DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The president of Somalia, a country plagued by violence from Islamic militants, said Tuesday that al-Qaida and the Islamic State group constitute the same “evil force” and must be confronted in the wake of the attacks on Paris. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud knows the danger extremist groups pose. He … Continue reading
ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Nigeria’s leader has ordered the arrest of the former president’s national security adviser for allegedly stealing billions of dollars meant to buy weapons to fight Boko Haram Islamic extremists rampaging across northeast Nigeria. “Thousands of needless Nigerian deaths would have been avoided” if the money had been properly spent, Femi Adesina, … Continue reading
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The eight suspected poachers stood under a tree, apparently unaware they were being tracked by 10 rangers from Congo’s Garamba National Park. But as the rangers approached, gunfire rang out from the tall grass nearby, where other heavily armed men were hidden. The dragnet swiftly turned into a desperate fight for survival. … Continue reading
BUJUMBURA, Burundi (AP) — At least nine people were killed in an overnight attack at a bar in the latest violence in Burundi’s capital, witnesses said Sunday, as security forces went door-to-door to disarm civilians in neighborhoods seen as opposition strongholds. Residents found seven bloodied bodies lying on the floor after gunshots were heard Saturday … Continue reading
CAIRO (AP) — International passengers departing Egypt’s Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh continued to line up for flights on Sunday, as the first of three teams of Russian inspectors was dispatched to the country to examine airport security following the Oct. 31 airline disaster. The Russian flight’s crash in the Sinai Peninsula that killed … Continue reading
LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Africa’s biggest telecommunications company is locked in a nasty battle in powerful Nigeria, with billions of dollars at stake. MTN Nigeria, MTN Group’s subsidiary here, was fined $5.2 billion for failing to meet an August deadline to deactivate 5.2 million unregistered cellphone SIM cards — considered a security threat with Nigeria … Continue reading
DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania (AP) — Five Cabinet members from Tanzania’s ruling party have lost their parliamentary seats, according to partial results released Tuesday by the country’s election commission. They lost to candidates representing an opposition alliance of four parties including Chadema, the main opposition party. Results for the presidential election are trickling in and … Continue reading
ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (AP) — Ivory Coast’s President Alassane Ouattara easily won re-election in the first vote since a disputed poll five years ago sparked violence that killed thousands in the West African economic powerhouse, the electoral commission announced early Wednesday. Ouattara received nearly 84 percent of Sunday’s vote, trouncing the opposition, according to results … Continue reading
ZANZIBAR, Tanzania (AP) — The political future of Zanzibar, a semiautonomous archipelago off the cost of Tanzania, was thrown into doubt Wednesday when its election commission chief nullified results of an election that the opposition claimed it had won. The results were scrapped because of several issues, Jecha Salim announced without saying when new elections … Continue reading
BRAZZAVILLE, Republic of Congo (AP) — Voters in Republic of Congo cast their ballots Sunday on a constitutional referendum that if approved will allow the country’s longtime president to seek yet another term in office. Under the current rules, President Denis Sassou N’Guesso is barred from seeking re-election because he is already 71 and … Continue reading
Elections were being held in nine countries around the world on Sunday. Here’s a look at what’s at stake: — ARGENTINA: Argentines chose between continuity versus a financial overhaul when they voted for the successor to President Cristina Fernandez, a polarizing leader who dominated national politics for 12 years. Her chosen successor, Daniel Scioli, the … Continue reading
BENGHAZI, Libya (AP) — Even before the film’s release, Hollywood director Michael Bay’s new action movie is stirring controversy among government officials and residents of Benghazi, Libya’s second-largest city and the birthplace of the uprising against longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi. The film, “13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi,” depicts the events of the … Continue reading
SOMERSET WEST, South Africa (AP) — The mother of Oscar Pistorius’ slain girlfriend on Wednesday delivered the speech her daughter wrote and had planned to give at a South African school on the day she was killed by the Olympic athlete. June Steenkamp went back to Reeva Steenkamp’s old high school in their home town … Continue reading
CAIRO (AP) — A mix of voters’ apathy and frustration characterized elections held Sunday for Egypt’s first legislature in more than three years, a chamber widely expected to be compliant with the policies of President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi who, as military chief, ousted the country’s first freely elected leader before he was elected to office himself … Continue reading
OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso (AP) — The Burkina Faso general who took power after last month’s coup has been charged with crimes against humanity, the military prosecutor said Friday, adding that 23 others have also been charged in the coup. Gen. Gilbert Diendere had already been charged with 10 other counts earlier this month, including attacking … Continue reading
BRAZZAVILLE, Republic of Congo (AP) — Six men were injured in clashes between police and opponents of a planned referendum to allow Republic of Congo’s longtime president to run for another term, a local official said. The clashes occurred Saturday in the country’s second largest city, Point-Noire, said Alexandre Honore Paka, the city’s administrator. Six … Continue reading
CONAKRY, Guinea (AP) — Guinea President Alpha Conde has won a second term, the election commission announced Saturday, avoiding a runoff with his closest rival, who vowed to protest the results. “I proclaim that Alpha Conde has been elected president of the republic in the first round,” election commission head Bakary Fofana said Saturday night. … Continue reading
CAIRO (AP) — Egyptian authorities granted government workers a half-day off on Monday in an attempt to bolster low turnout in the country’s election for the first legislature since a chamber dominated by Islamists was dissolved by a court ruling in 2012. There were no signs, however, of larger numbers at polling centers. Monday is … Continue reading
N’DJAMENA, Chad (AP) — At least five suicide bombers on Saturday targeted a village in Chad that is home to thousands of Nigerians who have fled Islamic extremist violence, killing at least 36 people and wounding about 50 others in what appeared to be coordinated attacks, officials said. Authorities blamed the extremist Boko Haram group … Continue reading
CONAKRY, Guinea (AP) — Guinea’s president and main opposition candidate called for calm Sunday when they voted in the country’s presidential election, after days of electoral clashes and as polling stations reported late and insufficient materials. Some 6 million Guineans are expected to vote for eight candidates at more than 14,800 polling stations watched by … Continue reading
DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Nigeria’s Islamic extremist insurgents Boko Haram are blamed for using teens and women to carry out suicide bombings in neighboring Chad and Cameroon this weekend, killing more than 45 people in what Cameroon’s government spokesman said is a move to spread terror as a multinational force prepares to deploy against them. … Continue reading
RABAT, Morocco (AP) — Europe’s climate chief has acknowledged for the first time that climate pledges made by national governments ahead of a major U.N. conference fall short of meeting the international goal of keeping global warming below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit). In an interview Monday with The Associated Press, Climate Commissioner Miguel … Continue reading
MAPUTO, Mozambique (AP) — Craters lie where concrete bunkers once stood, testament to the powerful explosions that occurred when a Mozambican ammunition depot accidentally blew up in 2007, killing more than 100 people. Now work is underway to transform a site littered with old rockets, grenades and shells into a nature reserve with museums, restaurants … Continue reading
LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Those horrendous images of stick-like victims of famine may disappear from your screen. Calamitous famines appear to have vanished from the planet, but more must be done to eradicate all such scourges, including redrafting U.S. terror legislation that inhibits life-saving humanitarian work, says a new report published Monday. The study, part … Continue reading
ZURICH (AP) — The toppling of soccer’s most powerful and recognizable leaders may have been sealed when FIFA President Sepp Blatter agreed to pay Michel Platini, the head of European soccer, 2 million Swiss francs (about $2 million) in 2011. Both men told FIFA’s ethics committee that Blatter was making good on a verbal promise … Continue reading
Spartan Echo 