This Week in Pictures: January 12 – January 18, 2016

Big news stories came thick and fast last week so perhaps we should just quickly glance again at some of the most important.
In Iran last week economic sanctions by the US and EU were dropped following confirmation by the International Atomic Energy Agency that the country had complied with the terms and conditions of the deal arranged to prevent it developing nuclear weapons. The far-reaching agreement, hailed by President Rouhani as a “turning point”, also saw a swap of prisoners including the Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian who had been jailed in Iran since his arrest on espionage charges last November.

Both Jakarta and Ouagadougou were victims of terrorist attack last week. In the capital of Indonesia numerous gunmen opened fire at a Starbucks in the commercial district of the city killing eight in an attack that lasted several hours. In the capital of Burkina Faso 28 people from several nations were killed and 56 more injured when a popular luxury hotel and other nearby businesses were attacked by Al-Quaeda In The Islamic Maghreb. French Special Forces were brought in to end the ensuing siege.

The entertainment world suffered a double tragedy last week. David Bowie, celebrated musician, died aged 69 after a battle with Cancer. Famed for numerous songs including “Space Odyssey” and “Let’s Dance” he was also known for his alter-ego Ziggy Stardust. Alan Rickman, celebrated actor, died aged 69 after a battle with Cancer. Famed for numerous films including “Robin Hood Prince Of Thieves” and “Galaxy Quest”, he was also known for portraying Severus Snape in the Harry Potter movies.

In sport an energetic Premier League match between Chelsea and Everton ended in a 3-3 draw following a somewhat questionable goal from John Terry in the 98th minute of the game that had only been allotted seven minutes of stoppage time, who both managers, Guus Hiddink and Roberto Martinez, agree was off-side. Will there be any repercussions to this blatant cheating? You’ll have to read our daily news pages to find out, in the meantime here’s a look at the stories we covered last week.

1. As yet another sports drug scandal erupts we countdown our top seven of the most dramatic.

2. Two players have won the KES 400,000 (€3,600) Betway Jackpot Bonus by fottball betting in Kenya.

3. GamingZion assembled a list with the top 50 weird names in NFL history. Check the first part.

4. These restaurant workers thought they had won the $949 million Powerball lotto jackpot.

5. We look at the pre-tournament odds you can get on the Six Nations rugby tournament as the teams shake themselves down.

6. GamingZion presented the best Australian Open 2016 outright odds before the start of the tournament.

7. GamingZion provided a short guide for those thinking that Cricket games are played by less than the most macho of men.

Meanwhile a robbery suspect in India was force fed forty bananas by police after X-rays revealed he had swallowed the gold chain he was accused of stealing. Having first tried an enema, and rejected surgery as too expensive, authorities fell back on more patient methods feeding their prisoner numerous fruit over the course of a day. The jewelery made a reappearance through the natural means and was washed and disinfected by the accused who then appeared in court on Friday charged with theft.