LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Thousands of children have died of starvation and disease in Boko Haram-ravaged northeastern Nigeria, Doctors Without Borders said Tuesday quoting a new survey that is forcing Nigerian officials to stop denying the crisis. The Paris-based organization hopes that official recognition of the calamity in which “thousands are dying” will help bring … Continue reading
MIDDELBURG, South Africa (AP) — Two white South Africans accused of forcing a black man into a coffin and threatening to set him on fire appeared before a judge on Wednesday as demonstrators protested against racism outside the courthouse. Members of the ruling African National Congress party and opposition parties gathered outside the court in … Continue reading
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Kenya is coercing residents of the world’s largest refugee camp to leave it and return to Somalia where they risk getting killed or forcibly recruited into the Islamic extremist group, al-Shabab, Amnesty International said Tuesday. Some who voluntarily returned to Somalia from Dadaab camp told The Associated Press they are now … Continue reading
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Kenya’s deputy president on Tuesday set ablaze more than 5,250 firearms seized by authorities to discourage the circulation of illegal weapons in a country battling extremist violence. Deputy President William Ruto presided over the burning of rifles and pistols in three stacks about 15 feet high. They were recovered in this … Continue reading
MARRAKECH, Morocco (AP) — Global temperatures are soaring toward a record high this year, the U.N. weather agency said Monday, while another report showed emissions of a key global warming gas have flattened out in the past three years. The reports injected a mix of gloom and hope at U.N. climate talks in Marrakech this … Continue reading
SUN CITY, South Africa (AP) — Alex Noren won the Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa with the round of his life on Sunday, a sublime 63 that took him from six shots off the lead overnight to a 6-shot victory and his fourth title of a remarkable season on the European Tour. Noren was … Continue reading
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South African President Jacob Zuma faced growing calls to resign on Wednesday after the release of a state report that found possible evidence of corruption at top levels of a government whose leader has been enmeshed in scandal. The report by a state watchdog agency came out as thousands of South Africans … Continue reading
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Kenya is pulling out its 1,000 troops deployed to South Sudan as part of the U.N. peacekeeping mission and stopping future deployments after the U.N. secretary-general fired the force’s Kenyan commander, the foreign affairs ministry said Wednesday. In a further blow to regional efforts to calm the civil war, Kenya said … Continue reading
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon fired the commander of the peacekeeping force in South Sudan on Tuesday after an independent investigation sharply criticized the military response to deadly attacks in July on a U.N. compound housing 27,000 displaced people. U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric announced the dismissal of Kenyan Lt. Gen. Johnson Mogoa Kimani … Continue reading
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The Nelson Mandela Foundation on Tuesday sharply criticized South African President Jacob Zuma, saying “political meddling for private interests” during his tenure has weakened state institutions and poses a threat to the country’s democracy. “It is painful for us at the Nelson Mandela Foundation to bear witness to the wheels coming off … Continue reading
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A man accused of plotting to bomb a western Kansas apartment complex where 120 Somali immigrants live told The Associated Press on Monday that federal prosecutors waited until 10 minutes before his detention hearing to share their evidence with his defense attorney. Patrick Stein called the AP from jail in response … Continue reading
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South African prosecutors on Monday dropped fraud charges against the finance minister and two former tax officials, reversing a decision that was criticized by many South Africans and deepened concern about the country’s struggling economy and alleged government mismanagement. The turnaround came just two days before Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan was due … Continue reading
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South Africa on Friday reversed its early support for the International Criminal Court and said it will withdraw from it, raising concerns of a possible African exodus that would undermine a human rights tribunal accused by some leaders of unfairly targeting the continent. The announcement followed a similar decision by Burundi this … Continue reading
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South Sudan rebel leader Riek Machar says he could return to the turbulent country as early as next month, even if he has to enter the way he fled — on foot. He has begun speaking out again after a long silence, during which he trekked 40 days through the bush into … Continue reading
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Student protesters berated the vice-chancellor of one of South Africa’s top universities on Wednesday, venting their anger over school fees at what was supposed to be a peace-building event. “You are a very cruel man. I hate you,” student leader Vuyani Pambo said into a microphone as Adam Habib, vice-chancellor of the … Continue reading
ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Nigeria’s government is negotiating the release of another 83 of the Chibok schoolgirls taken in a mass abduction two-and-a-half years ago, but more than 100 others appear unwilling to leave their Boko Haram Islamic extremist captors, a community leader said Tuesday. The unwilling girls may have been radicalized by Boko Haram … Continue reading
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South African police raided a university student residence in Johannesburg early Sunday, arresting a leader of sometimes violent protests for free education who caused an outcry last year when he declared admiration for Adolf Hitler. The arrest of Mcebo Dlamini, a former student council president at the University of the Witwatersrand, followed … Continue reading
ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Joy, jubilation and dancing erupted Sunday, Oct. 9, when a group of Nigerian parents were reunited with 21 schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram 2 ½ years ago and freed in the first negotiated release organized by the government and the Islamic extremist group. The girls were hugged and embraced by their … Continue reading
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu shed tears of gratitude on his 85th birthday on Friday in South Africa, where he presided over a cathedral Mass despite his poor health. Separately, in a newspaper column, the former archbishop said he would like to have the option of a “dignified assisted death” … Continue reading
RABAT, Morocco (AP) — Millions of Moroccans headed out to vote Friday, with worries about joblessness and extremism on their minds as they chose which party will lead their next government. Adultery scandals and thwarted election-day attacks marked the unusually venomous campaign in this North African nation, which is allied with the U.S and seen … Continue reading
JUBA, South Sudan (AP) — United Nations peacekeepers abandoned their posts when fighting erupted in South Sudan’s capital in July and then used tear gas on frightened civilians who sought shelter at the center of the U.N. base, a new report says. Wednesday’s report by the U.S.-based Center for Civilians in Conflict adds to a … Continue reading
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — In a racially charged scene, a mostly black group of South African student protesters on Wednesday confronted white students who want demonstrations for free education to stop so they can complete the academic year. The University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg said “many racist remarks” were made when demonstrators disrupted a march … Continue reading
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Recent violent protests at some South African universities have caused about $44 million in property damage and threaten to sabotage the country’s system of higher education, President Jacob Zuma said Monday. Zuma spoke at a national education forum as the University of Cape Town re-opened despite some disruptions by students who said … Continue reading
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — Violence flared again Monday, Sept. 26, in Ethiopia’s restive Oromia region, where 52 people were killed a day earlier in a stampede when police tried to disrupt an anti-government protest amid a massive religious festival. Clashes between security forces and protesters erupted Sunday evening and continued Monday morning in the towns … Continue reading
LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Nigeria is suing several leading oil companies for $12.7 billion of crude oil that allegedly was exported illegally to the United States between 2011 and 2014, officials said Tuesday. The Federal High Court in Lagos begins hearings next week in cases filed against Nigerian subsidiaries of U.S. multinational Chevron, British-Dutch Shell, … Continue reading
Spartan Echo 