by Natasha Belle This Cameroon native was allotted the opportunity to play basketball in the United States as a teen. He’s no longer playing basketball but has paved the way for disadvantaged youth. His organization has provided the same opportunities through sports while supporting orphans in Africa. Founder Yannick Formbor, 33, grew up in Douala, … Continue reading
ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (AP) — European Union and African leaders pledged Wednesday to do more to help thousands of migrants stranded in squalid detention centers in Libya, the main jumping-off point for desperate people setting out in unseaworthy boats in search of better lives in Europe. While youth and development are the main themes … Continue reading
WHO’S RUNNING? Who knows? Opposition leader Raila Odinga, whose legal challenge claiming vote-rigging led to this new election, has said he won’t take part on Thursday because electoral reforms have not been made. Now he vows to turn his political coalition into a “resistance movement.” But the electoral commission has said Odinga will be on … Continue reading
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — More than 300 people are dead after the truck bombing in Somalia’s capital and scores of others remain missing, authorities said Monday, as the fragile Horn of Africa nation reeled from one of the world’s worst attacks in years. As funerals continued, the government said the death toll is expected to … Continue reading
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — The death toll from a truck bombing in Somalia’s capital has risen above 300, the director of an ambulance service said Monday, as the fragile Horn of Africa nation reeled from the deadliest single attack it’s ever experienced. More people died of their wounds in the past few hours, said … Continue reading
MILAN (AP) — Some 600 migrants rescued at sea arrived Friday in Sicily — one of the biggest influxes since Italy struck a deal with Libyan authorities to limit migrant smuggling — raising concerns of a renewed surge on the Libyan human trafficking route. The migrants, including many unaccompanied minors from sub-Saharan Africa, were rescued … Continue reading
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Hundreds of vultures in Namibia died after feeding on an elephant carcass that poachers had poisoned. Poachers in Zimbabwe used cyanide to kill dozens of elephants for their ivory tusks. In Mozambique three lions died after eating bait infused with a crop pesticide. Poisoning Africa’s wildlife is an old practice, but conservationists … Continue reading
NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon is launching Brown Sugar, a subscription video-on-demand service that features what it calls the biggest collection of the baddest African-American movies of all time. Brown Sugar offers films such as “Shaft,” ”Cotton Comes to Harlem,” ”In the Heat of the Night,” ”Cleopatra Jones,” ”Crash,” ”Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset … Continue reading
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Islamic extremists attacked a popular Somalia restaurant in an overnight siege and killed 31 people — many at point-blank range — before they were slain by security forces, police said Thursday. Survivors described harrowing scenes of hiding under tables and behind curtains as the five gunmen hunted for victims in the … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Thursday that he is “very close” to naming a new FBI director to replace the one he fired more than a week ago. Asked how close he is to making an announcement, Trump said, “soon.” During an Oval Office appearance with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, Trump was … 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
Spartan Echo 