Churchill Choken

Update:: The last four years have been the world's hottest since record-keeping began, with 2018 the fourth warmest on record, according to data published Thursday by US research group Berkeley Earth. Temperatures in 2018 were around 1.16 degrees Celsius (2.09 degrees Fahrenheit) above the average temperature of the second half of the 19th century, from 1850-1900, often used as a pre-industrial baseline for global temperature targets. The European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service published its own data on January 7 that also found 2015-2018 to be the hottest years on record.

Update:: One of the main candidates in next month's Nigerian presidential election has stepped down because she says she wants to form a broader coalition to defeat the two main parties. Oby Ezekwesili is well known for leading the #BringBackOurGirls campaign to help free the 276 girls kidnapped from Chibok, northern Nigeria, in 2014. She co-founded Transparency International and has served as the education minister and vice-president of the World Bank

Update:: Parliament in Angola has abolished a law widely interpreted to be a ban on homosexuality. The government has also prohibited discrimination against people on the basis of sexual orientation; anyone refusing to employ or provide services to individuals based on their sexual orientation may face up to two years in prison. Angola is the latest former Portuguese colony to repeal laws outlawing same-sex conduct, following Sao Tome and Cape Verde There have been no known prosecutions under the now expunged law. Many other African countries enforce strict legislation against homosexuality.

Update:: A Nigerian appeals court issued an interim order stopping a tribunal from charging the chief justice with breaching asset-declaration rules. Nigeria's most senior judge is under investigation after hundreds of thousands of dollars were found in accounts the authorities say belong to him. Chief Justice Onnoghen has maintained his innocence and his lawyer argued that the tribunal investigating him had ignored rulings from other courts. He has been asked to appear before the Code of Conduct Tribunal for trial but says the tribunal does not have the authority to try him.

Update:: Kenya's highest court has overturned a ruling that obliged schools to allow Muslim girls to wear hijabs in class. The Supreme Court now says schools should use their own discretion and determine their own rules. The legal process began when parents of three Muslim students sued a school, sponsored by the Methodist Church, over the suspension of Muslim students who went against the school's hijab ban. In an initial ruling, the High Court sided with the school, but after an appeal students were allowed to wear hijabs. The school appealed that decision, and now the Supreme Court has had the final say. Now every school has a right to determine its uniform policy.