Six In The Morning Wednesday December 23

One million forced from school by Boko Haram war

More than 2,000 schools in Nigeria and neighbouring countries closed over Boko Haram conflict, UN finds.

Teo Kermeliotis | | Boko Haram, Nigeria, Education, Africa, War & Conflict

An estimated one million children have been forced out of school as a result of violent attacks by Boko Haram in northeastern Nigeria and its neighbouring countries, a new UNICEF report said on Tuesday.

The ongoing violence has led to the closure of more than 2,000 schools in Nigeria, Chad, Niger and Cameroon, the agency said. Hundreds of others have been attacked, looted or burned by Boko Haram, whose name roughly translates to “Western education is forbidden”.

“The conflict has been a huge blow for education in the region, and violence has kept many children out of the classroom for more than a year, putting them at risk of dropping out of school altogether,” said Manuel Fontaine, UNICEF’s West and Central Africa regional director.

Fontaine said the “staggering” figure of one million children out of school increased the risks of them being “abused, abducted and recruited by armed groups”.

Kim Dotcom’s extradition to US cleared by New Zealand judge

Megaupload founder is wanted by American authorities on charges of copyright infringement, racketeering and money laundering

A New Zealand court has ruled that Kim Dotcom, the Megaupload founder, can be extradited to the United States to face charges of copyright infringement, racketeering and money laundering.

The decision, which can be appealed, comes almost four years after New Zealand police first raided Dotcom’s mansion west of Auckland at the behest of the FBI. US authorities shut down the entrepreneur’s file-sharing website, which had been used to illegally download songs and movies.

“I’m disappointed,” Dotcom told reporters as he left the court, promising to fight the ruling and wishing onlookers a merry Christmas.

Judge Nevin Dawson ruled that Dotcom and three of his colleagues can be sent to the United States to face charges. If convicted they could face decades in jail. Dawson said the prosecution had established there was a case for all four defendants to answer.

Amnesty report: Russia ‘directly targets civilians’ in Syria, killing at least 200 in possible war crimes

Campaigners say Moscow’s actions in Syria have gone ‘from callous to catastrophic’, as its air strikes kill 16 civilians for every one fighter

Russian bombers have “directly attacked” and killed at least 200 civilians in Syria and its campaign of air strikes could amount to war crimes, campaigners say.

In a major new report on Russia’s intervention in Syria, Amnesty International accused Vladimir Putin’s government of knowingly targeting residential areas in “indiscriminate attacks”, before covering up the evidence and effectively lying to the international community.

The campaign group’s researchers analysed 25 suspected Russian air raids since the start of Moscow’s campaign in Syria, with targets including homes, medical facilities and a mosque.

Opinion: At the mercy of the Chinese state

Pu Zhiqiang is innocent. His sentence may be mild by Chinese standards, but it is still unjust. DW’s Matthias von Hein calls it a face-saving compromise to ward off a PR disaster.

There is widespread relief following Pu Zhiqiang’s sentencing. The prominent human rights lawyer will not have to spend any more nights in jail; he had faced a possible sentence of eight years in prison.

But there’s also widespread anger. Because if this case had anything to do with justice, then Pu never would have been imprisoned in the first place. He should have been declared innocent and given compensation for the 19 months he has spent in custody. A guilty verdict combined with a three-year suspended jail sentence is a clear attempt by the Chinese authorities to save face while ending proceedings against Pu. His case had turned into a veritable PR disaster – one that put the Chinese legal system in a very bad light indeed. And that, in turn, is not good for business.

Lawyers lead a dangerous life

Since the 1990s, China has been rebuilding and expanding its legal institutions, which were abolished under Mao. It has laws, state prosecutors, judges and yes, lawyers, too.

Govt asks students on way to 2 California universities to defer departure

TNN | Dec 23, 2015, 12.22 PM IST

NEW DELHI: The external affairs ministry on Wednesday advised Indian students seeking admission in two California-based universities to defer their departure till it gets a response from the US government on the issue.

“Till the matter is satisfactorily resolved, students seeking admission in the concerned universities are advised to defer their travel to the US,” a ministry statement said.

On Sunday, 19 students were offloaded from an Air India flight in Hyderabad, when they were on their way to San Francisco to join Silicon Valley University in San Jose and North Western Polytechnic in nearby Fremont.

“The government of India took up the matter up with the US government and has asked the US authorities to explain the reasons for denial of entry to Indian students holding valid visas,” the MEA statement added.

Indonesia punishes 23 companies for causing forest fires

The World Bank estimates that Indonesia’s economy has lost $16 billion due to the fires, which have been started to make room for pulp and palm oil plantations.

Indonesian government has punished 23 companies for causing forest fires that spread thick, smoky haze around Southeast Asia, an official said Tuesday.

The Forestry Ministry’s investigations director, Brotestes Panjaitan, said that 33 more companies are under scrutiny and waiting for decisions on possible punishment.

Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya announced Monday that a total of 56 companies were involved in the land-clearing activities that led to the fires.

She added 23 of them, mostly pulp wood and palm oil plantations operating on Sumatra and Borneo islands, have received punishments ranging from administrative sanctions to revocation of licenses.

Three companies shut down as their licenses were revoked, Ms. Nurbaya said, while the licenses of 16 were suspended and four companies were placed under close observation.