Israel’s prime minister on Sunday accepted an invitation to visit the White House next month in hopes of forging a “common vision” for the region with President Donald Trump that could include expanded settlement construction on occupied territories and a tougher policy toward Iran. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced his plans to head to Washington in early February hours after delaying a vote on an explosive proposal to annex one of the West Bank’s largest settlements, apparently to coordinate his policy toward the Palestinians with the new administration. The move put on hold legislation that threatens to unleash fresh violence and damage already faded hopes for Palestinian independence. It also may have marked Trump’s first presidential foray into Middle East diplomacy. (NYT http://nyti.ms/2j2klSJ)
Transition of power…Gambia’s former President Yahya Jammeh has left the country in the wake of elections that ousted him after 22 years in power. He boarded a plane to Guinea and from there will travel on to exile in Equatorial Guinea, regional group Ecowas says. Mr Jammeh was defeated in December’s election by Adama Barrow but went on to challenge the results. Mr Barrow has been in Senegal but says he will return to The Gambia soon. In an interview with the BBC, Mr Barrow said he wanted to create a truth and reconciliation committee to investigate allegations of human rights abuses during Mr Jammeh’s time in office. Marcel de Souza, president of the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas), said the military operation that had sent West African troops into The Gambia in support of Mr Barrow, was now ended, although some would remain to ensure security. (BBC http://bbc.in/2j2azjD)
Africa
Police in Nigeria on Sunday said they had arrested 65 people at a demonstration of support for U.S. President Donald Trump organized by pro-independence activists in the country’s south. (AFP https://yhoo.it/2jNYpyG)
Clashes in Yemen killed at least 66 people in 24 hours, medics and security sources said Sunday, as pro-government forces pushed to oust rebels from a key stretch of coastline. (AFP https://yhoo.it/2kg7SMa)
At least 36 people have been killed and 50 injured after an overnight passenger train derailed in southern India, according to railway officials, in the latest accident to hit the country’s gigantic but poorly maintained rail network. (Al Jazeera http://bit.ly/2j2bFvC)
A wave of violence has left 27 people dead in the Brazilian state of Para, a bloodletting authorities say might have been provoked by the murder of a police officer. (AFP https://yhoo.it/2kfZLiZ)
Some 1,200 troops and 500 firefighters have joined the effort to control Chile’s worst forest fires in decades. A state of emergency has been declared in a vast area south of the capital, Santiago. (BBC http://bbc.in/2iRTGNp)
Authorities in China say they’ve recovered the bodies of 12 people killed inside a hotel overrun by a landslide. (AP https://yhoo.it/2kg3ey5)
Indonesian authorities have detained 17 nationals returning from Syria, including children, suspected of being involved in radical activity, officials said. (Reuters https://yhoo.it/2iS4s6f)
Gambia’s new President Adama Barrow said on Sunday that state resources appeared to have been depleted when former leader Yahya Jammeh fled the country late on Saturday. (Reuters https://yhoo.it/2j2bOP)
With conflict in South Sudan now entering its fourth year and its people facing dire humanitarian challenges, the United Nations refugee agency has revised upwards its funding requirements for 2017 to address new needs of those who have been displaced due to renewed fighting, increased violence and resulting food insecurity since July last year. (UN News Center http://bit.ly/2j2eRr5)
A team of Ugandan engineers has invented a “smart jacket” that diagnoses pneumonia faster than a doctor, offering hope against a disease which kills more children worldwide than any other. (AFP https://yhoo.it/2j2b4tU)
President Donald Trump’s secretary of state nominee said he would review Colombia’s recent peace agreement to determine how much the U.S. should continue to support a historic deal that had been enthusiastically backed by the Obama administration. (AP https://yhoo.it/2k5iDSz)
Thousands marched through the Romanian capital and other cities Sunday to protest a government proposal to pardon thousands of prisoners which critics say could reverse the anti-corruption fight. (AP https://yhoo.it/2iRUmm2)
Opinion/Blogs
Facing forward: Finding a narrative for navigating the new global disorder (Humanosphere Podcast http://bit.ly/2khrx2z)
How Do You Know If Aid Really Works? Turns Out … We Often Don’t (Goats and Soda http://n.pr/2k5o5on)
What would a UN Feminist Agenda look like? (Devex http://bit.ly/2jmuquV)
Hope for Global Health in 2017 (Project Syndicate http://bit.ly/2j2958W)
How do we meet the urgent needs of 11 million Syrians fleeing conflict? (Guardian http://bit.ly/2jdQ4nB)
Doctors And Nurses Of Aleppo Wonder What To Do Next (Goats and Soda http://n.pr/2jdMvO1)
Is Global Equality the Enemy of National Equality? (Dani Rodrik http://bit.ly/2k5cOo1)
Food Systems Take Over the Davos Fringe (Development Horizons http://bit.ly/2k5fIZO)
