KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Handcuffed and facing the judge, two young women accused of poisoning Kim Jong Nam appeared in court Thursday as their lawyers said Malaysian police still have not handed over security camera footage and documents crucial to the defense. Siti Aisyah, from Indonesia, and Doan Thi Huong of Vietnam are … Continue reading
MEETOTAMULLA, Sri Lanka (AP) — Rescuers on Monday were digging through heaps of mud and trash that collapsed onto a clutch of homes near a garbage dump outside Sri Lanka’s capital, killing at least 30 people and possibly burying dozens more. Hundreds of people had been living in the working-class neighborhood on the fringe of … Continue reading
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Passengers were screaming in horror as the bus driver repeatedly hit the brakes, shouting they weren’t working, before the vehicle plunged into a ravine in the northern Philippines, killing at least 31 people in one of the country’s deadliest recent crashes, officials said Wednesday. The 46 passengers injured in Tuesday’s crash … Continue reading
ENTEBBE, Uganda (AP) — South Sudan’s civil war is now genocide, with violence perpetrated along tribal lines, a senior British official said, urging African leaders to do more to end the conflict in which tens of thousands of people have been killed. Priti Patel, the U.K. secretary of state for international development, said there are … Continue reading
ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Nigerians on Friday marked three years since the mass abduction of nearly 300 schoolgirls by Boko Haram extremists amid anger that government efforts to negotiate their freedom appear to have stalled. Activists were rallying in the capital, Abuja, and commercial hub Lagos to urge President Muhammadu Buhari’s government to do more … Continue reading
BIDI BIDI CAMP, Uganda (AP) — As President Donald Trump seeks to cut foreign aid under the slogan of “America First,” two U.S. senators are proposing making American food assistance more efficient after meeting with victims of South Sudan’s famine and civil war. Following a visit to the world’s largest refugee settlement in northern Uganda … Continue reading
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Somalia’s new military chief survived a suicide car bomb attack Sunday just moments after he was sworn in with a mandate to launch a new offensive against Islamic extremists. Thirteen people were killed the attack. Gen. Mohamed Ahmed Jimale had just been sworn into office and was traveling in a convoy … Continue reading
CAIRO (AP) — They trace their founding to the voyage to Alexandria of St. Mark, the apostle of Jesus and New Testament author. Just a decade or two after the original Easter, which Christians celebrate around the world, tradition states that Mark founded their church, one of the earliest in the Middle East and the … Continue reading
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Tens of thousands of South Africans on Wednesday marked the 75th birthday of President Jacob Zuma with a protest against him, pushing for his resignation because of scandals and his dismissal of a widely respected finance minister. The president, meanwhile, danced at a party where well-wishers said they loved him. The rally … Continue reading
DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Radical Islamic militants from Boko Haram are increasingly forcing children to carry out bombings, with the number of attacks since January already nearly reaching the total for all of last year, according to a report released Wednesday by the U.N. children’s agency. UNICEF says at least 117 attacks have been carried … Continue reading
CHICAGO (AP) — A blogger from Singapore who was jailed for his online posts blasting his government was granted asylum to remain in the United States, an immigration judge ruled. Amos Yee, 18, has been detained by federal immigration authorities since December when he was taken into custody at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. Attorneys said … Continue reading
NEW DELHI (AP) — The Bangladesh army said on Monday it has killed all four militants believed to have seized a building in an eastern city four days ago with a large cache of ammunition. Army spokesman Brig. Gen. Mohammad Fakhrul Ahsan said two bodies were found in the building in addition to six people, … Continue reading
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Royal Dutch Shell’s Nigeria subsidiary “fiercely opposed” environmental testing and is concealing data showing thousands of Nigerians are exposed to health hazards from a stalled cleanup of the worst oil spills in the West African nation’s history, according to a German geologist contracted by the Dutch-British multinational. An environmental study found … Continue reading
BEIJING (AP) — China’s trading partners are bringing the top U.N. food standards official to Beijing in a last-ditch attempt to persuade regulators to scale back plans to require intensive inspections of food imports — including such low-risk items as wine and chocolate — that Washington and Europe say could disrupt billions of dollars in … Continue reading
HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Zimbabwe’s 93-year-old leader might be slowing down, but his busy foreign travels have led the opposition to call him the “non-resident president.” President Robert Mugabe has visited Singapore, Ghana, Swaziland and Mauritius in the past three weeks alone. At times he stops over in Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare, for just a night … Continue reading
Spartan Echo 