Nairobi attack: Al Shabab militants 'eliminated' after deadly 20-hour siege


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Latest: Death toll from Nairobi attack rises to 21 and 50 unaccounted for

Five militants who stormed an upmarket hotel complex in Nairobi were "eliminated" after an almost 20 hour siege that left at least 14 victims dead, Kenyan police chief Joseph Boinnet said on Wednesday.

"There were five terrorists and all of them are no more," he told AFP.

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta urged Kenyans to “go back to work without fear” in a televised address on Wednesday, insisting that the East African nation remained safe for citizens and visitors. "I can now confirm that... the security operation at Dusit is over and all terrorists have been eliminated," Mr Kenyatta said.

In the northern Nairobi neighbourhood of Westlands, the DusitD2 is an upmarket hotel and office park that includes bars, restaurants, business headquarters and banks. The complex was attacked on Tuesday afternoon, with gunfire continuing into Wednesday.

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The dead militants included one suicide bomber, two killed on Tuesday night and another two killed by security forces on Wednesday, a police source said.

In addition, at least 14 civilians were killed in the attack, Mr Kenyatta said, which was claimed by Al Shabab, an Al Qaeda affiliate. More than 700 civilians were rescued from the building.

Kenyan authorities have not released a number for how many were wounded during the attack but one hospital reported it had received seven patients, most of whom suffered from gunshot wounds. Two of those died and the rest needed emergency surgery, said Dr Vishal Patel, medical director at MP Shah Hospital, a private facility a short distance from the DusitD2 complex.

Kenyan police said earlier on Wednesday that there was still an “active security operation” around the complex. Another explosion was heard at the scene on Wednesday afternoon, more than 24 hours after the attack began and after authorities announced that all was secure.

Authorities urged members of the public to stay away from the scene. "The area around 14 Riverside Drive is a Crime Scene ... under an active security operation," police said in a message on Twitter, referring to the complex's address.

Those killed in the attack included 11 Kenyans and several foreign nationals. Many were dining at the Secret Garden restaurant at the complex when the attack began.

San Francisco-based company I-DEV International confirmed that American Jason Spindler was among the dead. Spindler was the co-founder and managing director of the global strategy and investment consultancy. Nine others in its Nairobi office were safely evacuated.

The London-based company Adam Smith International said two of its employees were shot to death during the attack. Abdalla Dahir and Feisal Ahmed were killed on the terrace of a restaurant in the complex where the company has offices. Some 50 more staff were safely evacuated.

Scores of people were still being rescued at daybreak on Wednesday after a night trapped in the complex. At least two groups of people remained in the hotel and business complex just before 7 am.

The Al Shabab militant group claimed responsibility for the bomb and shooting attack, according to the SITE Intel Group which monitors extremist groups. Surveillance footage recovered from the scene showed four gunmen dressed in black storming the hotel on Tuesday afternoon.

Grief-stricken families flocked to a morgue in the Kenyan capital to identify the bodies of the dead. Families arriving at the Chiromo morgue were told they could not view the bodies until a forensic investigation had been performed however, provoking grief and anger.

The family of one Kenyan, 35, collapsed in the courtyard upon hearing a body had arrived with his identification papers.

"He is gone, he is gone," the father repeated into his phone as his mother wrapped a shawl around herself and wept, Reuters reported.

Another family arrived, demanding to see whether their relative was there but were told only police had access. As they argued, an elderly couple arrived in silence, bringing a freshly pressed suit to dress their son.

Outside the morgue, two Red Cross ambulances waited, their drivers asleep inside. They would go to the complex to retrieve casualties once it was safe, morgue staff said.

Kenyan police say said they detained a man and two women following a raid on a house where one of the Nairobi attackers was said to have lived. The suspects were being questioned "to establish how they knew the man who lived here and the people who had been visiting," a police official said.

Police carried out the raid after neighbours reported they had identified a vehicle that had been parked outside the hotel complex during the attack.

LAST-16 FIXTURES

Sunday, January 20
3pm: Jordan v Vietnam at Al Maktoum Stadium, Dubai
6pm: Thailand v China at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
9pm: Iran v Oman at Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Monday, January 21
3pm: Japan v Saudi Arabia at Sharjah Stadium
6pm: Australia v Uzbekistan at Khalifa bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
9pm: UAE v Kyrgyzstan at Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Tuesday, January 22
5pm: South Korea v Bahrain at Rashid Stadium, Dubai
8pm: Qatar v Iraq at Al Nahyan Stadium, Abu Dhabi

ELIO

Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett

Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina

Rating: 4/5

Gender pay parity on track in the UAE

The UAE has a good record on gender pay parity, according to Mercer's Total Remuneration Study.

"In some of the lower levels of jobs women tend to be paid more than men, primarily because men are employed in blue collar jobs and women tend to be employed in white collar jobs which pay better," said Ted Raffoul, career products leader, Mena at Mercer. "I am yet to see a company in the UAE – particularly when you are looking at a blue chip multinationals or some of the bigger local companies – that actively discriminates when it comes to gender on pay."

Mr Raffoul said most gender issues are actually due to the cultural class, as the population is dominated by Asian and Arab cultures where men are generally expected to work and earn whereas women are meant to start a family.

"For that reason, we see a different gender gap. There are less women in senior roles because women tend to focus less on this but that’s not due to any companies having a policy penalising women for any reasons – it’s a cultural thing," he said.

As a result, Mr Raffoul said many companies in the UAE are coming up with benefit package programmes to help working mothers and the career development of women in general. 

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Specs

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General admission Dh295 (under-three free)

Buy a four-person Family & Friends ticket and pay for only three tickets, so the fourth family member is free

Buy tickets at: wbworldabudhabi.com/en/tickets

if you go

The flights
The closest international airport to the TMB trail is Geneva (just over an hour’s drive from the French ski town of Chamonix where most people start and end the walk). Direct flights from the UAE to Geneva are available with Etihad and Emirates from about Dh2,790 including taxes.

The trek
The Tour du Mont Blanc takes about 10 to 14 days to complete if walked in its entirety, but by using the services of a tour operator such as Raw Travel, a shorter “highlights” version allows you to complete the best of the route in a week, from Dh6,750 per person. The trails are blocked by snow from about late October to early May. Most people walk in July and August, but be warned that trails are often uncomfortably busy at this time and it can be very hot. The prime months are June and September.

 

 

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The six points:

1. Ministers should be in the field, instead of always at conferences

2. Foreign diplomacy must be left to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation

3. Emiratisation is a top priority that will have a renewed push behind it

4. The UAE's economy must continue to thrive and grow

5. Complaints from the public must be addressed, not avoided

6. Have hope for the future, what is yet to come is bigger and better than before

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Family: He is the youngest of five brothers, of whom two are dentists. 

Celebrities he worked on: Fabio Canavaro, Lojain Omran, RedOne, Saber Al Rabai.

Where he works: Liberty Dental Clinic 

Global Fungi Facts

• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
• Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered
• Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity
• Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil

DMZ facts
  • The DMZ was created as a buffer after the 1950-53 Korean War.
  • It runs 248 kilometers across the Korean Peninsula and is 4km wide.
  • The zone is jointly overseen by the US-led United Nations Command and North Korea.
  • It is littered with an estimated 2 million mines, tank traps, razor wire fences and guard posts.
  • Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un met at a building in Panmunjom, where an armistice was signed to stop the Korean War.
  • Panmunjom is 52km north of the Korean capital Seoul and 147km south of Pyongyang, North Korea’s capital.
  • Former US president Bill Clinton visited Panmunjom in 1993, while Ronald Reagan visited the DMZ in 1983, George W. Bush in 2002 and Barack Obama visited a nearby military camp in 2012. 
  • Mr Trump planned to visit in November 2017, but heavy fog that prevented his helicopter from landing.
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