Satellite images released by human rights group show 3700 damaged structures by Boko Haram in two towns in Nigeria.
Satellite pictures that depict the destruction of Doron Baga, a town in Nigeria.
(Image courtesy of Micah Farfour/ Digitalglobe.)
On Wednesday, 14 January, satellite images released by Amnesty International depicted the destruction of Baga and Doron Baga, two towns in Nigeria, brought on by Boko Haram fighters. The Islamic extremists, who had also kidnapped 276 schoolgirls in April 2014, overtook a military base in Baga on January 3. The death toll, as noted by Amnesty International, reached up to 2 000. However, the Nigerian military reported 150 dead, including Boko Haram fighters. Comparing the physical destruction wrought by Boko Haram to an earlier satellite photo taken earlier, roughly 3 700 structures were either demolished or damaged during the violence.
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Swiss National Bank pulls out on their policy of the 1.20 franc cap to the euro.
The Swiss National Bank’s headquarter in Bern, Switzerland. (Image courtesy of Baikonur.)
On 15 January, the Swiss National Bank scrapped their expensive plan to link the value of the franc to the value of the euro. This action of policy reversal sent the franc and gold value flying, but the Swiss stocks took the fall. The Swiss National Bank’s action of aborting the plan came too suddenly and without warning, resulting in market volatility. Currency and commodity watcher Dennis Gartman stated “The decision to hold the Swiss franc stable relative to the euro was a very bad one,the decision to suddenly free it without any sort of hint that they were going to … is an even worse decision,”
The original plan in late 2011 was to put a 1.20 francs cap to the euro in order to lower to value to of the Swiss currency and assist with the country’s then hardly-coping export sector. Swiss Central Bank’s president Thomas Jordan defended the decision in the statement “You can’t do it in any other way, we came to the conclusion that it’s not a sustainable policy.”
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Fort McMurray, a major player in Canada’s oil sands industry, is feeling the economic effects of the drop in oil prices.
Heavy machinery being operated at Shell Albian Sands, south of Fort McMurry, where hundreds of jobs are being cut. (Image courtesy of Kevin Van Paassen/The Globe.) and Mail
Fort McMurray, Alberta, the heart of Canada’s oil sands operation, is already seeing a slowdown in production as a result of the recent fall in oil prices. With the price drops being predicted to become deeper over a long period, the oil sands will be at a disadvantage – the costs to process oil sands are greater than those costs associated with conventional oil. In light of this, some of the dominating corporations in the industry, Shell, Suncor and and Canadian Natural Resources have announced billions in budget cuts and layoff plans in the hundreds. Fort McMurray’s 75 000 residents’ jobs, which are either directly or indirectly resulted from the oil sands, are at risk because of the drop in prices.
As of this moment, the specific repercussions of the large corporations’ decisions cannot be seen yet but is expected to become clear in the next several months. However, the ripples of the crisis can be felt in closely tied industries. For example, The Driving Force, a company that leases trucks to the energy has had a drop in contractors. “I can’t say business as usual,” said the trucking company’s manager, Shane Boersma.
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Malawi floods kill 170, sweeps away homes, and displace over 100 000 people
Stranded villagers stand on a bridge that has been partially swept away by floodwaters. (Image courtesy of Reuters)
Heavy rain over the past month of January 2015 has caused flooding that has forced thousands of people out of their homes in Malawi. The government has declared a third of the country a disaster zone and has appealed for help. Malawian authorities have been using military helicopters and boats to reach stranded citizens. However, ongoing rain has damaged infrastructure and washed away major roads and bridges, further hampering their rescue operations. Large areas in southern Malawi are now completely submerged and many people have nowhere to go. Some 100 000 people have been displaced and the death toll has risen to 170.
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Europe on high alert, 12 suspects being held over last week’s attacks in Paris region
French authorities say they have deployed about 120 000 police and soldiers across France (Image courtesy of Getty Images)
Twelve suspects are being held by police and are being questioned about “possible logistical support”, such as guns and vehicles, they may have given the three gunmen during the Paris attacks last week. Twelve people were killed by two gunmen on an attack on the Charlie Hebdo magazine. On 8 January, a policewoman was shot dead by Amedy Coulibaly, and a day later, Coulibaly killed four people in a kosher supermarket. Numerous arrests and raids have been taking place in a number of countries. However, there is no sign of a direct connection between the different cells and individuals being targeted, making it harder to track who may be a threat. France and Belgium have conducted anti terror raids, and German police say they have also arrested two men following the raids early Friday on 16 January 2015.
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