Africa
Twenty villagers murdered in Nigeria
Gunmen have killed 20 people, including a traditional leader, in an attack on a village in northern Nigeria’s Zamfara state, a local official has said. The attackers stormed Kaboro village and began shooting indiscriminately, their motive apparently robbery. They fled after raiding houses for cash and other valuables, the official added. Militant Islamist group Boko Haram has previously carried out a number of attacks in northern Nigeria, but it appears unconnected to this violence. Nigeria has one of the highest crime rates in Africa and is notorious for gun violence, including kidnapping and robbery, with some communities forming vigilante groups to resist such attacks. At least 23 people were killed in June in villages in Zamfara by gangs of armed robbers on motorbikes.
Asia
Japan tsunami reconstruction money ‘misspent’
Japan has spent funds intended for reconstruction after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami on unrelated projects, a government audit has found. Projects financed by the $150bn fund include raids in Okinawa, an ad campaign for Japan’s tallest building, and support for whaling research. Meanwhile, some 325,000 people remain displaced 18 months after the disaster, with little reconstruction work carried out in some areas. Some 19,000 people were killed or remain missing following the tsunami and earthquake that struck north-east Japan in March 2011. Takashi Kubota, deputy mayor of a fishing port where nearly half the houses were destroyed, told the Associated Press that “not one single new building yet” had been built in the devastated downtown area.
Middle East
Syrian air force general ‘killed by rebels’
A senior Syrian air force general has been killed by rebels in central Damascus, state television reports. Abdullah Mahmoud al-Khalidi was shot dead late on Monday in the capital’s Rukn al-Din district, said the report. In July, bombs killed the country’s defence minister and President Assad’s brother-in-law. The Free Syrian Army has claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it had also killed an air force intelligence official in the same operation.
Europe
ECHR says Polish rape victim should have had access to abortion
A Polish teenager who became pregnant after a rape should have had unhindered access to abortion services, says the European Court of Human Rights in an historic ruling that challenges the country’s strict abortion laws and the Catholic Church’s influence over them. The girl, who was 14 at the time, was forced to have a clandestine abortion after harassment from pro-life groups and Catholic priests led to her being turned away from hospitals. The ECHR ordered the Polish state to pay the teenager and her mother €61,000 in compensation. Poland only permits abortions in cases of rape, incest or when the life of the mother or foetus is threatened. Poland’s Catholic Church is fiercely opposed to the notion of easing these restrictions and a majority of mainstream politicians support the status quo.
British PM in tight vote to freeze EU budget
British Prime Minister David Cameron faces a knife-edge vote in the House of Commons over his European Union budget policy, after MPs from the opposition Labour party announced they will side with rebellious MPs from Mr Cameron’s Conservative party in a bid to defeat him. Mr Cameron has told other EU leaders the long-term budget should be frozen in real terms, but dozens of Conservative MPs have signed an amendment demanding a reduction in the budget. Labour have now announced they will back that amendment which they say is in line with their own position on the EU budget, having tabled a similar motion in July. Mr Cameron is still likely to win the vote with support from his coalition partners the Liberal Democrat party, but his leadership is weaker on Europe than perhaps any other policy area after 81 of his own MPs rebelled against the party line to call for a referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU last year.
North America
Sandy impact: Haiti fears food shortages, New York reopens and assesses damage
In the wake of ‘super-storm’ Sandy, there are fears of food shortages in Haiti as the US north-east coast recovers from last night’s impact. Sandy’s strong winds and heavy rain caused extensive crop damage to farmlands in southern Haiti, while aid workers and officials are also warning that flooding could lead to a rise in cholera cases. The cleanup also continues in Jamaica and Cuba. In the USA, businesses and services have started to reopen this morning after two days of forced closure – the New York stock exchange has not been closed for two days due to weather in over a century. Many homes still have no power and the New York subway remains shut. President Barack Obama has suspended his election campaign and is due to visit affected areas in New Jersey. The cost of clearing up after Sandy has been estimated at $30 to $40bn. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said “we have not seen damage like this in a generation”. Sandy is blamed for roughly 70 deaths in the Caribbean, more than 50 of which were in Haiti, and more than 40 deaths in the USA. It is forecast to weaken as it turns north toward Canada, but to continue dumping heavy snow and rain.
Latin America
Colombia’s Urabenos ‘gang leader’ captured in Argentina
One of Colombia’s most-wanted drug dealers, Henry de Jesus Lopez, has been arrested in Argentina. Mr Lopez, also known as Mi Sangre or My Blood, was detained while eating in a Buenos Aires restaurant, police said. He is alleged to be a leader of the Urabenos gang, which controls much of the drug trade in northern Colombia. Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos thanked the Argentine authorities for their help via Twitter.
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