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The rapidly changing circumstances for Isabel dos Santos, widely known as “Africa's richest woman,” is evident by her absence at the the World Economic Forum in Switzerland. Forum organizers said the participation of dos Santos, daughter of longtime Angolan strongman Jose Eduardo dos Santos, at the forum's annual gathering in Davos was cancelled this month, well before an investigation alleged that she bilked her country of more than $1 billion through unscrupulous dealings. Forum spokesman Max Hall refused to specify whether the forum or dos Santos cancelled her participation.

A Palestinian family pledged on Monday to appeal an Israeli court order to evict them from their home in a mainly-Palestinian east Jerusalem neighbourhood in a case lodged by a settler organisation. The Israeli anti-settlement NGO Peace Now said a Jerusalem magistrates court ruled Sunday in favour of evicting the Rajabi family from their home in the Silwan neighbourhood following a lawsuit filed by members of the pro-settlement Ateret Cohanim organisation. The three-storey building houses 17 Palestinians, the family said.

Governor declared a state of emergency ahead of rally, citing ‘threats of violence’ from militia and hate groupsTens of thousands of gun rights activists kicked off a noisy rally in Virginia’s capital on Monday in opposition to a slate of gun control bills introduced by the state government’s new Democratic majority.Virginia’s governor, Ralph Northam, had declared a state of emergency on Wednesday, citing “threats of violence”, in an effort to avoid a repeat of violence that erupted at a 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, when a march by white nationalists led to the death of a counter-protester.Northam said there was “credible” law enforcement intelligence that militia groups and hate groups, some from out of state, were planning to attend the rally for the purposes of “violence, rioting and insurrection”. The governor also temporarily banned all weapons, including firearms, on the grounds of the capitol in Richmond, where a pro-gun rally is slated to be held later Monday morning.> A few lawmakers waving out at the big pro-gun crowd as the VCDL rally begins. The speaker system at the rally is very difficult to understand and there’s no stage so almost no one can see whoever is speaking pic.twitter.com/Xrv9wVsvHe> > — Lois Beckett (@loisbeckett) January 20, 2020Some local activists believed that the governor’s ban on weapons at the capitol would result in larger numbers of armed militia members and other pro-gun activists wandering around downtown Richmond, outside the area where guns are banned.Local anti-fascist activists from Richmond and Charlottesville announced over the weekend that they would not be holding any counter-protests, citing safety concerns.Donald Trump acknowledged and encouraged the rally on Twitter on Monday.> The Democrat Party in the Great Commonwealth of Virginia are working hard to take away your 2nd Amendment rights. This is just the beginning. Don’t let it happen, VOTE REPUBLICAN in 2020!> > — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 20, 2020On Saturday, after a security briefing for lawmakers, Virginia’s Republican house minority leader put out a public statement condemning “any group that comes to Richmond to spread white supremacist garbage”.“While we and our Democratic colleagues may have differences, we are all Virginians and we will stand united in opposition to any threats of violence or civil unrest from any quarter,” Todd Gilbert wrote.As buses full of pro-gun activists from across Virginia and the country arrived in Richmond on Monday morning, many are likely to be on edge.Tensions in Virginia have run high since November 2019, when Democrats won control of the state government for the first time in 26 years and pledged to pass a package of gun control laws, from universal background checks to an extreme risk protection order law to a ban on military-style assault weapons.Since then, pro-gun activists across Virginia have organized a vigorous grassroots movement to protest against the new bills. More than 125 counties, cities and towns have passed “second amendment sanctuary” resolutions that would respect gun owners’ rights and not enforce any state gun laws deemed to be unconstitutional.> Gun rights protesters sing the National Athem as they wait outside Virginia’s capitol. pic.twitter.com/KEwMGvYN1U> > — Lois Beckett (@loisbeckett) January 20, 2020Virginia’s second amendment sanctuary movement has attracted hundreds and even thousands of supporters at local government meetings, drawing comparisons to the Tea Party movement.The political standoff over new gun laws in Virginia, the state where the National Rifle Association (NRA) is headquartered, has also prompted spiraling conspiracy theories and intense rhetoric from gun owners about tyranny and civil war.The event is being closely watched by white supremacists and anti-government militia members nationwide, who have hailed the tensions as the potential beginning of societal breakdown. In recent days, extremist chatrooms have been full of rumors the event is a trap, and that it will be infiltrated by crisis actors, according to an analyst at the Anti-Defamation League, which monitors extremists.> Alex Jones and Proud Boys are here in front of the Richmond capitol pic.twitter.com/d0sN4Na7Yq> > — Lois Beckett (@loisbeckett) January 19, 2020Lies, conspiracy theories and misinformation about Democrats’ proposed gun control bills have circulated widely, prompting outrage and threats of violence against Democratic politicians.Lee Carter, Virginia’s only socialist state legislator, has been the target of multiple death threats over a bill pro-gun activists misinterpreted as an infringement on their rights.Speaking to the Guardian about the threats, Carter said there had been frequent mentions of Monday’s pro-gun protest. “A lot of people [have been] saying, ‘We’re going to kick off the second American civil war,” he said. “This guy is going to be the first one to die. Make sure you show up armed.”

More unsettled weather is set to grip the Middle East this week after several storms have battered the region in recent weeks.The first of two storms to impact the area this week has dampened locations from the Mediterranean coast to Iraq on Monday. This slow-moving system will continue to bring wet weather to the region on Tuesday and Wednesday.The steadiest rainfall is expected from northern Israel and Lebanon into southern Syria and central Iraq. Downpours are possible in Beirut, Damascus, Homs and Baghdad. Rain will also spread into the lower elevations of western Iran with snow falling in the mountains. In the higher terrain of Lebanon and Syria, snow accumulation can be expected.On the southern side of this storm, showers may briefly dampen southern Jordan, far northern Saudi Arabia and Kuwait from Tuesday into Wednesday. This storm will then push into eastern Iran with rain and high-elevation snowfall on Thursday.CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APPA second storm will race southward from Turkey into the Middle East late Thursday into Friday, bringing soaking rain and mountain snow to Syria, Lebanon and Israel on Thursday night through Friday morning.The storm will then lash Jordan, Iraq and northwest Iran on Friday with impacts continuing into Friday night in Iraq and Iran.Local downpours and high-elevation snowfall may result in travel impacts across the region, before drier weather builds across the Middle East this weekend.Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.

(Bloomberg) -- A new Iowa poll has Joe Biden leading the Democratic presidential race in the first caucus state. The former vice president also placed as likely caucusgoers’ top second choice, putting him in a strong position with just two weeks to go until voters begin to choose their nominee.Biden had the support of 24% of likely caucus-goers polled by Focus on Rural America, an Iowa group with Democratic ties that has been polling in the state since last year. Biden’s backing in the survey has been roughly stable since the group’s September poll, when he was at 25%. He is also the second choice of 24% of those surveyed, an important measure given that caucusgoers have the chance to choose a second candidate if their first choice gets below 15% at their caucus site on Feb. 3.Elizabeth Warren was in second place at 19%, a 4-point drop from her showing in the previous poll. Pete Buttigieg was in third place at 16% and Bernie Sanders was in fourth at 12%. Amy Klobuchar, who’s staking her campaign on success in Iowa, was in fifth place at 11%. Buttigieg was the second most-popular second-choice candidate, with 21% of likely caucus-goers saying they’d support him if their first choice is not viable.The poll’s ordering of the top four candidates is different than the well-regarded Des Moines Register poll released 10 days ago, which had Sanders leading and Biden in fourth. The discrepancies probably reflect what’s expected to be a messy caucus night result that few Iowa Democrats are willing to predict.The poll, conducted by David Binder Research, surveyed 500 likely caucusgoers and has an error margin of 4.4 percentage points.COMING UP:Democratic presidential candidates Pete Buttigieg, former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and Michael Bloomberg, former mayor of New York, both plan to address the U.S. Conference of Mayors on Wednesday.The candidates will debate again in New Hampshire on Feb. 7.The first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses will be held Feb. 3. The New Hampshire primary is Feb. 11. Nevada holds its caucuses on Feb. 22 and South Carolina has a primary on Feb. 29.(Michael Bloomberg is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News.)To contact the reporter on this story: Jennifer Epstein in Washington at jepstein32@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Wendy Benjaminson at wbenjaminson@bloomberg.net, Edward DufnerFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

Harry, Duke of Sussex, will be barred from wearing his military uniform after he agreed to step back from his armed forces appointments.

At least ten people were killed Monday and scores injured when a seating area collapsed during a major Orthodox Christian celebration in Ethiopia, with fears the death toll could rise. The accident occurred just before 8am (0500 GMT) Monday in Gondar, a historic city in the country's north, where every year more than a million people gather for the epiphany festivities known as Timkat. Two doctors at the University of Gondar Hospital told AFP that 10 people died when the spectator stands gave way suddenly at Fasilides' Bath, where thousands typically gather to watch worshippers plunge into the holy waters.

A leopard that ran into a house and sparked a frantic search and a frenzy of attention in southern India on Monday has been caught and tranquilized. The big cat emerged from the Kamdanam forest and ran into a house in Shadnagar town in Telangana state, said Dr. Mohammad Abdul Hakeem, a wildlife official. Deadly conflict between humans and animals has increased in recent years in India largely due to shrinking forest habitats and urban expansion.

The US president isn't the only government official that flies in a VIP plane operated by the US Air Force.

Hong Kong's reputation as a global business hub was dealt a fresh blow Monday after Moody's downgraded a key rating, blaming a lack of government response to months of popular protests and China's increased influence over the city's institutions. The rating downgrade is a major blow to Hong Kong's pro-Beijing leader Carrie Lam, who has struggled to end more than seven months of huge and often violent pro-democracy protests. It also reflects growing concern within the business community that the institutional features that give Hong Kong more political and economic autonomy are weakening under pressure from the authoritarian mainland.

A strip of skin tattooed with the Auschwitz death camp number 99288 sits in a silver frame on a shelf in Avraham Harshalom's living room. As the 75th anniversary of the camp's liberation on Jan 27, 1945, nears, Harshalom, 95, is very clear about why he kept it. Harshalom is one of some 200,000 Holocaust survivors living in Israel today.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that Somalia had invited Turkey to explore for oil in its seas, after Ankara signed a maritime agreement with Libya last year, broadcaster NTV reported. Turkey has been a major source of aid to Somalia following a famine in 2011 as Ankara seeks to increase its influence in the Horn of Africa to counter Gulf rivals like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Khalifa Haftar, the warlord besieging Libya's UN-backed government, has choked off the country's oil exports in defiance of a shaky international ceasefire deal endorsed by international powers over the weekend. Vladimir Putin, Angela Merkel, Boris Johnson and other world leaders met in Berlin on Sunday to repeat demands for a ceasefire but the summit was quickly overshadowed by a fresh crisis over oil. Despite the fierce fighting between Mr Haftar’s self-styled Libyan National Army and the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA), both sides have generally allowed oil production and export to continue. But in apparent bid to put pressure on the GNA, forces loyal to Mr Haftar have closed ports in the eastern part of the country and shut down a pipeline to two major oil fields in the southwest, effectively choking off oil production. The National Oil Corporation estimates that output will plummet from 1.2 million barrels per day to just 72,000 barrels per day in a few days’ time if Mr Haftar does not release his grip on the ports and pipeline.   World leaders gathered in Berlin over the weekend to try to reach an agreement on Libya Credit: Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images The move caused oil prices to jump to a one-week high although markets appeared to expect that the situation would be resolved soon. Antonio Guterres, the UN secretary general, said he was very worried about the situation. The GNA is heavily reliant on oil revenues and a prolonged shutdown could severely weaken a government that is already struggling to hold onto the capital Tripoli against a months-long assault by Mr Haftar’s forces. There were reports of ongoing fighting on the frontlines south of Tripoli on Sunday and Western leaders appeared downbeat on the prospects of putting the ceasefire agreement into force. "Ensuring that a ceasefire is immediately respected is simply not easy to guarantee," said Mrs Merkel. "But I hope that through today's conference, we have a chance the truce will hold further.” European leaders have discussed the prospect of sending forces to Libya to oversee the ceasefire but there appeared to be little appetite for deployment unless the ceasefire brought an actual end to the fighting. “If there is a ceasefire, yes of course, there's a case for us doing what we do very well which is sending experts to monitor the ceasefire,” said Mr Johnson. GNA forces inspect damage in Tripoli Credit: Photo by Enes Canli/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images EU leaders met Monday to discuss reviving a naval mission intended to ensure that a UN arms embargo against Libya’s warring factions was respected. Despite the UN prohibition on sending weapons, regional sponsors of both sides of the civil war have flooded the country with weapons. Turkey has provided arms to the GNA and sent Syrian rebel fighters to aid them in battle while the UAE, Russia, and Egypt have all provided support to Mr Haftar’s forces. "It's clear that the arms embargo requires high level control and if you want to keep the ceasefire alive someone has to monitor it," said Josep Borrell, the EU foreign policy chief. Operation Sophia was set up in 2015 to combat people smugglers operating from the Libyan coast and to enforce a UN arms embargo on the warring parties. It was suspended as a naval mission in March last year after Italy objected to recused migrants being landed in its ports, and is now limited to aerial surveillance.

(Bloomberg) -- Sign up for Next China, a weekly email on where the nation stands now and where it's going next.European Union Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan said China must improve an offer to scale back barriers to foreign money if the two sides are to reach a long-sought investment agreement this year.While demanding more concessions from Beijing, Hogan kept alive an end-2020 target date for achieving an accord that would ease European investors’ access to the Chinese market.“We are making progress,” Hogan told a BusinessEurope conference on Monday in Brussels. “We are not satisfied with the existing offer.”The outcome of the investment accord talks may serve as an indication of the EU’s broader approach toward China. So far, the bloc has taken a less confrontational approach than U.S. President Donald Trump in seeking to rebalance its trading and investment relationship with the world’s second-largest economy.The EU is China’s No. 1 trade partner, while the Chinese market is the second biggest for European exports after the U.S.Both sides have been in talks since 2013 on a bilateral pact that would reduce Chinese restrictions on European companies. In April last year, the EU and China set a 2020 target date for reaching an “ambitious” investment deal.“Our objective is to keep working with China in relation to this agreement and conclude it by the end of this year,” Hogan said on Monday. “We will be as ambitious as we possibly can.”In the negotiations, the EU will give priority to “substance over speed,” he said.“We’ll have to make an assessment as we go along about whether we’re going to get 100% of what we want; usually that doesn’t happen that way,” Hogan said. “But if we get 99 I’ll be happy.”To contact the reporter on this story: Jonathan Stearns in Brussels at jstearns2@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Ben Sills at bsills@bloomberg.net, Flavia Krause-JacksonFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

Rainfall helped to relieve some parts of the country affected by the bushfires, but caused damage in other ways

New photos have emerged which for the first time show convicted Nazi guard John Demjanjuk at the Sobibor death camp, a Berlin archive confirmed Monday, although he always denied ever being there. Ukrainian-American Demjanjuk was convicted of being an accessory to the murder of nearly 30,000 Jews at Sobibor by a German court in 2011. According to the Berlin-based Topography of Terror archive, photos of Demjanjuk are among a newly discovered collection of more than 350 snaps which give "detailed insight" into the camp in German-occupied Poland.

The midwestern and northeastern United States will gradually emerge from a deep freeze as Arctic air retreats northward by late week.Prior to the milder shift, the snowy and icy landscape left behind by a far-reaching winter storm will be stubborn to melt away in the beginning part of the week.Despite some sunshine, high temperatures will be no better than the teens, 20s and 30s F from the Great Lakes to the mid-Atlantic and New England through Tuesday. A brisk breeze will contribute to even lower AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures into Monday night."On Wednesday, an area of high pressure will settle over the mid-Atlantic, signaling the start of a moderating trend," AccuWeather Meteorologist Kyle Elliott said. Highs will return to seasonable levels at midweek, trending into the middle to upper 20s across northern New England and 30s and lower 40s farther south. Given ample sunshine, light winds and the prior bitter cold, it's likely to feel even warmer than the thermometer suggests."Temperatures should return back above normal by Thursday and Friday as the high moves off to the east," Elliott said.Daytime temperatures in the lower to middle 40s from Indianapolis to Pittsburgh, New York City and Boston late this week will be 5-10 degrees above late January normals. Caribou, Maine, is forecast to reach the 30s on Thursday after spending much of the first half of the week in the single digits and below zero.CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APPMotorists and pedestrians will need to keep an eye out for icy patches that can develop during the overnight hours around the middle and latter part of this week as snow and ice that melts during the day refreezes after dark.Bright sunshine glaring off the glittering snow and ice will be the main hazard to drivers across the region into late week, with no precipitation in the forecast into at least Thursday. Make sure to grab the sunglasses before hitting the roadway. Clouds and precipitation will be working their way through the Ohio and Tennessee valleys by the end of the week, and this unsettled weather could arrive in the Northeast by the weekend, according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Heather Zehr.The damp weather will be associated with a storm system first expected to return wintry weather to part of the central Plains and Great Lakes and soak the South Central states with rain and thunderstorms.Even with the milder trend ahead of the storm, AccuWeather meteorologists cannot rule out the storm having wintry complications in the Northeast during the last weekend of January. The extent of any snow and ice will depend on how much cold air the storm will be able to tap into or manufacture on its own.Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.

(Bloomberg) -- Iran will withdraw from a major non-proliferation treaty if European nations attempt to refer the Islamic Republic to the UN Security Council over its infringements of the 2015 nuclear deal, the country’s foreign minister said.The U.K., France and Germany said last week they would trigger the accord’s dispute resolution mechanism, which could eventually mean the matter being referred to the Security Council. The move inflamed tensions with Tehran, which is locked in an economic confrontation with the U.S. that this month sparked a military exchange.“If Europeans continue their untenable conduct or send Iran’s nuclear case to the United Nations Security Council, we will withdraw from the N.P.T.,” Mohammad Javad Zarif told lawmakers, referring to the international treaty to stop the spread of nuclear weapons, the official parliamentary news service ICANA reported.Iran was an early signatory of the 1970 treaty, which was designed to eventually lead to disarmament. Non-nuclear weapons states that are signatories, including Iran, agree not to pursue weapons and to only develop peaceful atomic technology.Earlier on Monday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said Iran is planning “one last step” in its gradual draw-down from complying with the nuclear deal, raising the possibility that it’s close to announcing a complete withdrawal from the embattled international accord. The final measure will have “more effective consequences,” Mousavi said.Iran has been gradually reducing its compliance with the 2015 accord, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, since U.S. President Donald Trump abandoned it and began reimposing sanctions on the country’s economy.Earlier this month, Iran announced it’s no longer observing limits on uranium enrichment or research and development activities, but insisted it was still working within the parameters of the deal and would continue cooperating with United Nations nuclear inspectors.President Hassan Rouhani last week said all the steps could still be reversed as soon as Europe was able to commit to the agreement and take concrete steps allowing Iran to sell oil.Days before European nations turned up pressure on the Islamic Republic, the U.S. and Iran came to the brink of war after Trump ordered the killing of top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani. As Iranian forces launched retaliatory attacks on U.S. facilities in the Middle East, they accidentally shot down a Ukrainian airliner over Tehran, triggering protests against the regime.Britain has also infuriated Iran’s government by proposing that the current accord be replaced with a “Trump deal.” Mousavi said that while Iran remains open to talks with the EU on the future of the agreement, the Islamic Republic won’t agree to any proposals from either the bloc or the U.S. for an alternative to the existing deal.(Updates with Zarif comments)To contact the reporter on this story: Arsalan Shahla in Tehran at ashahla@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Lin Noueihed at lnoueihed@bloomberg.net, Mark Williams, Paul AbelskyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

"The vote was to impeach on abuse of power, which is not within the constitutional criteria for impeachment," Alan Dershowitz said.