Mali hotel attack:

 Islamist group says it shares responsibility

By Jason Hanna, Ed Payne and Steve Almasy, CNN

Updated 2324 GMT (0724 HKT) November 20, 2015 | Video Source: CNN

(CNN)Assailants with guns blazing on Friday attacked a hotel hosting diplomats and others in Mali's capital, leaving at least 21 people dead and trapping dozens in the building for hours, officials in the West African nation said.

Malian and U.N. security forces launched a counterattack at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Bamako and escorted guests out. By late afternoon, no hostages were believed to remain in the building, army Col. Mamadou Coulibaly told reporters.

U.S. National Security Council spokesman Ned Price said in a written statement that the attack had ended.

Twenty-one people were killed, said Olivier Salgado, a spokesman for the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Mali. At least six people injured in the attack have been hospitalized, Mali Health Minister Marie Madeleine Togo told state broadcaster ORTM.

Al Mourabitoun, an Islamist militant group, claimed it was jointly responsible for the attack, according to Mauritanian news agency Al Akhbar. The group announced it carried out the attack with al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), the news agency reported.

Al Mourabitoun said the attack was carried out in retaliation for government aggression in northern Mali, Al Akhbar reported. The group also demanded the release of prisoners in France.

Video aired by ORTM showed security personnel leading people out of the building.

"We extend our deep condolences to the families and loved ones of those who have been killed in this heinous attack. Our thoughts and prayers also are with those who have been injured," Price said.

Terror in Mali: Seven things you need to know

The assault began about 7 a.m., when two or three attackers with AK-47 rifles exited at least one vehicle with diplomatic plates and entered the hotel with guns firing, Salgado said.

The attack, Salgado said, came as the hotel hosted diplomatic delegations working on a peace process in the landlocked country, a former French colony that has been battling Islamist extremists with the help of U.N. and French forces.

The Radisson chain said that as many as 170 people -- 140 guests and 30 employees -- had been there as the attack began.

Mali's struggle for stability

Witness describes scenes at Mali hotel attack 02:09

The hotel attack, and the diplomats' meeting, came in a country that has struggled with Islamist extremists, especially since 2012.

Taking advantage of a chaotic situation after a military coup in March 2012, Islamist extremists with links to al Qaeda carved out a large portion of northern Mali for themselves. When the militants tried to push into the south, France, at the Malian government's request, sent thousands of troops in 2013.

The ground and air campaign sent Islamist fighters who had seized the northern region fleeing into the vast desert. The United Nations then established a peacekeeping mission in Mali that year, hoping to keep the government secure enough to continue a peace process.

Though military pressure largely drove Islamist militants from cities, they have regrouped in the desert areas, said J. Peter Pham, director of the Africa Center at the Washington-based Atlantic Council.

"Unfortunately, this (hotel) is a likely target" because it is popular with international guests such as U.N. workers, Pham said.

Sylvester Stallone

Look at My Gorgeous Girls But You Can Only Touch One 

... Maybe

 

Sylvester Stallone's rep as a Hollywood tough guy is coming in pretty handy right about now -- since his 3 attractive daughters are at that age when boys come sniffing around ... at their own risk. Sly's "Creed" premiere Thursday night was a family affair ... with his wife Jennifer Flavin and their daughters all sharing the spotlight.
The only downside for Stallone is his stunning girls -- (left to right) Sistine,17, Sophia,19, and 13-year-old Scarlet -- were IN THE SPOTLIGHT.

 

Little advice for Sly -- long overalls, bro. Lots of overalls and baggy sweaters.
We got Jennifer, a former model, at LAX and she said one of their daughters is already following in mom's footsteps ...

Kylie & Tyga: Clash of the Titan Egos

Clash of the Titan Egos 

 ... Led to Breakup

 

Kylie and Tyga could not co-exist because their relationship became an unrelenting test of who was more important ... at least that's the way Tyga sees it. Sources connected with Tyga tell us, he was battling Kylie almost daily over who should kowtow to who when there was a scheduling conflict. They were fighting over which events they'd attend together, which required one of them to scrap their plans.
Tyga is telling friends the Kardashians fueled the conflict because Kylie would complain about him and the family would stoke the coals by telling her that her career was far more important than his.
Tyga's people say this did not come to a head Thursday ... it's been brewing for weeks.
Apparently, the Kardashians don't see it the same way ... our K sources say Tyga did something to trigger the breakup, and Kylie's the one who pulled the plug.

Ebola crisis: Liberia confirms fresh cases

• 20 November 2015 Africa
  
   
  
  
  
  
  Three new cases of Ebola have been confirmed in Liberia less than three months after the country was declared free of the virus, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said.The three patients include a 10-year-old boy from Paynesville, a suburb of the capital Monrovia.
  
  All people with the symptom have been isolated, WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris told the BBC.
  
  Liberia has seen more than 10,000 Ebola cases and more than 4,000 deaths.
  The country's Health Minister Bernice Dahn said six of the boy's relatives and other high-risk contacts have been taken to an Ebola Treatment Unit in Paynesville.
  
  "The hospital is currently decontaminating the unit. All of the healthcare workers who came in contact with the patient have been notified," she said.
  On Thursday night, before the new case emerged, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf delivered a speech praising "the resilience" of Liberians in overcoming the epidemic.
  

  • How Ebola changed the world
  • Ex-child soldier who fought Ebola
  • Saying 'Bye Bye' to Ebola with a happy song 

  
  The country was first declared Ebola-free on 9 May, but new cases emerged in June resulting in two deaths. It was declared free of the virus again on 3 September.
  Liberia recorded its first Ebola case in March last year and analysts believe the latest cases are a serious set-back for the country.
  
  The new cases in Liberia was announced just days after Guinea, where the epidemic started, said it had no more Ebola cases.
  
  If no more cases are detected for 42 days, it would be declared free of the virus.
  Sierra Leone was declared free of Ebola on 7 November.
  More than 11,000 people have died of the disease since December 2013, the vast majority of them in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone.

US approves genetically modified salmon for food

By Helen Briggs  

BBC News 

Science & Environment

 

US regulators have given the go-ahead to genetically modified salmon, making it the first GM animal destined for human consumption.

The Food and Drug Administration said it had given approval on the grounds that "food from the fish is safe to eat".
The biotech company behind the fish, AquaBounty, first submitted its application almost 20 years ago.
Opponents say consumers do not want to eat genetically engineered seafood.
They have also expressed concern that the salmon could pose risks to other fish if it were to escape into the environment.
Dr Bernadette Dunham of the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine said: "The FDA has thoroughly analysed and evaluated the data and information submitted by AquaBounty Technologies regarding AquAdvantage Salmon and determined that they have met the regulatory requirements for approval, including that food from the fish is safe to eat."

"It's the first genetically engineered animal for food that's been approved anywhere in the world"

(Prof Helen Sang , Roslin Institute at the University of Edinburgh)

The FDA ruled that the salmon must be raised in tanks on land at only two facilities in Canada and Panama. It will not be bred or raised in the US.
Safety measures include producing fish that are sterile to prevent cross breeding with wild fish "in the highly unlikely event of an escape".
The transgenic salmon is a type of Atlantic salmon injected with a gene from Pacific Chinook salmon to make it grow faster.

'Game changer'

Dr Ron Stotish, chief executive of AquaBounty, said the salmon was "a game-changer that brings healthy and nutritious food to consumers in an environmentally responsible manner without damaging the ocean and other marine habitats".
He said the young reach adult size much quicker than conventional fish, making it feasible to raise salmon in tanks on land near urban areas.
However, it is unclear whether retailers will want to sell the salmon and whether the public will want to buy it.
Lisa Archer, food and technology programme director at Friends of the Earth, said despite the FDA's "flawed and irresponsible approval of the first genetically engineered animal for human consumption, it's clear that there is no place in the US market for genetically engineered salmon".
There are also uncertainties over how long it will take for the salmon to be produced in sufficient numbers for marketing.
Dr Alison Van Eenennaam, an animal geneticist at the University of California, Davis, said this process could take a couple of years.
"Legally it could appear on a food plate tomorrow in the US but you've got to grow your fish and get production in place," she said.
"We've had a very long wait to bring a genetically engineered animal to market."

Ecological concerns

Prof Helen Sang of the Roslin Institute at the University of Edinburgh said the approval by the FDA set a precedent.
"It's the first genetically engineered animal for food that's been approved anywhere in the world," she told BBC News.
"There's been a feeling that many companies have been waiting to see if the US will approve GM salmon before going ahead themselves."
However, Dr Joe Perry, former Chair of the European Food Safety Authority GMO Panel, said that if an application were made to raise GM salmon in Europe the risk assessment "would require considerably more data".
"There remain legitimate ecological concerns over the possible consequences if these GM salmon escape to the wild and reproduce, despite FDA assurances over containment and sterility, neither of which can be guaranteed," he said.
Follow Helen on HTwitter.

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More from Science/Environment News

The use of genetically engineered animals could revolutionise areas of public health and agriculture, according to advocates. But is the world ready for modified mosquitoes and GM salmon?

Google offers YouTube copyright support

• 20 November 2015 Technology
  
   
  
  
  YouTube owner Google says it will help fund up to $1m (£650,000) in legal fees for some content creators who have received copyright takedown notices.

  
  

  It will step in if it feels their material is considered to be fair use.
  
  However the firm admitted that only a handful of people have been chosen to benefit from this support.
  
  Copyright holders are able to make requests to Google - or other sites - to take down content under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).
  
  However there are exceptions to the law, which vary around the world but can include the use of other material for the purposes of commentary and parody.
  
  If a small portion of somebody else's work is used in this context, or in news reporting or for teaching purposes in the US, it can be exempt from copyright legislation.
  "We are offering legal support to a handful of videos that we believe represent clear fair uses which have been subject to DMCA takedowns," wrote Fred von Lohmann, Google's copyright legal director, in a blog post.
  
  The firm will keep these videos online in the US and cover the cost of any lawsuits, he added.
  

  "We're doing this because we recognise that creators can be intimidated by the DMCA's counter-notification process and the potential for litigation that comes with it.
  
  "While we can't offer legal protection to every video creator - or even every video that has a strong fair use defence - we'll continue to resist legally unsupported DMCA takedowns as part of our normal processes."
  
  The videos that will be defended are not visible in the UK but include two video game reviews and a piece which contains news footage of Rachel Dolezal, the American woman who was born white but now says she is black, reports Wired.
   

India's central bank employees strike over pensions

• 20 November 2015 Business
    
  Most of the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) 17,000 employees went on strike on Thursday in what the central bank described as "mass casual leave".

  The walk out resulted in "some interruptions" to clearing and settlement operations at the central bank, but it said that its systems were largely operational.
  Four unions had called for the strike to demand better pension benefits.
  It was also against reforms that would reduce the RBI's regulatory powers.
  The central bank has been in debate over its policy independence with the government, which has been trying to assert more influence over the RBI's interest rate setting process.
  The government wants to create a rate-setting board with its appointed members to vote on such decisions.
  The RBI has cut interest rates four times this year, with the latest move in September to boost growth as inflation hit a record low on tumbling commodity prices.
  

  'Losing independence'

  Union leaders said the dispute over retirement benefits showed that the bank was losing its independence, because it used raise pensions without approval from the government.
  Workers want their pensions to be increased to reflect rising costs and payments to former employees raised by $75 (£49) a month so that they can afford healthcare.
  The unions have warned of longer strikes in the near future if the central bank does not meet its demands.