This attack comes on the heels of similar attacks on western targets in Ouagadougou and Bamako. “Gunmen from the North African branch of Al Qaeda killed 16 people, including four Europeans, at a beach resort town in Ivory Coast on Sunday, the latest in a string of deadly attacks across West Africa.Six shooters targeted hotels on a beach at Grand Bassam, a weekend retreat popular with westerners about 40 km (25 miles) east of the commercial capital Abidjan, before being killed in clashes with Ivorian special forces…Though previously untouched by Islamist violence, Ivory Coast, French-speaking West Africa’s largest economy and the world’s top cocoa producer, has long been considered a target for militants. It has been on high alert since the Ouagadougou attacks. French President Francois Hollande on Sunday pledged support, denouncing Sunday’s shootings as a ‘cowardly attack’”. (Reuters http://reut.rs/1Wj9ZvW)

Big bombing in Ankara…“A car bombing in Turkey’s capital has killed at least 27 people and wounded around 75 others on Sunday, officials said. The blast occurred on the city’s main boulevard, Ataturk Bulvari, close to Ankara’s main square, Kizilay. It happened adjacent to bus stops near a park. The private NTV news channel said a car, believed to be laden with explosives, detonated close to a bus. Several vehicles then caught fire, it said. The area is close to government offices, including ministries.” (Anakara http://cbsn.ws/1Wja6Yg)

Another fratricide incident in UN Mali mission… “Two UN peacekeepers were shot dead and a third slightly wounded by one of their colleagues in northern Mali, the UN mission said on Sunday, less than three weeks after a similar incident. ‘Yesterday (Saturday) at around 1900 GMT a tragic incident occurred in the MINUSMA camp at Tessalit, in the Kidal region in which a peacekeeper fired on three of his colleagues,’ a statement from the MINUSMA mission said, without giving the nationalities of the peacekeepers.” (AFP http://yhoo.it/1Wjaq9o)

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Africa

Cameroon said raids on Boko Haram strongholds along the country’s northern border with Nigeria are taking a huge toll, with hospitals in the area overwhelmed by victims wounded during insurgency efforts, officials said. (VOA http://bit.ly/1QPHtAo)

The annual rains are approaching in northeast Nigeria but with farmers having fled the Boko Haram conflict and their fields fallow, it’s feared another planting season will come and go. (AFP http://yhoo.it/1YOAefc)

The South African government has banned from this year, hunting of the so-called “Big 5” game animals in the country. (Africa News http://bit.ly/1WjaJkw)

MENA

Up to 1 million Moroccans marched through their capital Sunday to protest the U.N. secretary-general’s remarks about the contested Western Sahara territory. (AP http://yhoo.it/1SLgWH8)

Saudi-led helicopters attacked al Qaeda militants in Aden overnight in an effort to dislodge them from a stronghold in the southern port city, killing at least 18 people, medics and a security official said on Sunday. (AFP http://yhoo.it/1Wjaq9o)

Syria peace talks due to begin in Geneva this week look set to struggle, with the sides showing no sign of compromise over the issue at the heart of the five-year-long conflict: the future of President Bashar al-Assad. (Reuters http://yhoo.it/1QPHrJ4)

The Syrian peace talks resume today. Here’s a look at the big issues on the table, and how the man in charge of the talks, UN envoy Stephan di Mistura, plans on mediating through the talks. (Reuters http://reut.rs/1Wja6aT)

The al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front seized bases and weapons from a Western-backed rebel group in overnight fighting in northwestern Syria, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Sunday. (Reuters http://yhoo.it/1Xofny4)

Asia

Nepal authorities opened banking channels Sunday to start distributing reconstruction cash to earthquake victims, almost 11 months after the tremor killed nearly 9,000 people and destroyed more than half a million homes. (AFP http://yhoo.it/1UqZYxM)

An insurgent group fighting alongside Afghanistan’s Taliban has said it is ready to join political reconciliation talks with the Kabul government, despite being deeply skeptical about peace intentions of the other side. (VOA http://bit.ly/1Xofslq)

A woman from a big Chinese city visits her boyfriend’s rural hometown and is so appalled by the squalor she sees that she dumps him. The story was fake, but it swept through Chinese media because it highlighted a deep societal gap that the ruling Communist Party has vowed to close. (AP http://yhoo.it/1SLh09I)

The Americas

Brazilians took to the streets on Sunday for a day of nationwide protests against embattled President Dilma Rousseff that are widely seen as a key test of her ability to weather the political and economic crises lashing the country. (WaPo http://wapo.st/1WjaEgY)

Two decades ago, a section of the Amazon rainforest was flooded for a dam that currently produces little electricity. Engineers now see that artificial lake as an ideal surface for floating solar panels. (AFP http://yhoo.it/1YOAfQo)

…and the rest

The human misery being endured by refugees has reached a deplorable peak at the overcrowded Idomeni camp on the Greek border with Macedonia, a UN refugee agency spokesman said Sunday. (AFP http://yhoo.it/1QPHsg3)

A draft European Union plan to send back some migrants to Turkey has legal and moral flaws and could put vulnerable people at risk, the head of Amnesty International said, calling on Europe to take in more people seeking refuge instead. (Reuters http://yhoo.it/1SLgWac)

Austria’s foreign minister says the route leading through Italy to central Europe also will need to be blocked to migrants after his country’s decisions triggered the closure of the Balkan route. (AP http://yhoo.it/1SLgWH0)

The cost of managing the migrant crisis in Greece will exceed a previous estimate of $670 million as more and more refugees are forced to remain in the country, Bank of Greece Governor Yannis Stournaras said on Sunday. (Reuters http://yhoo.it/1QPHuVd)

Opinion/Blogs

On the fight against HIV and AIDS—and on the people who really started the conversation. (Medium http://bit.ly/1nHsgHc)

Do international NGOs still have the right to exist? (Guardian http://bit.ly/1SLgUPu)

A look at how the Syrian conflict has changed the world (AP http://yhoo.it/1SLgZ5F)

Boko Haram is losing, but so is food production (IRIN http://bit.ly/1SLjwNs)

Are as Many Civilians Dying in South Sudan as in Syria? (On the ground http://nyti.ms/1YOEJq8)

The Strange And Surprising Debate Over How To Help A Malnourished Kid (Goats and Soda http://n.pr/1SLjzss)

African underdevelopment solved (Cherokee Gothic http://bit.ly/1TGx11V)

The ‘Big Man’ Syndrome in Africa (Africa is a Country http://bit.ly/1RYxVTY)

How should we measure access to health care? (Devex http://bit.ly/1RYxUQa)