Twin Blasts Kill Nearly 50 in Northeast Nigeria

Twin blasts rocked a market on Thursday in the northeast Nigerian town of Gombe, leaving nearly 50 people dead.

Nobody has claimed responsibility for the attacks, which targeted a market crowded with customers doing some last-minute shopping on the eve of the Eid festival marking the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

The blasts resembled attacks carried out by Boko Haram Islamic militants, who have killed thousands in a six-year insurgency in the country's northeast.

There has been a spike in attacks by Boko Haram since coalition forces from Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon pushed the militants out of captured territory earlier this year.

The violence has further intensified since Nigeria's new president, Muhammadu Buhari, took power a month and a half ago and vowed to crush the group — something his predecessor also had made a priority but failed to do.

Earlier this week, Buhari replaced all of Nigeria's military chiefs, another step aimed at halting the Boko Haram insurgency.

The new army chief and national security adviser come from Borno, a step welcomed by the state governor, Kashim Shettima. He said the new generals understand the terrain and can easily connect with communities to get local support.

"Nigeria now has the best of chances to overcome the challenges of insurgency facing it since 2009," the governor said.

EUROPE MOVES TO RESTORE FUNDING TO GREECE AFTER BAILOUT VOTE

Europe moved to re-open funding to Greece's stricken economy on Thursday after the parliament in Athens approved a new bailout program in a fractious vote that left the government without a majority.  The European Central Bank increased emergency funding for Greek lenders, although capital controls will have to remain in place to avoid a run on the banks when they reopen on Monday.

European Union finance ministers also approved 7 billion euros ($7.6 billion) in bridge loans to Greece, allowing it to make a bond payment to the ECB next Monday and clear its arrears with the International Monetary Fund.

The loans will be finalised on Friday provided Germany's parliament approves a Berlin government request to open talks on a three-year bailout program - Greece's third in the past five years - worth up to 86 billion euros.

A majority of Germany's conservative lawmakers voted in favor of starting talks on a third Greek bailout in a test ballot on Thursday, the eve of a vote in the Bundestag lower house of parliament, sources in the conservative parliamentary faction said.

In the test ballot, 48 lawmakers in the conservative bloc opposed talks on further Greek aid while three abstained, the sources said.

The conservative bloc, composed of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) and their Bavarian allies, the Christian Social Union (CSU), has more than 300 seats in parliament but it was not clear how many conservative lawmakers were at the test vote.

The Bundestag is expected to give Merkel's government a mandate to open negotiations, with the Social Democrats - her junior coalition partner - and some opposition parties expected to vote 'Yes'