Signals

A charity rescue vessel carrying mainly African migrants plucked off Libya docked in Spain, ending a traumatic journey which saw them spending Christmas at sea and several European nations denied the ship entry. Migrants look out from the deck of the Spanish NGO Proactiva Open Arms rescue vessel, after being rescued in the Central Mediterranean Sea on December 21, before disembarking in the port of Crinavis in Algeciras, Spain, Friday, December  A Spanish aid boat carrying over 300 migrants rescued at sea arrived in Spain on Friday, ending a weeklong journey across the western Mediterranean. The boat, operated by the nonprofit group Proactiva Open Arms, docked at the Spanish port of Algeciras. The boat rescued 313 migrants in waters near Libya last week, but had to travel to Spain after Malta denied it permission to dock and Italy and other countries refused to help. Three of the migrants were later evacuated for health reasons. Oscar Camps, head of Proactiva...

British Prime Minister, Theresa May, has arrived Nigeria. May who arrived the Presidential Villa in company of some British officials at 1pm, was received by President Muhammadu Buhari and some top government officials. After the reception and exchange of pleasantries, both leaders walked into the president’s office for a meeting expected to last for one hour. There will be no usual press briefing after the meeting that is meant to boost trade relations between Britain and Nigeria May has been on tour of three African nations including Nigeria to boost alternative business relations that will cushion the effect of Brexit next year.

One person was killed, and two seriously injured in a knife attack in the Paris suburb of Trappes, a police source told Reuters. The attack, who has not yet been identified, has been "neutralised" by security forces.

Italian artist Jorit Agoch paints a mural depicting jailed Palestinian teenager Ahed Tamimi on Israel's controversial separation barrier in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on July 25,2018 Israeli forces have arrested two Italians for drawing a giant mural of a Palestinian teenager seen as a symbol of resistance on the separation wall in the occupied West Bank, police said. The roughly four-metre (13 foot) image near Bethlehem in the West Bank depicts Ahed Tamimi, 17, who was released from prison Sunday after an eight-month sentence for slapping two Israeli soldiers, an episode captured on video. On Saturday, Israeli border police arrested two Italians and a Palestinian "on suspicion of damaging and vandalising the security fence in the Bethlehem area," a statement said. The three, whose faces were masked, "illegally drew on the wall, and when border policemen took action to arrest them, they tried to escape in their car, which was stopped by the forces," the st...

        Around 800 migrants stormed border fences separating Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta from Morocco to get into Europe, police said Thursday. The Guardia Civil said 602 migrants made it onto Spanish soil in a massive assault on high, barbed-wire fences shortly after dawn. Migrants cut holes in the fences and threw feces and quicklime, a skin irritant, at police officers trying to hold them back, the Guardia Civil said in a statement. They also threw stones at police vehicles, breaking windows, and hurled makeshift flamethrowers at police officers.                       The police statement said 16 migrants were taken to the hospital, while five of 15 police hurt were also hospitalized. The Spanish Red Cross said in a tweet that 132 migrants were hurt in the mass charge. Sub-Saharan Africans living illegally in Morocco try to get to Europe each year by climbing rows of 6-meter (2...

        The vote for Pakistan's lower house of parliament, National Assembly, marks only the second time in the country's history since 1947 that a civilian government is handing over power to another government.

         Migrants from sub-Saharan Africa were rescued Spanish rescue services have rescued nearly 500 people from the Mediterranean Sea in a single day as they attempted to reach the country's coast. The Spanish Maritime Safety Agency said that it had picked up a total of 484 people in 30 makeshift vessels in the Strait of Gibraltar and Alboran Sea, which separate Spain from Morocco. According to a count by the International Organisation for Migration, some 18,653 migrants reached Spanish shores between the beginning of the year and 18 July. They are mainly from sub-Saharan Africa - notably Guinea, Mali, and Mauritania - as well as Morocco. At least 294 migrants have died in their attempts to reach Spain this year, out of a total of 1,489 who died in the Mediterranean, according to IOM. In June, Spain agreed to take in 630 migrants who arrived aboard three vessels, including the French NGO rescue ship Aquarius. The Aquarius rescued the migrants...

© AFP | Late on Thursday, an Italian coastguard vessel carrying 67 migrants was allowed to dock in Sicily Another 450 migrants on board two military vessels were stranded at sea on Saturday as Italy and Malta locked horns over whose responsibility it was to offer them safe harbour. The boats, which are currently in Italian waters, had initially set sail from Libya in a single wooden vessel which was identified early Friday while passing through waters under Malta's jurisdiction. But Italy's far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, who has authority over the country's ports, on Friday refused to let them dock in his latest show of intransigence over migrants stranded at sea. And on Saturday, as those on board were transferred to two other vessels, he insisted the boats be instructed to "head south, to Libya or Malta". "We need an act of justice, of respect and of courage to fight against these human traffickers and generate a European intervention," he...

      TEHRAN (FNA)- Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu stressed that militants of the ISIL terrorist organization are moving to Central and Southeast Asia after having been defeated in Syria and Iraq. "After the defeat of the ISIL, militants are moving to other regions from Syria and Iraq, including to Central and Southeast Asia. New terrorist cells are being created there," Shoigu said Tuesday during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) meeting in Beijing, RIA Novosti reported. "The situation is complicated by the fact that terrorists use modern means of destruction, including unmanned aerial vehicles… capable of operating over a distance of 100 kilometers [62 miles]," he stated. Their creation is impossible without the technical assistance of developed countries," the Russian Defense Minister added.

  By Sani Tukur Saudi Arabian authorities are threatening to block Nigerian pilgrims from attending this year's Hajj exercise. Nigeria has one of the largest contingents in the annual religious exercise with about 95,000 pilgrims. The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) on Monday said Saudi Arabia is taking the decision because of reports of Lassa fever outbreak in Nigeria. Outbreak of Lassa fever has been reported in a number of states. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), 1081 suspected cases and 90 deaths have been reported from 18 states (Anambra, Bauchi, Benue, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekite, Federal Capital Territory, Gombe, Imo, Kogi, Lagos, Nasarawa, Ondo, Osun, Plateau, Rivers, and Taraba) between January 1 through February 25 this year. During the period, 317 cases have been classified as confirmed and eight as probable, including 72 deaths. WHO however, said in a report Sunday that there is a steady decline in Lassa fever cases ...

Ahmed Hassan was inspired by Islamic State extremism and was "disappointed" when the bomb only partly detonated in a huge fireball that injured 51 passengers. Parsons Green Tube bomber Ahmed Hassan wanted to avenge his father who was blown up in Iraq A "ruthless" teenage asylum seeker has been jailed for at least 34 years for planting the Parsons Green Tube bomb which injured 51 passengers. Iraqi Ahmed Hassan, who claims to be aged 18, pretended to engage with the anti terrorism Prevent scheme as he plotted mass murder. He made a bomb with 400g of "Mother of Satan" explosives and 2.2kg of shrapnel while his unsuspecting foster parents were on holiday in Blackpool. The Old Bailey heard he wanted to avenge the death of his father in Iraq and was "disappointed" when the bomb only partly detonated in a huge fireball. A jury rejected his explanation that he only wanted to act out a fantasy like the Tom Cruise film Mission: Imp...

Two Libyan men have been charged with threatening a man with large knives, in what police say was as an unprovoked attack. Ahmed Al Allagi, 27 and Ben Arus Karam, 32, both residents of Swatar, appeared before magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera this morning, accused of carrying two knives - one blade measuring 12cm and the other 20cm -in public without police permission, attacking and threatening a third party with them. Police say the man had no connection to the attackers. Al Allagi alone was also charged with threatening and attacking a fourth man with a bladed weapon and failing to abide by bail conditions he had been placed under  last September. Ben Arus Karam pleaded guilty through his lawyer Helga Debono. Magistrate Scerri Herrera sentenced the man to 1 month in prison, suspended for 2 years. “Tell him he has an ax hanging over his head for two years. If he offends again he will be punished for that offense and have this added to his sentence. This is because he...

There was a time, between 12,000 and 5,000 years ago, when the Sahara was populated and covered in luxurious vegetation, according to a recent DNA study. The reconstruction was by a group of international biologists coordinated by Fulvio Cruciani from the Sapienza University of Rome in a study published in the Genome Biology journal.  To solve the puzzle of human evolution in the Sahara, the researchers used an innovative technique of genetic sequencing with which they analyzed over 3 million DNA letters of 104 individuals. They focused especially on the Y chromosome, passed down from fathers only to their sons, identifying almost 6,000 genetic variants, half of which had never previously been described. The data show that genetic characteristics of North African and sub-Saharan male population were shaped by migrations in ancient times.

 The suffering of those locked up in detention centres continues to grow. in Libya.           Credit Sky News.      This woman says she had been flogged and begged for help By Alex Rossi, Middle East Correspondent Sky News has witnessed first-hand the horrific conditions that thousands of African migrants trying to get to Europe are facing in Libyan detention centres - and at the hands of the smuggling gangs. Many of them claim they've been beaten, raped and are desperate to return home. Thousands of mainly sub-Saharan Africans are incarcerated in Libya's system of makeshift detention centres. The Libyan authorities are under pressure from Europe to crack down on the number of migrants transiting through the country and the across the sea.      Special report: Libya's warehouse of suffering Most people were arrested whilst trying to cross the Mediterranean. Libya - a country wracked by civil war -...

                                  Wizkid or Davido? The SSE Arena in Wembley, London will on November 12 be the venue for this year's MTV Europe Music Awards with Rita Ora as the host of the ceremony. This edition would see two of Nigeria's hottest music act, Wizkid and Davido, battle it out to win the highly coveted "Best African Act" category. Other African acts contending to earn the title include Babes Wodumo and Nasty C from South Africa, C4 Pedro from Angola and Nyashinski from Kenya. ‎ On the world scene, pop singer Taylor Swift leads with six nominations while Ed Sheeran and Kendrick Lamar have four nominations. This would be the second time London will host the ceremony; the first was in 1996 at Alexandra Palace. 2017 MTV EMA NOMINEES Best Song - Clean Bandit (featuring Sean Paul and Anne-Marie) -- "Rockabye" - DJ Khaled (featuring Rihanna and Bryson Tiller) -- "Wild T...