Culinary: African food: The next gastronomic trend?

Living in London, it is not too hard to sate my hunger for a taste of home as markets selling African food dot the city.

There are also a lot of Nigerian restaurants, but they are mainly filled with Nigerians - other Africans may also be tucking in, but hardly any Europeans.

London is a bustling cosmopolitan city where, according to Mayor Boris Johnson, more than 300 languages are spoken - that is at least 300 different cultures.

But while cuisines from countries like China, India and Thailand have become very popular, the same cannot
be said about African food.

So why hasn't African gastronomy caught on?

Perhaps in these days of healthy eating - a particular obsession of the European press - African food is seen as containing too much oil or carbohydrates or not enough protein.

But London-based Ghanaian cook Fafa Gilbert, who teaches people how to make Africa food with a

European twist on her YouTube channel, could not disagree more.

Read more: African food: The next gastronomic trend? - BBC News

France: COP21 climate change summit reaches deal in Paris

A deal to attempt to limit the rise in global temperatures to less than 2C has been agreed at the climate change summit in Paris after two weeks of negotiations.

The pact is the first to commit all countries to cut carbon emissions.

The agreement is partly legally binding and partly voluntary.

Earlier, key blocs, including the G77 group of developing countries, and nations such as China and India said they supported the proposals.

President of the UN climate conference of parties (COP) and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said: "I now invite the COP to adopt the decision entitled Paris Agreement outlined in the document.

"Looking out to the room I see that the reaction is positive, I see no objections. The Paris agreement is adopted."

Read More: COP21 climate change summit reaches deal in Paris - BBC News

Turkey: Iraq demands Turkey withdraw troopsfrom its territory

Iraq appealed Friday to the UN Security Council to demand that Turkey remove its troops from northern Iraq, calling the incursion a "flagrant violation" of international law.

"We call on the Security Council to demand that Turkey withdraw its forces immediately ... and not to violate Iraqi sovereignty again," Iraqi Ambassador Mohamed Ali Alhakim said in a letter to the Security Council.

US Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power, who this month holds the rotating presidency, said the letter was being taken seriously.

"There's growing alarm from the Iraqi government," Power said. "Any troop deployment must have the consent of the Iraqi government."

Read More: Iraq demands Turkey withdraw troops | News | DW.COM | 12.12.2015

Pollution: Dirty deeds: The world's biggest polluters by country - by Sarah Wolfe

After years of decline, US carbon dioxide emissions increased slightly last year, according to a new report by the US Energy Information Administration.

That said, America is still a little better than the world's worst polluter: China.

The 2 percent jump in CO2 emissions in the United States was largely the result of higher natural gas prices last year, which prompted some utilities to switch back to a dirtier energy source — coal, according to The Washington Post.

Read more: Dirty deeds: The world's biggest polluters by country | GlobalPost

Climate Conference Paris: COP21: Hopes rise as EU forms alliance to push for deal - by Matt McGrath

The European Union has formed an alliance with 79 African, Caribbean and Pacific countries in a final push for agreement at the climate summit COP21.

The new alliance has agreed a common position on some of the most divisive aspects of the proposed deal.

They say the Paris agreement must be legally binding, inclusive and fair - and be reviewed every 5 years.

The EU will pay 475 million euros to support climate action in the partner countries up to 2020.

Read more: COP21: Hopes rise as EU forms alliance to push for deal - BBC News

Europe goes green: Waste no more: EU’s Circular Economy package - by Dan Alexe

With what is going on in Europe and around, one would not think that garbage and waste are major priorities, in spite of the hype surrounding the Paris mega-conference on climate change.

“A major political package, reinventing European economy.” The two major super-Commissioners, EU Commission’s First Vice-President Frans Timmermans and Jyrki Katainen Vice-President of the EC in charge of Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness were not shy of being dithyrambic today in presenting the new EU Circular Economy package.

I came one year late, but it is more ambitious than the previous draft, assured Frans Timmermans. More realistic, he later corrected during a press conference, for some targets are lower in the new package. Thus, the waste and incineration laws in the new package, which call for 65 % recycling target for municipal waste and allow a 10 % landfill quota – a weakening of the 2014 targets which called for a 70 % municipal waste target and a complete ban on landfill waste.

“We need to go circular in the way in which we grow and consume”, said Frans Timmermans. “You can compare circular economy to globalisation”, added Jyrki Katainen.

According to the Commission, the proposed actions will contribute to “closing the loop” of product lifecycles through greater recycling and re-use, and bring benefits for both the environment and the economy. The plans will extract the maximum value and use from all raw materials, products and waste, fostering energy savings and reducing Green House Gas emissions. The proposals cover the full lifecycle: from production and consumption to waste management and the market for secondary raw materials.

This transition will be supported financially by ESIF funding, €650 million from Horizon 2020 (the EU funding programme for research and innovation), €5.5 billion from structural funds for waste management, and investments in the circular economy at national level.

Read more: Waste no more: EU’s Circular Economy package

Russia Presents Detailed Evidence Of ISIS-Turkey Oil Trade - by Tyler Durden

Turkey’s sultan President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said something funny. In the wake of Vladimir Putin’s contention that Russia has additional proof of Turkey’s participation in Islamic State’s illicit crude trade, Erdogan said he would resign if anyone could prove the accusations. 
 
Now obviously, conclusive evidence that Ankara is knowingly facilitating the sale of ISIS crude will probably be hard to come by, at least in the short-term, but the silly thing about Erdogan’s pronouncement is that we’re talking about a man who was willing to plunge his country into civil war over a few lost seats in Parliament. The idea that he would ever “step down” is patently absurd.

But that’s not what’s important. What’s critical is that the world gets the truth about who’s financing and facilitating “Raqqa’s Rockefellers.” If a NATO member is supporting this, and if the US has refrained from bombing ISIS oil trucks for 14 months as part of an understanding with Erdogan, well then we have a problem. For those who need a review, see the following four pieces:

• The Most Important Question About ISIS That Nobody Is Asking
• Meet The Man Who Funds ISIS: Bilal Erdogan, The Son Of Turkey's President
• How Turkey Exports ISIS Oil To The World: The Scientific Evidence
• ISIS Oil Trade Full Frontal: "Raqqa's Rockefellers", Bilal Erdogan, KRG Crude, And The Israel Connection

Unfortunately for Ankara, The Kremlin is on a mission to blow this story wide open now that Turkey has apparently decided it’s ok to shoot down Russian fighter jets. On Wednesday, we get the latest from Russia, where the Defense Ministry has just finished a briefing on the Islamic State oil trade. Not to put too fine a point on it, but Turkey may be in trouble.
First, here’s the bullet point summary via Reuters:

• RUSSIA'S DEFENCE MINISTRY SAYS RUSSIA'S AIR STRIKES IN SYRIA HELPED TO ALMOST HALVE ILLEGAL OIL TURNOVER
• RUSSIA'S DEFENCE MINISTRY SAYS TURKISH PRESIDENT AND FAMILY INVOLVED IN BUSINESS WITH ISLAMIC STATE OIL
• RUSSIAN DEFENCE MINISTRY SAYS WILL CONTINUE STRIKES IN SYRIA ON ISLAMIC STATE OIL INFRASTRUCTURE
• RUSSIA'S DEFENCE MINISTRY SAYS KNOWS OF THREE ROUTES BY WHICH ISLAMIC STATE OIL IS DIRECTED TO TURKEY
• RUSSIAN DEFENCE MINISTRY SAYS TO PRESENT NEXT WEEK INFORMATION SHOWING TURKEY HELPING ISLAMIC STATE

That’s the Cliff’s Notes version and the full statement from Deputy Minister of Defence Anatoly Antonov is below. Let us be the first to tell you, Antonov did not hold back.

In the opening address, the Deputy says the ISIS oil trade reaches the highest levels of Turkey's government. He also says Erdogan wouldn’t resign if his face was smeared with stolen Syrian oil. Antonov then blasts Ankara for arresting journalists and mocks Erdogan’s “lovely family oil business.” Antonov even calls on the journalists of the world to "get involved" and help Russia "expose and destroy the sources of terrorist financing."

"Today, we are presenting only some of the facts that confirm that a whole team of bandits and Turkish elites stealing oil from their neighbors is operating in the region," Antonov continues, setting up a lengthy presentation in which the MoD shows photos of oil trucks, videos of airstrikes and maps detailing the trafficking of stolen oil. The clip is presented here with an English voice-over.

Read more: Russia Presents Detailed Evidence Of ISIS-Turkey Oil Trade | Zero Hedge