5: 

Officer Daniel Holtzclaw Sentenced to 263 Years in Prison

Former Oklahoma City police officer Daniel Holtzclaw has been sentenced to 263 consecutive years in prison for the serial rapes of African-American women. In a packed courtroom, supporters of the victims broke into song as they awaited the sentencing.

Democracy Now

4: 

‘Life-threatening’ winter storm expected to hit the east coast

National weather experts are warning of a potentially “crippling winter storm” bearing down on the eastern US from Friday through Sunday that began forming quickly late Wednesday, with deadly results.

Washington DC is in the bull’s eye of the approaching tempest, but storm conditions ranging from hail and severe thunder to several feet of snow are forecast from Florida to New England.

The capital is braced for white-out conditions with visibility close to zero, and is under a blizzard warning from 3pm on Friday through Sunday morning, with more than 30in of snow and wind gusts up to 50mph expected in places. If the predictions are accurate, snow totals could break a record set in 1922.

The Guardian

3: 

Dozens drown off Greek islands in deadliest January for refugees

At least 45 people, including 17 children, have died after their boats sank near two Greek islands as the number of deaths of migrants and refugees in the Mediterranean make this the deadliest January on record.

The deaths occurred off two small islands in the eastern Aegean. The highest death toll came when a wooden sailboat sank off Kalolymnos. The coastguard recovered 34 bodies and rescued 26 people. The number of those missing is not known, although between 70 and 100 people were thought to be on board.

The Guardian

2: 

Bloody Scenes at Somali Beach as Islamist Gunmen Storm Restaurant

At least 17 people were killed in the Somali capital of Mogadishu when five Islamist gunmen set off bombs and stormed a popular beachfront restaurant late on Thursday, Somali police said.

Al Shabaab, a militant group aligned with al Qaeda, said its fighters set off two car bombs at the Beach View Cafe on Mogadishu’s popular Lido beach, and engaged in a gun battle for hours with government troops trying to flush them out.

“The operation ended at 3 am last night and at least 17 civilians were killed,” police officer Osman Nur told Reuters on Friday.

Vice News

1: 

Kiwis abroad fear returning to NZ

New Zealanders abroad are worried they might be arrested if they come back to the country because of unpaid student loans.

A Cook Islands math teacher was detained at Auckland Airport on Monday after owing $22,000 to the Inland Revenue Department.

Ngatokotoru Puna, 40, appeared in the Manukau District Court yesterday, where the judge acknowledged his efforts in paying back $5000 and making arrangements with IRD.

Mr Puna’s arrest marks the first time Inland Revenue has used its power to detain people with unpaid student debt.

Inland Revenue collections manager for student loans Stuart Duff said it was a last resort to arrest Mr Puna at the border, as they tried to engage with people and get them to pay.

There are 111,000 borrowers overseas, with about 70 percent of them defaulting on their loans.

RNZ