Ten years ago on December 3, a suicide bomber attacked a graduation ceremony at Shamo Hotel, one of Mogadishu’s main hotels. Fourteen medical students, lecturers, and doctors from Banadir University were among 30 people who were killed, more than 50 others injured. Dr. Osman Mohamud Dufle was on the podium when the suicide bomber detonated the bomb. “The explosion occurred right in front of me,” says Dr. Dufle, a physician and a member of the parliament. Before going to the podium, his friend, Higher Education Minister Dr. Ibrahim Hassan Addow, asked if he could speak before him as he was rushing to another event. But the event organizer, Dr. Mohamed Mohamud Biday, intervened and convinced Dr. Addow he will speak next. The bomber detonated the explosion in the space between them. Dufle survived, Addow died. Also killed were Health Minister Qamar Aden Ali, Education Minister Ahmed Aden Wayel, and Youth & Sports Minister Suleiman Olad Roble, who succumbed to his injuries few days later. Two journalists and one of the country’s leading embryologists, Dr. Mohamed Adam Shahid, were among the dead. “That has particular memory for me,” says Dufle. “To see the colleagues I was sitting alongside two minutes ago, …

A survey of nearly 500 leaders at colleges and universities reflects other reports that found American higher education is facing challenges on many fronts. School officials were asked to name the biggest issues their institutions would face in the next three to five years and how they would deal with them. The study was a joint effort with the Georgia Institute of Technology and the Huron Consulting Group, and was released in October. The study identified the top six issues that the 500 leaders listed. The most common concern? Increasing competition with other educational institutions. About 62% of those questioned noted that concern. The next most common issue? The increase in non-traditional students, meaning students who fall outside the typical 18 and 24 years olds who enter school each year. The growth of non-traditional students – mostly adults with full-time jobs — were cited by 39% of leaders. Two other concerns were shrinking state and federal financial support, and decreasing public trust in higher education. Officials said they were worried about political conditions around the world, too, and their effect on international students coming to the United States. But the college and university officials said they have answers. In fact, …

A typhoon struck the Philippines on Tuesday bringing heavy rains and prompting preemptive halts in air travel, schools and government offices, with some 200,000 people evacuated after warnings of floods and landslides. Typhoon Kammuri, the 20th typhoon to hit the country this year, weakened slightly and moved slowly across central parts of the archipelago during the night, with damage minor reported in some areas. The storm was packing 155 kph (96 mph) wind speeds and gusts of up to 235 kph (146 mph), the weather bureau said. Authorities warned of landslides, storm surges and floods triggered by heavy winds and rain, preemptively moving 200,000 people to safe places in several dozen provinces. There were no immediate reports of casualties or significant damage. Residents repair their damaged houses after Typhoon Kammuri hit Legazpi City, Albay, Philippines, December 2, 2019. REUTERS/Nino Luces NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES The main airport in Manila would be closed for 12 hours from 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. as a precaution, although air travel continued in unaffected areas of the country. Government offices and schools were closed in affected areas and utilities firms appealed for patience ahead of anticipated power outages. The coastguard halted commercial sea travel …

U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper urged Turkey on Monday to stop holding up support for a NATO defense plan for the Baltics and Poland, as Ankara presses the alliance to support its fight against U.S.-backed Kurdish YPG militia in Syria. In an interview with Reuters ahead of the NATO summit, Esper warned Ankara that “not everybody sees the threats that they see” and added he would not support labeling the YPG as terrorists to break the impasse. He called on Ankara to focus on the larger challenges facing the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. “The message to Turkey … is we need to move forward on these response plans and it can’t be held up by their own particular concerns,” Esper said as he flew to London. “Alliance unity, alliance readiness, means that you focus on the bigger issues — the bigger issue being the readiness of the (NATO) alliance. And not everybody’s willing to sign up to their agenda. Not everybody sees the threats that they see.” NATO envoys need formal approval by all 29 members for the plan to improve the defense of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia against any threat from neighboring Russia. The dispute, as NATO prepares …

The United States on Monday called recent violence in Nassiriya, Iraq in which at least 29 people died “shocking and abhorrent,” calling on the Iraqi government to investigate and punish those responsible for the “excessive” use of force. Iraqi security forces opened fire on demonstrators who had blocked a bridge and later gathered outside a police station in the southern city, killing at least 29 people. Police and medical sources said dozens more were wounded. Iraqi forces have killed over 400 people, mostly young, unarmed protesters, since mass anti-government protests broke out on Oct. 1. More than a dozen members of the security forces have also died in clashes. “The use of excessive force over the weekend in Nassiriya was shocking and abhorrent,” David Schenker, U.S. assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, told reporters. “We call on the Government of Iraq to respect the rights of the Iraqi people and urge the government to investigate and hold accountable those who attempt to brutally silence peaceful protesters,” he added. The unrest is Iraq’s biggest challenge since Islamic State militants seized swathes of Iraqi and Syrian territory in 2014. It pits mostly young, disaffected Shi’ite protesters against a Shi’ite-dominated government …

A Honduran court sentenced seven people to prison terms of up to 50 years Monday for the 2016 murder of indigenous and environmental rights activist Berta Caceres. The seven men were convicted in November 2018 for the attack, which left Caceres dead while another activist survived. Four men — Elvin Rapalo, Henry Hernandez, Edilson Duarte and Oscar Torres Velasquez — were sentenced to 34 years for the murder and 16 years for attempted murder. The country’s Sentencing Tribunal gave three others prison terms of 30 years for their roles, including an army officer, an ex-soldier and a manager of the dam project Caceres opposed. FILE – Honduran environmentalist Berta Caceres speaks in San Francisco during the 2015 Goldman Environmental Prize award ceremony, April 20, 2015. Caceres was shot inside her home in La Esperanza in western Honduras one year after winning the Goldman Environmental Prize for her leadership against the Agua Zarca hydroelectric dam project. The project was suspended following her death. Roberto David Castillo Mejia, who was executive president of the company leading the construction work, DESA, when Caceres was killed, is accused by prosecutors of organizing the logistics of the killing. That case continues. The company has denied …

Russia is to set up a new online site for its national encyclopedia after President Vladimir Putin said Wikipedia was unreliable and should be replaced. The move will ensure people can find “reliable information that is constantly updated on the basis of scientifically verified sources of knowledge,” a government resolution said. Putin last month proposed replacing the crowd-sourced online encyclopedia Wikipedia with an electronic version of the Great Russian Encyclopedia – the successor to the Soviet Union’s main encyclopedia. “This, at any rate, would be reliable information offered in a modern form,” Putin said then. In 2015, Russia briefly blocked the Russian-language version of Wikipedia for an article containing information on cannabis under legislation banning sites with drug-related material. Moscow has also introduced tougher online controls over the Russian segment of the internet so that it can keep on functioning even if cut off from foreign infrastructure. The Great Russian Encyclopedia is already available in a basic electronic format. The new online portal will cost about 2 billion rubles ($31 million), Sergei Kravets, an editor for the Great Russian Encyclopedia was quoted as saying on Nov. 21 by TASS news agency. The government will also set up a national research …

Former Argentine President Cristina Fernandez made an unusual detour Monday on her way back to power as vice president, appearing in court to defend herself against corruption charges stemming from her time in office. The former leader, who becomes vice president in eight days, is charged with heading a criminal association that defrauded the government by illegally granting public works projects in the southern province on Santa Cruz during her 2007-2015 presidency. Fernandez angrily denounced the accusations as political persecution and blamed the outgoing administration of President Mauricio Macri. The ex-president at times shouted during Monday’s hearing, which lasted four hours. “History has absolved me, and history is going to absolve me,” she told the three judges. “History will condemn you.” She told the judges that she was not going to answer questions because “it is you who have to answer questions.” Peronist presidential candidate Alberto Fernández, behind, and running mate, former President Cristina Fernández, celebrate after the election results in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Oct. 27, 2019. Fernandez will be vice president under President-elect Alberto Fernandez, who takes office Dec. 10 after beating Macri in Oct. 27 elections. Fernandez is accused of heading of an illegal association that improperly awarded …

Twitter is updating its global privacy policy to give users more information about what data advertisers might receive and is launching a site to provide clarity on its data protection efforts, the company said on Monday. The changes, which will take effect on Jan. 1, 2020, will comply with the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). The California law requires large businesses to give consumers more transparency and control over their personal information, such as allowing them to request that their data be deleted and to opt out of having their data sold to third parties. Social media companies including Facebook and Alphabet’s Google have come under scrutiny on data privacy issues, fueled by Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica scandal in which personal data were harvested from millions of users without their consent. Twitter also announced on Monday that it is moving the accounts of users outside of the United States and European Union which were previously contracted by Twitter International Company in Dublin, Ireland, to the San Francisco-based Twitter. The company said this move would allow it the flexibility to test different settings and controls with these users, such as additional opt-in or opt-out privacy preferences, that would likely be restricted by …

An organization that is trying to bolster the struggling local news industry said Monday that it will help fund the hiring of 250 journalists across the country next year. That’s a sharp increase from the 61 journalists put in the field this year by Report for America, an initiative of the GroundTruth Project. Its first class of local reporters in 2018 numbered 13. With the help of foundation funding, Report for America pays half the salary of these reporters for two years. Local news organizations kick in 25% and agree to raise the remainder from donations by local sources. The growing support illustrates how people outside of the news industry are recognizing what is lost in communities when news organizations struggle. The University of North Carolina estimates that between 26,000 and 32,000 newsroom jobs have been lost across the country since 2004. “These communities need to be heard from and we’re really glad to be part of a process … that is trying to confront the crisis in local news and restore journalism from the ground up,” said Charles Sennott, co-founder of Report for America. Studies show the collapse of local news coverage has contributed to polarization in society and …

Separate airstrikes in Syria, suspected of being carried out by the Syrian government and Turkey, have killed at least 20 people, according to activists. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said one of the airstrikes, believed to be carried out by the Syrian government, hit a popular market in the northwestern rebel-held town of Maaret al-Numan on Monday, killing 13 civilians. The Syrian Civil Defense, comprised of first responders, put the death toll at nine civilians. A second market in the nearby town of Saraqib was also hit by airstrikes, killing several people, according to activists. Syria’s northwestern region is the last major area controlled by Syrian rebels after more than eight years of civil war. The area has become home to hundreds of thousands of people who fled other parts of Syria during the conflict. An aerial view shows the destruction following a regime airstrike in a market in the town of Maaret al-Numan in the jihadist-run Syrian province of Idlib, Dec. 2, 2019. Last month, the Syrian government began a new advance on the region, retaking villages with the help of Russian and Syrian warplanes. Shortly after Monday’s market attacks, an airstrike by Turkish forces hit the …

 Talks on climate change have opened in Madrid amid stark warnings that soon, it may be too late to prevent catastrophic consequences of global warming. Lisa Bryant reports for VOA from the Spanish capital. …

President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign said on Monday it will no longer issue press credentials to reporters working for Bloomberg News, the agency owned by Democratic presidential hopeful Michael Bloomberg. Bloomberg’s news agency said following his formal announcement of his presidential bid that it would no longer critically cover the Democratic presidential candidates — including Bloomberg and his rivals — but would go on covering Trump. A Bloomberg News representative could not immediately be reached for comment. Credentials enable reporters to more easily access rallies and other campaign events leading up to the November 2020 election. Members of the public must obtain tickets from the campaign and then wait in long lines to enter events. “Since they have declared their bias openly, the Trump campaign will no longer credential representatives of Bloomberg News for rallies or other campaign events,” Trump’s campaign manager Brad Parscale said in a statement. “We will determine whether to engage with individual reporters or answer inquiries from Bloomberg News on a case-by-case basis.” …

An airstrike that hit a civilian area in a southern neighborhood of the Libyan capital killed at least four children, the country’s health ministry said Monday. Tripoli has been the scene of fighting since April between the self-styled Libyan National Army, led by Gen. Khalifa Hifter, and an array of militias loosely allied with the U.N.-supported but weak government, which holds Tripoli. FILE – Libyan Gen. Khalifa Hifter addresses a press conference in Benghazi, Libya, May 17, 2014. It wasn’t immediately clear who was behind the Sunday airstrike on the al-Sawani neighborhood, about 30 kilometers, or 18 miles, from the city center, but the Libyan interior ministry blamed the Libyan National Army. The force did not return calls seeking comment. The health ministry spokesman, Malek Merset, who said a fifth child was wounded in the attack, shared graphic photographs of lifeless bodies and an image of a wounded child, purportedly from the attack. The fighting for Tripoli has killed hundreds of people and displaced thousands. It has stalled in recent months, with both sides dug in and shelling one another along the city’s southern reaches. Libya descended into chaos after the 2011 civil war that ousted and killed long-time dictator …

Montana Gov. Steve Bullock ended his Democratic presidential campaign Monday, becoming the third Western governor boasting executive experience and a Washington-outsider appeal to flame out in the contest. The campaigns of Bullock, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper failed to gain momentum in a D.C.-centric race in which former Vice President Joe Biden and Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren dominated the polls for most of the past few months. Bullock, a 53-year-old two-term governor and former attorney general, had the textbook resume for primary success in past presidential elections. He’s a former labor lawyer and a gun owner whose governing record included expanding Medicaid in a red state. He touted across-the-aisle appeal, arguing he was the best bet to defeat President Donald Trump because he was the only Democratic candidate to win in a state that Trump won in 2016. But instead of following Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush on the path from the governor’s mansion to the White House, Bullock sputtered. The crowded 2020 race has centered on national debates around Trump and impeachment, and the Democratic National Committee imposed tougher polling and fundraising thresholds to make the debate …

U.S. President Donald Trump is striking an optimistic tone on reaching a trade deal with China, despite Beijing’s opposition to a law Trump recently signed that expresses support for pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong. “The Chinese want to make a deal. We’ll see what happens,” the president told reporters Monday, as he departed the White House for the NATO summit in London. The U.S. leader signed the “Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act” last week, prompting stern protests from China. The trade deal between the U.S. and China has stalled as a result, according to the news website Axios. The news site quotes a source close to Trump’s negotiating team as saying the trade talks were “now stalled” because of the legislation, and time was needed to allow Chinese President Xi Jinping’s “domestic politics to calm.” China says it is also taking other steps to retaliate against what it sees as U.S. support for Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement.   FILE – Protesters hold U.S. flags during a rally at Edinburgh Place, in Hong Kong, Nov. 28, 2019. The Chinese Foreign Ministry said Monday it is slapping sanctions on U.S.-based non-governmental organizations that have acted “badly” during the recent protests …

Cyber Monday sales were on course to bring in a record $9.4 billion, according to early estimates, building on a bumper Black Friday weekend for retailers driven by earlier-than-usual promotions and free shipping. Shoppers have already had nearly a month of special offers and deals as retailers look to draw out their vital holiday season, which is six days shorter this year due to a late Thanksgiving. Estimates from Adobe Analytics on Monday predicted that some $72.1 billion has been spent online in the past month, with Cyber Monday – now traditionally the U.S. economy’s biggest internet shopping day – logging $473 million as of 9 a.m. ET. Amazon.com Inc and other traditional retailers such as Target Corp and Walmart have beefed up delivery services to fulfill online orders faster as more customers shop on their mobile phones and tablets at home. “At the end of the day, Cyber Monday is just Black Friday revisited so the momentum, and the deals, really started last week,” said Carol Spieckerman president at consultancy Spieckerman Retail. “Retailers’ click and collect capabilities are running more efficiently, online shopping is more intuitive … Amazon isn’t the only one wearing the convenience crown this year.” Penthouse …

Native Americans are taking a wait-and-see approach to a new White House task force charged with boosting the physical safety of indigenous people at a time when American Indian and Alaska Native women face elevated risks of going missing or being murdered. President Donald Trump signed an executive order last week establishing Operation Lady Justice, a working party of eight officials from the FBI, Bureau of Indian Affairs and the departments of Interior, Justice, and Health and Human Services. Attorney General William Barr and Interior Department Secretary David Bernhardt will head the task force. “We will leverage every resource we have to bring safety to our tribal communities, and we will not waver in this mission,” Trump said during an Oval Office signing ceremony Tuesday, Nov. 26. The order comes in the wake of an announcement Barr made during a recent trip to Montana, where he said the government will commit $1.5 million to hire coordinators in 11 states where the crisis is most pressing.  Among other goals, they will work to systemize the way tribal, local, state and federal law enforcement report and manage missing and murdered (MMIW) cases. Attorney General William Barr, center, speaks with Myrna DuMontier, left, …

 Climate change, gun violence, the very nature of democracy and an angsty little movie star called Forky helped propel “existential” to Dictionary.com’s word of the year. The choice reflects months of high-stakes threats and crises, real and pondered, across the news, the world and throughout 2019. “In our data, it speaks to this sense of grappling with our survival, both literally and figuratively, that defined so much of the discourse,” said John Kelly, senior research editor for the site, ahead of Monday’s announcement. The word earned top of mind awareness in sustained searches at Dictionary.com in the aftermath of wildfires and Hurricane Dorian, and mass shootings in Christchurch, New Zealand, and El Paso, Texas. It also reared itself in presidential politics and pop culture, including Forky the white plastic spork who was the breakout star of “Toy Story 4.” The soiled utensil is convinced his destiny is in the trash, until he embraces his purpose as a treasured toy of kindergartener Bonnie. “Forky underscores how this sense of grappling can also inspire us to ask big questions about who we are, about our purpose,” Kelly told The Associated Press. Oxford Dictionaries picked “climate emergency” as its word of the year, …

The jailed ex-leader of a Kurdish party in Turkey has been sent to hospital for examinations, authorities said Monday, shortly after the politician’s lawyer said he suffered chest pains and lost consciousness in prison last week. Selahattin Demirtas, 46, has been in prison for more than three years, facing terror charges. Lawyer Aygul Demirtas – who is also the politician’s sister – tweeted Monday that Demirtas lost consciousness for some time. He received an electrocardiogram but had still not been sent to a fully equipped hospital despite the prison doctor’s recommendation, she said. The prosecutor’s office later said in a statement that Demirtas was examined by doctors who arrived after the prison called emergency services and did not identify any health problems. The statement said he was dispatched to a hospital Monday for a more detailed examination. The politician’s Peoples’ Democratic Party, Turkey’s second-largest opposition party, called on the government to explain and demanded he be taken to the hospital. The Turkish government accuses the party of links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, which has waged a decades-long insurgency. It has cracked down on the party, arresting lawmakers and party members. Demirtas faces up to 142 years in jail …

China said Monday it will suspend U.S. military ship and aircraft visits to Hong Kong and sanction several American pro-democracy and human rights groups in retaliation for the signing into law of legislation supporting anti-government protests in the semi-autonomous territory. While the nature of the sanctions remained unclear, the move followed Chinese warnings that the U.S. would bear the costs if the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act was approved. The steps are “in response to America’s unreasonable behavior,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in Beijing, adding that the legislation seriously interfered in China’s internal affairs. The law, signed last Wednesday by President Donald Trump, mandates sanctions on Chinese and Hong Kong officials who carry out human rights abuses and requires an annual review of the favorable trade status that Washington grants Hong Kong. The legislation was backed by U.S. lawmakers who are sympathetic to the protesters and have criticized Hong Kong police for cracking down on the pro-democracy movement. Police say their use of tear gas, rubber bullets and other force is a necessary response to escalating violence by the protesters, who have blocked major roads and thrown gasoline bombs back at officers in riot gear. Hong …

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that he will immediately restore tariffs on U.S. steel and aluminum imports from Brazil and Argentina. “Brazil and Argentina have been presiding over a massive devaluation of their currencies, which is not good for our farmers. Therefore, effective immediately, I will restore the Tariffs on all Steel & Aluminum that is shipped into the U.S. from those countries,” Trump said in a tweet. Trump also urged the Federal Reserve to prevent countries from gaining an economic advantage by devaluing their currencies. “The Federal Reserve should likewise act so that countries, of which there are many, no longer take advantage of our strong dollar,” Trump tweeted “Lower Rates & Loosen – Fed!”, he said. …..Reserve should likewise act so that countries, of which there are many, no longer take advantage of our strong dollar by further devaluing their currencies. This makes it very hard for our manufactures & farmers to fairly export their goods. Lower Rates & Loosen – Fed! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 2, 2019 Trump has repeatedly urged the Fed to lower rates to below zero, arguing that negative rates in Europe and elsewhere give those countries a competitive advantage. …

A wintry storm that made Thanksgiving travel miserable across much of the country gripped the East with a messy mixture of rain, snow, sleet and wind, slowing the Monday morning commute, closing schools and offices, and snarling air travel.                     Forecasters said the nor’easter could drop 10 to 20 inches of snow by Tuesday morning from Pennsylvania to Maine. Heavy snow was possible in the Appalachian Mountains down to Tennessee and North Carolina.                     “We’ve got our shovels ready. We’ve got the snowblower ready. We’re prepared,” said Paul Newman, of Wethersfield, Connecticut.                     Schools closed preemptively as rain was expected to turn into snow in the region’s first significant storm of the season, a nor’easter so named because the winds typically come from the northeast.                     New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo advised nonessential state employees to stay home Monday. More than 150 flights into or out of the U.S. were canceled Monday morning, with more than 270 delays. Airports in the New York and Boston areas accounted for many of them.                     Inland areas appeared to be in for the worst of it, with the forecast in Albany, New York, predicting 6 to 14 inches. …

A medium-sized hunting dog breed called the Shiba Inu once faced extinction in Japan because of war and disease.   Now the breed is a pet owner rage in Taiwan. The size and temperament of the fluffy orange-and-white dogs mesh with people’s apartment lifestyles in dense Taiwanese cities, the dog owners say. Their penchant for the dogs reflects a liking for Japanese culture and helps sustain the species.   Taiwan’s Council of Agriculture says it doesn’t keep tabs on how many Shiba Inus live on the island, but one dog seller moves four puppies per month and a local club for people who own the breed has about 60 members, who average more than one dog each. Anyone passing through a Taipei park in the early evening will see at least a couple of them being walked. “The basic way to say it is they’re easy to raise and their overall quality is strong,” said Lee Yu-tsung, owner of a pet store in the Taiwanese city Taichung.     FILE – A Shiba Inu dog relaxes at Ueno Park in Tokyo, Japan, Dec. 23, 2015. Nearly extinct in Japan   The Shiba Inu and other Shiba breeds date back thousands …