Explosions rock city in Nigeria’s
At least 15 people were killed in a series of explosions in a Christian area of the Nigerian city of Kano on Monday night. "In all bomb attacks 15 were killed," a policeman in Kano told Reuters, asking not to be named. Meanwhile, a mortuary attendant at a local hospital had told AP that at least ten bodies were recovered from the scene following the attack - one of which appeared to have been planted in a parked Mercedes-Benz. “There is confusion all over the place. There were four huge explosions, so huge that they shook the whole area. Everywhere is enveloped in smoke and dust," fruit vendor Chinyere Madu told AFP. The blasts took place in the Sabon Gari neighborhood and reportedly targeted Enugu Street – a strip filled with outdoor bars and eateries. Resident Kola Oyebanji told AFP that she believed the explosions focused on the "beer parlors," although authorities did not comment. At least 22 people died when the same area was attacked by Boko Haram Islamists last March. Kano is the largest city in Nigeria's mostly Muslim north, where Boko Haram has been fighting to create an Islamic state.
US condemns rising death toll in Egypt protests
The White House has condemned violence in Egypt which left at least 80 Muslim Brotherhood supporters dead over the weekend, although it noted that it has not taken steps to suspend US military assistance to the country. "The United States strongly condemns the violence and bloodshed in Cairo and Alexandria over the weekend that claimed the lives of scores of Egyptian demonstrators," White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters at a Monday briefing. Security forces fired on protesters Saturday morning, following a day of rival mass rallies in Cairo, Reuters reported. Journalists pressed Earnest on whether the rising casualties in the clashes following Morsi’s removal from office would prompt the United States to pull back any portion of its annual $1.55 billion aid to Egypt. In response, Earnest said the White House had no “change in our posture to report.” Current US law requires eliminating aid in the event of a military coup, though officials said last week it is not in the national interest to make such a determination, while publicly avoiding the use of the word “coup” to characterize the removal of the Islamist president by the Egyptian military.
Militants breach Pakistani jail free Taliban members
Gunmen disguised in police uniforms attacked the Central Jail in the Pakistani city of Dera Ismail Khan late Monday evening, in an apparent attempt to free some of the 250 militants currently housed in the facility – members of various terrorist groups including the Taliban and banned sectarian groups. Pakistani security forces struggled against the armed assailants for control of the prison, which was rocked by a series of heavy explosions followed by rocket-propelled grenades and machine-gun fire, district police chief Sohail Khalid told Reuters. An intelligence official told Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper that the attacking militants were heard shouting, ''God is great'' and ''Long live the Taliban.'' A Reuters correspondent in Pakistan said that militants breached the outer wall of the jail, and the city remained under lockdown. Dozens of prisoners are said to have escaped so far.
Gunfight between street vendors and shopkeepers in Cairo
Fifteen people have been killed in a gunfight between street vendors and shop owners in the central Cairo district of El-Moski, state news agency MENA reported. One of the shops was set on fire. Firefighters contained the blaze before it spread to any nearby buildings, but many of the victims died inside the shop, AFP reported. The gunfight was allegedly caused by a dispute between street vendors and shop owners over trading spaces.
Tunisian PM refuses to step down, sets general election date for December
Tunisia’s Islamist government will not resign in the midst of the political crisis that has broken out following the murder of a secular politician, Prime Minister Ali Larayedh said in a press conference on Monday. “We are not clinging to power, but we have a duty and a responsibility that we will exercise to the end," declared Larayedh, leader of the Ennahda Party. Larayedh has also announced that the new president will be chosen in a public vote on December 17. Leftist deputy Mohamed Brahmi was gunned down last week in similar circumstances to opposition leader Chokri Belaid in February. Belaid’s death led to a change of government.
Eight injured in Philadelphia housing explosion
Eight people were injured when a row house collapsed in Philadelphia on Monday. Locals reported the incident as a gas-related explosion. A baby and a contractor were both among the victims. The accident happened at approximately 11am local time (1500 GMT) at an unoccupied home which was undergoing structural renovations. The contractor had been employed to undertake the task. Gas and electric crews rushed to the scene to determine the cause of the accident, as gas services were switched off. The area was evacuated, with residents taking temporary shelter in a nearby school.
Seven inbound flights canceled as Egypt clashes intensify
Cairo airport officials have reported the cancelations of seven flights to Egypt as a result of low occupancy. Several flights have arrived in the country less than half full, after clashes over the weekend left 84 people dead. Passengers from Italy and a range of Middle Eastern countries - including Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Yemen - have been rerouted on account of low passenger numbers. The officials confirmed to AP that around 55 per cent of airline seats to Cairo have been left empty over the past three days. There has been a decline in passengers arriving from both Damascus and Beirut, as Syrians fleeing their war-torn home country now need visas to visit Egypt. Tourism in Egypt has suffered over the past two and a half years as tensions have escalated. Media agencies
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