NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Two Iranian men were charged Thursday in a Kenyan court with collecting information to facilitate a terrorist act after they were allegedly found with video footage of the Israeli embassy. Sayed Nasrollah Ebrahim and Abdolhosein Gholi Safaee were arrested Tuesday in an Iranian diplomatic car on Bishops Road in Nairobi, after … Continue reading
CAIRO (AP) — In his bedroom, there’s a drawer full of his medications — along with CDs of a popular Egyptian Muslim preacher. On the walls of the home are two paintings by his father. They’ve had a strained relationship. He opens an album and shows pictures of his mother. His mother supported him after … Continue reading
BANJUL, Gambia (AP) — Voters in the tiny West African nation of Gambia cast marbles Thursday in an election widely expected to keep the country’s ruler of more than two decades in power despite a unified challenge from the opposition. Polls closed at 5 p.m. and election workers were expected to work late into the … Continue reading
DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Ousmane Sow, a Senegalese sculptor whose work celebrated African tribes along with historical icons such as Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King Jr., has died at 81, the culture minister said Thursday. The Senegalese people “are losing one of their most emblematic figures” — a man who was “admired everywhere,” Mbagnick … Continue reading
KIGALI, Rwanda (AP) — The Catholic Church in Rwanda apologized on Sunday for the church’s role in the 1994 genocide, saying it regretted the actions of those who participated in the massacres. “We apologize for all the wrongs the church committed. We apologize on behalf of all Christians for all forms of wrongs we committed. … Continue reading
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis pulled shut the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica on Sunday, formally ending the Holy Year of Mercy he declared to stress the need for greater reconciliation and forgiveness in his church and in the world. After closing the ornate door, Francis urged some 70,000 people attending Mass in … Continue reading
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Police officers have killed four suspected extremists in Kenya’s volatile Mandera County, a border region hard-hit by recent attacks by the Somali extremist group al-Shabab. Police killed the men at the Somali border while ambushing a group of about 20 suspected members of a cell of al-Shabab militants on Saturday, North … Continue reading
ROME (AP) — Two Italians and a Canadian citizen kidnapped in southern Libya in September were freed unharmed and brought to Italy early Saturday, authorities said. Italian authorities said the intelligence services of Libya, Italy and Canada cooperated in securing the release of the three men after nearly seven weeks of captivity. The men, technicians … Continue reading
MARRAKECH, Morocco (AP) — Climate negotiators started work Monday on implementing the Paris Agreement on global warming amid uncertainty over how the U.S. election will impact the landmark deal as temperatures and greenhouse gases soar to new heights. U.N. climate chief Patricia Espinosa told delegates in the rain-soaked Moroccan city of Marrakech that “no politician … Continue reading
DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Gambia has become the third African nation to say it will leave the International Criminal Court, deepening fears of a mass pullout from the body that pursues some of the world’s worst atrocities. In announcing the decision Tuesday night on national television, Gambia accused the court of unfairly targeting Africa and … Continue reading
WARRI, Nigeria (AP) — Nigerian militants have bombed an oil export pipeline operated by U.S.-based multinational Chevron, according to the attackers and residents, and the militants are warning companies not to carry out repairs to sabotaged infrastructure that has reduced oil exports from Africa’s largest economy to a near 30-year low. The warning against repairs … Continue reading
MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) — Some 83 Nigerian soldiers are missing in action since Boko Haram Islamic extremists attacked a remote military base in the northeast, senior army officers said Sunday. The soldiers were unable to fight back and fled because Boko Haram had superior fire power, the officers told The Associated Press, speaking on condition … Continue reading
YAOUNDE, Cameroon (AP) — Thousands of Cameroonians have flocked to hospitals in the country’s two main cities on Sunday in search of corpses and survivors after an overloaded train derailed Friday, killing more than 70 people and injuring 600. Most of the victims are now receiving treatment in hospitals in the capital, Yaounde, and the … Continue reading
KIGALI, Rwanda (AP) — Lawmakers in Burundi overwhelmingly voted Wednesday in support of a plan to withdraw from the International Criminal Court, something no country has ever done. The decision escalates a bitter dispute with the international community over the human rights situation in the East African country, which has seen more than a year … Continue reading
MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) — An explosion targeted a passenger-filled taxi in northeastern Nigeria’s largest city on Wednesday, killing eight people in the deadliest bombing there in several months, officials said. The National Emergency Management Agency said in a statement that 15 people had been hospitalized with injuries. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the blast. … 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
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — The timing is uncomfortable. One of Africa’s best-performing economies on Wednesday launched its latest massive infrastructure project, a railway linking the landlocked country with a major port on the Gulf of Aden. But it came just days after dozens were killed in anti-government protests in the region the railway runs … 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
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The death of a South African university worker who was hospitalized after a student protest has deepened tensions over unrest roiling campuses across the nation. The government on Tuesday called for an investigation, saying protesters were responsible for the death last week at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, which has … Continue reading
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South African media say police fired rubber bullets during clashes with university students protesting for free education. The violence broke out Wednesday at Rhodes University in Grahamstown. The African News Agency says 10 students were arrested during the confrontation with police. Several South African universities have suspended classes because of clashes between … Continue reading
BENGHAZI, Libya (AP) — A powerful Libyan general whose forces recently captured several key oil facilities has rejected a U.N.-brokered government and said the country would be better served by a leader with “high-level military experience.” In a series of written responses to questions from The Associated Press this week, Field Marshal Khalifa Hifter said … Continue reading
KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — The U.N. ambulance carried an urgent patient: a local woman in labor. South Sudan government soldiers stopped the ambulance 15 times at checkpoints in the capital, Juba. The Aug. 2 journey, which usually takes 15 minutes, lasted nearly two hours. “The baby was dead on delivery,” says a confidential report from … Continue reading
ROSETTA, Egypt (AP) — Rescue workers on Tuesday pulled dozens of bodies from the hold of an Egyptian fishing boat that sank in the Mediterranean Sea carrying hundreds of migrants trying to make it to Europe, bringing the toll from the disaster to more than 200 dead. As the dead were brought to a pier … Continue reading
KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — When she was younger, Tryphena Natukunda’s mother discouraged her from swallowing her antiretroviral medicines among strangers or even distant relatives. Because the girl had AIDS, which can fuel stigmatization and invite harsh judgment, the mother wanted her daughter’s condition kept a secret within the family. Yet as she grew older, Natukunda, … Continue reading
MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) — Islamic extremists have killed eight soldiers and wounded 17 in two attacks in northeastern Nigeria, the country’s military said Monday. The attacks bring the official toll to 10 troops killed and 24 wounded this past week after a lull during which the extremists confronted a leadership struggle. The Islamic State group’s … Continue reading
Spartan Echo 