Ethiopia court jails members of outlawed group Ginbot 7

*Ethiopia court jails members of outlawed group Ginbot 7*

A court in Ethiopia has sentenced more than 30 people to long prison terms for belonging to an outlawed group.

The move comes just two weeks after the government announced it would free some politicians who have been convicted or who are facing various charges in court.

Members of the Ginbot 7 group, founded by an Ethiopian-born British citizen, Andargachew Tsege, will now serve sentences of between 15 and 18 years.

Bekele Gerba, an official of the Oromo Federalist Congress, was jailed after he protested against the non-appearance of defence witnesses in the court trying his case.

Up until now, the government has not followed up on its promise or issued a clear timeline on when those politicians jailed would be set free, reports BBC Ethiopia correspondent Emmanuel Igunza in the capital, Addis Ababa.

Buhari's panel spends N6 bn on food

*Buhari’s panel spends N6 Bn on foodstuffs refreshment, for IDPs*

Members of the House of Representatives are alarmed over what they call the “worrisome spending plans” of the Presidential Committee on North-East Initiative, which had a budget of N45bn in 2017.

Between December 2016 and May 2017 alone, the committee spent a whopping N6.1bn on “foodstuffs and catering materials,” “drugs and medical supplies,” “medical services consulting,” “refreshment and meals” and “purchasing of bulling materials.” The PCNI, a temporary intervention measure by the Federal Government, is to provide relief services to Internally Displaced Persons in the North-East.

The IDPs are mainly the victims of Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East and are scattered in various camps in Borno, Adamawa, Yobe , Gombe and Bauchi states. Budget documents The PUNCH obtained in Abuja on Thursday, showed that the committee got approval to spend another N21bn in 2017 on largely the same services and got a retention of another N45bn in the 2018 budget now before the National Assembly.

California mudslide victims include 3-years old girl

*California mudslide 🌧 victims include 😢 3-year-old girl 👧*

California officials have identified 17 victims, the youngest of which was 3 years old, as rescue teams continue to search muddy debris for survivors.

The toddler was one of four children killed in the flash floods and mudslides that destroyed Santa Barbara County on Tuesday.

Five people were still missing, down from a previous estimate of 43 on Thursday, officials said.

The community of Montecito, about 10,000 people, was ordered to evacuate.

"At this moment, we are still looking for live victims," Santa Barbara fire Captain Gary Pitney said.

"The likelihood is increasing that we'll be finding bodies, not survivors. You have to start accepting the reality of that," he added.

All of those killed, including an 89-year-old man who celebrated his birthday the day before, died of "multiple traumatic injuries due to flash flood with mudslides", according to the Santa Barbara County Coroner's Office.

Dangote is Africa's richest for seventh year

*Dangote is Africa’s richest for seventh year – Forbes*

For the seventh year in a row, the President and Chief Executive of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, has been adjudged as the richest man in Africa with a net worth that Forbes pegged at $12.2bn for 2017. That was an increase of $100m from a year earlier.

Bill Gates maintained his position as the richest in the world with a net worth of $86bn, while Warren Buffet and Jeff Bezos were second and third, respectively with a net worth of $75.6bn and $72.8bn.

“Dangote is looking beyond cement – his most valuable asset – and has been investing in a fertiliser production company and a large oil refinery. Dangote Fertiliser is expected to start operations in the second quarter of this year,” Forbes stated. Dangote was recently the only African selected among Bloomberg’s world 50 best persons in the year 2017.

*Paris kosher store destroyed by fire on attack anniversary*

*Paris kosher store destroyed  by fire on attack anniversary*

Officials in France are investigating a suspected arson attack on a kosher grocery store in a suburb of the capital, Paris.

"The damage is believed to be very severe," prosecutor Laure Beccuau told AFP news agency, adding that investigators did not believe the fire was an accident.

France has Europe's largest Jewish community and Jews have been targeted in several attacks in Paris in recent years.

Eight dead California

*Eight dead California heavy rains 🌧 and mudslides*

At least eight people are dead amid mudslides in Southern California, where heavy rains triggered flooding and massive run-off, US media report.

"Waist-deep" mudslides in areas scorched by wildfires last month shut down more than 30 miles (48km) of the main coastal highway, officials say.

A source at the Santa Barbara Sheriff's office tells BBC News that the death toll is expected to climb.

At least 25 people were injured and thousands fled amid the deluge.

More than 50 rescues have so far been performed.

The hardest hit homes were those that were not in the evacuation zone, official say.

Heavy rain run-off caused waist-deep mudflow in the Montecito, where some homes were knocked from their foundations, said Santa Barbara County Fire Department spokesman Mike Eliason.

Boulders the size of small cars were rolling down hillsides, and blocking roads, reports BBC News Los Angeles correspondent James Cook.

Among those taken to safety was a 14-year-old girl who had been trapped for hours in the ruins of her home.

The fire department published a picture of the girl encased in mud as she was led to safety.