Singapore’s freshwater obsession Singapore, RoS - Drinking water has always been a strategic resource, all the more so in this tiny nation, as it lacks many natural sources of its own. Singapore has, however, recently employed technology, including introducing a rainwater-capturing scheme, to help quench its thirst. For decades, Singapore has relied heavily on neighbouring Malaysia to transfer water, a situation that caused diplomatic tension between the two and spurred concerns the Malaysian government may one day turn off the tap. Desalination [...]

Second Nairobi blast targets Somali district Second explosion this week in Eastleigh area of Kenyan capital leaves three dead, with district MP among eight injured. A blast in in a heavily Somali district of Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, has killed three people and left eight injured, including district MP Yusef Hassan. The dead included a 10-year old and a teenager. Friday’s blast near the Garissa Lodge shopping district is the second explosion in the Eastleigh suburb of Nairobi this week. “There’s been another explosion in Eastleigh. This [...]

MP injured, two killed in Eastleigh blast Kamukunji MP Yusuf Hassan was last night injured in a grenade attack that killed two people in Eastleigh. The MP was said to have been holding a discussion with his constituents after evening prayers at Hidaya Mosque when a man hurled a grenade at them, injuring nine people. Mr Hassan suffered a fractured leg and was taken to the Aga Khan Hospital and the others to the Kenyatta National Hospital, six of them [...]

3 Dead, 15 Wounded in Nairobi Blast A grenade thrown at worshippers leaving a mosque in a Somali neighborhood in the Kenyan capital killed three people and wounded 15 on Friday evening, the city’s police chief said. The explosion was the second in the same Nairobi neighborhood in three days. Kenyan media reported that a Muslim member of parliament was among the wounded, but police Chief Moses Ombati did not confirm that. Kenyan troops moved into Somalia in late 2011, [...]

The state of the nation in facts and figures IN SUMMARY Did you know? Kenya emitted 10.4 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2008 compared to 5.8 million tons in 1990. The gas, which is blamed for global warming, came from the burning of fossil fuels and the manufacture of cement and includes the carbon dioxide produced during consumption of solid, liquid, and gas fuels and gas flaring Six point five per cent of Kenyans are affected by natural [...]

TNA members rebel against pact IN SUMMARY Only a day after a last minute agreement threw DPM a fresh lifeline, fresh quarrel threatens new alliance Forty MPs allied to TNA on Thursday threatened to quit if their party leader Uhuru Kenyatta stepped down for Mr Musalia Mudavadi to lead the coalition with URP and UDF into the March 4 elections. The lawmakers said they would rather decamp to ODM than support what they described as a re-grouping of Kanu within the coalition. [...]

The House Fata Didn’t Build Tensions in the aftermath of the Bosnian war are exposed through a widow’s fight against the state, police and church. Fata Orlovic is a 70-year-old Bosnian widow. Hers is one of the most intriguing and dramatic war stories of modern times. Fata’s suffering reflects the plight of many Bosnian war refugees still fighting for justice. Muhamed Durakovic said during the war Srebrenica looked like “one huge concentration camp” Her hometown of Konjevic Polje was overrun [...]

Canada detains dozens of smuggled Romanians Canadian immigration authorities say they have detained dozens of people ferried over the border by Romanian people-smugglers. The 30 people held were part of a group of 85, all from one Romanian district, who went to Mexico, then illegally crossed into the US and Canada. All have been classified as “irregular arrivals” under tough new refugee legislation. The 85 Romanian nationals arrived from the US on five different dates in 2012. They crossed the [...]

Somalia’s al-Shabab targets Puntland military A bomb blast and a shoot-out between Islamists and troops from the semi-autonomous Puntland region have left 31 people dead or wounded, officials say. Fighters from the al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab group attacked a military base and planted a roadside bomb, the officials said. Al-Shabab fighters have reportedly moved to Puntland in recent months. Their move comes as African Union-backed government forces gain ground in their stronghold of southern Somalia. In October, al-Shabab, which is affiliated to [...]

Oscar Niemeyer, Brazilian architect, dies at 104 Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer, who designed some of the 20th Century’s most famous modernist buildings, has died just before his 105th birthday. He rose to international fame as the architect of the main government buildings in the futuristic Brazilian capital, Brasilia, inaugurated in 1960. He also worked with Swiss-born modernist architect Le Corbusier on the UN building in New York. He continued to work on new projects until earlier this year. He died [...]