while landing at a stadium in the city of Djougou, a spokesman for Benin's interior ministry Leonce Houngbadji told the AFP news agency.

He said no-one in the helicopter was hurt.

Mr Zinsou, a former private-equity executive, was appointed prime minister of Benin in June.

He has said he will run for president in February's election as a candidate of the ruling Cowry Forces for an Emerging Benin (FCBE) party.

Reuters reported in early December that Mr Zinsou's announcement put an end to speculation Benin's president Thomas Boni Yayi was seeking a third term.

Source: bbc.com

Iraqi forces have retaken a former government compound in Ramadi from where Islamic State (IS) group militants have been resisting an army offensive, the military has said.

The complex was "under complete control" and there was no sign of IS fighters, a spokesman said.

He said this heralded the defeat of IS in the city, although he admitted there could be pockets of resistance.

The government has been trying to retake Ramadi for weeks.

The mainly Sunni Arab city, about 55 miles (90km) west of Baghdad, fell to IS in May, and was seen as an embarrassing defeat for the army.

Islamic State conflict

Life under IS

Viewpoint: How to defeat IS

In recent days, troops have been picking their way through booby-trapped streets and buildings as they pushed towards the city centre, seizing several districts on the way.

After sniper fire from the compound stopped and aerial surveillance detected no human activity, Iraqi soldiers moved in.

The military spokesman, Sabah al-Numani, told Reuters: "The complex is under our complete control, there is no presence whatsoever of [IS] fighters in the complex.

"By controlling the complex this means that they have been defeated in Ramadi. The next step is to clear pockets that could exist here or there in the city."

Analysis: BBC's Thomas Fessy in Baghdad

Controlling this compound is key to retaking Ramadi. Iraqi soldiers are slowly clearing it as they fear it may have been rigged to explode.

Troops are also busy in the surrounding neighbourhood, where pockets of resistance remain.

The authorities will hail this week's offensive as a success - in stark contrast with the security forces' hasty retreat from Ramadi last May.

However, it took months to mount this ground campaign, in co-ordination with coalition air strikes.

There had been no clear indications of the number of IS militants who had been defending the city, although some reports put it at about 400. No official toll of Iraqi army casualties has been given.

The Iraqi military believes the remaining militants have headed north-east; with fighting also reported to be under way to the south-west of the compound.

Gen Ismail al-Mahlawi, head of Anbar military operations, told Associated Press that the fighting had been tough given IS's use of suicide bombers, snipers and booby traps.

Concern also remains for the plight of hundreds of families who have been trapped on the frontline.

Image copyright AFP

Image caption The Iraqi army was ousted from Mosul by Islamic State in June 2014

Will Mosul be next target?

• Iraqi PM Haider al-Abadi says the army will move soon to retake the northern city - and that it would be the biggest prize
• With the population of about 1.5m, Iraq's second biggest city is also the largest centre under IS control since June 2014
• The Iraqi military expects the battle for the strategic city of the Tigris River will be much longer
• Mosul is seen as a focal point for all sides of the conflict - Sunni Arabs, Shia Arabs and Kurds
• IS is reported to be making significant sums of money by selling locally produced oil

Life in Mosul under IS

The fight for Mosul

Although the full extent of the situation on the ground remains unclear, Agence France-Presse reported there had been celebrations on the streets of a number of Iraqi cities.

The operation to recapture Ramadi began in early November, but made slow progress, mainly because the government chose not to use the powerful Shia-dominated paramilitary force that helped it regain the northern city of Tikrit, to avoid increasing sectarian tensions.

Source: bbc.com

Power Minister, Kwabena Donkor, says he deserves credit for managing the power crisis that has crippled businesses and left many people jobless.
In his view, he has done enough to reduce the intensity of the crisis, although there is still work to be done.
“If you set an exam and somebody gets 99 percent, is it not possible to say the person has done extremely well,” he queried.
Responding to a question regarding his promise to resign if the load shedding does persists after December 31, 2015, Dr Donkor said “if it is my going that people want then that’s fine."
He was speaking on Joy News’ end of year review programme, Dr Donkor said he and his ministry, together with government are working tirelessly to bring the situation to an end.
Dr Donkor made news earlier in the year when he said in an interview with Joy News that he will resign from his position if he is unable to end the power crisis by the end of the year.
He has been heavily criticized for failing to handle the situation as the crisis seems to have worsened, crippling many businesses and forcing others to lay off their workers in order to cut cost.
However, briefing Parliament’s Assurances Committee on progress made so far with regards to the power crisis, Dr Donkor said he still stands by his promise but a two-week extension into the New Year will help solve the situation entirely if things work according to plan.
“All things being equal, at the end of this year…that is seven days from today the load shedding will end. But the only caveat I will throw in is that the end of the year can move up to about two weeks of the New Year.”
The public has however, not taken his comments lightly. They insist that he must resign since he has failed in handling the power crisis.
The Minister insists that "give or take", the crisis will cease by the end of the year, adding “for the last three days there has been no load shedding in Ghana, so if you’re in a particular locality and there is no power then it means it is a fault particular to that locality.
“That is what I’ve been struggling over the past weeks to distinguish. It is possible there will be no load shedding but you can still have faults in particular localities arising out of a number of reasons and that is a reality,” he said.

Source: myjoyonline.com

A Christmas Day bushfire has destroyed more than 100 homes in Australia's Victoria state, officials say.

Officials said 98 homes had been razed in Wye River and 18 at Separation Creek. No injuries are reported.

Hundreds of firefighters have been battling the blaze along the famous Great Ocean Road in Victoria's south-west, popular with holidaymakers.

A change to cooler weather and rain has greatly reduced the threat, but some emergency warnings remain in place.

Some 1,600 residents and tourists from the popular tourist spot of Lorne were evacuated on Friday amid fears that a wind change would push the fire towards the town, but were allowed to return on Saturday.

Many of those forced to leave their homes had to spend Christmas night in hastily-arranged shelters.

More than 500 firefighters, 60 tankers and 18 aircraft have been involved in fighting the flames.

Victoria Emergency Management Commissioner Craig Lapsley said they were "working around the clock to bring this fire under control".

He warned that although the immediate threat had eased, the fire had the "potential to burn" for weeks to come.

'Dropped everything'

Thousands of tourists typically descend on the area in the days after Christmas to visit coastal towns.

But many residents and holidaymakers were forced to flee, as festivities were abandoned when the scale of the threat became apparent.

"They (residents) were all prepared, putting their barbecues on, they were cooking away, and all of a sudden they could see the smoke coming over the hill," local resident Patrick Carey said.

"They thought it was still four hours away according to what they'd heard. And then all of a sudden it was an hour away, and all of a sudden it was half-an-hour away. So, they just dropped everything, stopped cooking and hopped in their car."

Anyone still planning to travel to the area is being asked to check emergency warnings and to avoid the Great Ocean Road if possible.

The Falls Music and Arts Festival, which is held annually near Lorne, may not go ahead because of the fires, its organisers said.

The fire began with a lightning strike on 19 December and has been fanned by strong winds and intense heat in recent days, burning across 2,200 hectares (5,437 acres) so far.

Victoria is one of the most fire-prone regions in the world.

Many bushfires are started by lightning strikes, while others are sparked accidentally by campers or discarded cigarettes.

Some are the work of arsonists.

In 2009, more than 170 people died in Victoria during Australia's worst ever bushfire disaster.

Source: bbc.com

The expected evacuation of thousands of rebels from in and around Yarmouk refugee camp in southern Damascus has been put on hold, reports say.

Safety issues and the killing of a top rebel have been blamed for the delay.

Militants and their families were due to be bussed to areas under the control of their respective groups, under a deal between rebels and the government.

About 18,000 civilians have been trapped in Yarmouk by the fighting and a government siege since 2012.

Islamic State (IS) militants took over parts of the camp earlier this year.

They were pushed back by Palestinian militias and Syrian rebels after weeks of fierce fighting, and Yarmouk has since been divided into areas controlled by IS, the rival al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front, and pro- and anti-government Palestinian militants.

Government forces maintain checkpoints around the area preventing civilians from leaving.

Safe passage

Under the deal, fighters will withdraw from Yarmouk and the neighbouring districts of Hajar al-Aswad and al-Qadam.

Eighteen buses which will transport rebels and their families were reported to have arrived at the camp on Friday.

However, Lebanese Hezbollah al-Manar TV said the evacuation was held up because the convoy was due to pass through territory controlled by rebel group Jaysh al-Islam, whose leader was killed in an air strike later that day.

The UK-based monitoring group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said it was paused for "logistic reasons" in order to secure the road to IS-held Raqqa in the north-east.

The plan would see IS fighters and their families given safe passage there, and al-Nusra militants transferred to the northern province of Idlib.

Once Yarmouk is made safe, the UN will be able to get aid to the civilians who have been trapped.

Yarmouk was first built for Palestinians fleeing the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. Before the Syrian civil war began in 2011, it had more than 150,000 refugees living there.

Those trapped in the camp for the past two years, including 3,500 children, have no access to regular food supplies, clean water or healthcare.

Source: bbc.com

500 recruits undergoing training at the Army Recruit Training School at Shai Hills in the Greater Accra region have all been sent home for misconduct.

A statement signed by the Director of Public Relations, Col. Aggrey-Quashie explained that the recruits were sacked after their training was halted following demonstrations by army recruits.

The recruits followed their protest with other acts of insubordination, according to the statement. The Army says such acts of insubordination are detrimental to national security, hence the decision to dismiss the recruits. 


Read full statement below

The Ghana Armed Forces wishes to inform the General Public and relatives of recruits undergoing training at the Army Recruits Training School, Shai Hills, that there is cessation of training of the Recruits.

The cessation has become necessary following an incident which took place at the Training School on 3 December 2015.  At about 0200 hours on that day, the recruits without due authorization dressed up in their outing attire (black trousers and white shirt) staged an unauthorized assembly on the School square and later marched to the instructors accommodation to be sent home because the training was strenuous, a situation the recruits considered as maltreatment. This was followed by other insubordinate behaviours by the recruits that same day.

The implications of the recruits’ behavour are far reaching and inimical to the security of the State.

The Ghana Armed Forces take this opportunity to wish all Ghanaians Merry Christmas and a Prosperous new year.

 

Signed

E. Aggrey-Quashie

Colonel

Director Public Relations

Source: peacefmonline.com

At least 11 people have been killed and scores more injured by a devastating storm which left a path of destruction across the US South on Christmas Eve.

Seven people were killed as tornadoes moved through northern Mississippi overnight, officials said, and three more died in Tennessee and one in Arkansas.

There have been reports of at least 20 tornadoes of varying severity.

A seven-year-old boy was among those killed.

Authorities in parts of Mississippi are conducting a house-by-house search-and-rescue operation after the state was hit by multiple tornadoes.

The boy was inside a car, which was picked up and tossed in the storm. His relatives, who were also in the vehicle, were taken to a hospital for treatment.

Planes at a small airport in the north-west of the state were overturned and an unknown number of people were injured.

"I'm looking at some horrific damage right now," Clarksdale Mayor Bill Luckett was quoted by the AP news agency as saying.

"Sheet metal is wrapped around trees; there are overturned airplanes; a building is just destroyed."

Mississippi's Interstate 55 was closed in both directions as the tornado approached, the state's Highway Patrol said.

There are reports that one large tornado touched land in Mississippi and travelled 100 miles to Tennessee.

The threat of tornadoes eased as the line of storms moved east on Thursday, but heavy rain and thunderstorms caused flooding and travel chaos in Georgia, Alabama and the Carolinas.

The national Storm Prediction Center in Oklahoma had released a "particularly dangerous situation" warning for the first time since June 2014 when two massive tornadoes destroyed a rural Nebraska town, killing two people.

The possibility of bad weather just before Christmas in the US is not unusual, officials at the centre say.

One year ago a tornado hit south-eastern Mississippi, killing five people and injuring dozens more.

A storm on Christmas Day in 2012 which included several tornadoes damaged homes from Texas to Alabama.

Source: bbc.com

The US victims of the Iran hostage crisis are to receive compensation 36 years after their ordeal, reports say.

Each of the 53 hostages or their estates will receive up to $4.4m (£3m), according to a US spending bill passed last Friday.

The victims of other state-sponsored terror attacks such as the US embassy bombings in East Africa in 1998 will also be eligible.

The hostage-taking lasted 444 days and led the US to break off ties with Iran.

The decision to award compensation follows a controversial deal between world powers and Iran over its nuclear programme.

"Those negotiations resulted in an understanding that an inevitable next step in securing a relationship was to address the reason for the rupture, which was our kidnapping and torture," former hostage Rodney Sickmann told the New York Times.

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The hostages have long fought for restitution, but the agreement that secured their release barred them from making such claims and their attempts were repeatedly blocked by the courts, including an appeal denied by the Supreme Court.

Congress was also unable to pass laws granting them compensation.

The money for compensation is likely to come from a huge $9bn fine for French bank Paribas for violating sanctions against Iran, Sudan and Cuba, the New York Times reported.

About $1bn will go into a fund for victims of terrorism and an additional $2.8bn will be set aside to help the victims of the 9/11 attacks and their families.

The new law allows for payments of up to $10,000 for each day of captivity, while spouses and children are eligible for a payment of up to $600,000. Initial payments are due within a year.

Thirty-seven of the 53 hostages held after a mob stormed the US embassy in Tehran are still alive.

Timeline: Iran hostage crisis

4 November 1979: Iranian students storm the US embassy in Tehran and take 99 people hostage, including 66 Americans. They demand the extradition of Iran's former ruler, Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, from the US

17 November 1979: Iranian leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini orders the release of female and African-American hostages, bringing the number of hostages to 53

28 January 1980: Six US embassy employees, who had avoided capture and hidden in the homes of Canadian embassy officials, flee Iran

7 April 1980: President Jimmy Carter cuts ties with Iran

25 April 1980: An attempt to rescue the hostages fails when a helicopter and a transport plane collide, killing eight US soldiers

11 July 1980: A hostage is released due to illness

19 January 1981: The US and Iran sign an agreement to release the hostages

20 January 1981: The remaining 52 hostages are released and flown to Germany

Source: bbc.com

hana has demanded a $500,000 (£350,000) refund after its transport ministry spent $1m to paint more than 100 buses with portraits of the country's recent leaders.

The contractor, Smartty's Management Limited, has been asked to return the excess payment, the government said.

On Wednesday, Transport Minister Dzifa Attivor resigned following a public outcry over the deal.

Ghana is struggling with a large budget deficit and a widening public debt.

The branding involved respraying the 116 imported passenger buses and adding portraits of the current President John Mahama, his three immediate predecessors and Ghana's first head of state, Kwame Nkrumah.

'Not value for money'

A proper procurement method was "not followed and the contract did not ensure value for money," the government said after a review by Attorney General Marietta Brew Appiah-Opong.

Opposition and anti-corruption campaigners have raised concerns over the amount spent, which they said was far too much, forcing the presidency to set up an investigation.

The BBC's Sammy Darko in the capital, Accra, says many people think the government is not doing enough to tackle budget mismanagement.

They want to see people being charged for causing financial loss to the state, he adds.

Mrs Attivor's resignation is the first by a Ghanaian minister in more than a decade and comes amid efforts by the government to cut spending as it implements a three-year International Monetary Fund plan to restore fiscal stability.

Earlier this week, Mr Mahama banned public officials, including ministers, from first class air travel and he suspended non-essential trips.

Source: bbc.com

Pope Francis has warned the world's 1.2 billion Roman Catholics not to be "intoxicated" by possessions in his annual Christmas homily.

He called for more sobriety in a world obsessed by "consumerism and hedonism, wealth and extravagance".

The Pope was celebrating a Christmas eve Mass in St Peter's Basilica in front of about 10,000 people.

Later on Friday he will deliver his traditional Christmas message from the central balcony of St Peter's Square.

Celebrating Mass, the Pope said Christmas was the time to "once more discover who we are".

He called on believers to show the same simplicity as the child Jesus, "born into poverty in a manger despite his divinity" to inspire their lives.

"In a society so often intoxicated by consumerism and hedonism, wealth and extravagance, appearances and narcissism, this child calls us to act soberly, in other words, in a way that is simple, balanced, consistent, capable of seeing and doing what is essential," he said.

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"Amid a culture of indifference which not infrequently turns ruthless, our style of life should instead be devout, filled with empathy, compassion and mercy."

Security was tight at the service with police carrying out spot checks in the area surrounding the Vatican. Everyone who went into the basilica, the largest church in Christendom, had to pass through metal detectors.

Correspondents say the Pope, 79, used his homily to reflect the key themes of three years in office - mercy, compassion, empathy and justice.

"In a world which all too often is merciless to the sinner and lenient to the sin, we need to cultivate a strong sense of justice, to discern and to do God's will," he said.

His voice was occasionally hoarse - the effect of a slight flu earlier this week.

Source: bbc.com