KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Uganda is at a “breaking point” as almost 3,000 South Sudanese refugees pour into the country every day, the United Nations refugee chief and Uganda’s government said Thursday, calling for international help to support over 800,000 people now sheltering there. The U.N. has called it the world’s fastest-growing refugee crisis. More … Continue reading
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysian police on Friday formally identified Kim Jong Nam as the victim of a fatal nerve agent attack at Kuala Lumpur’s airport, an expected but significant development in a case that has broken down the once-warm ties between North Korea and Malaysia. Kim is the long-estranged half brother of North … Continue reading
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South Africa’s government is moving ahead with plans to allow a domestic trade and limited export of rhino horns, alarming many international conservationists who believe rhinos will be more vulnerable to poachers after a record slaughter in the past decade. Draft regulations would allow a foreigner with permits to export “for personal … Continue reading
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — The death toll has reached 62 from the collapse of a mountain of trash at a massive garbage dump on the outskirts of Ethiopia’s capital, the state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporate reported Monday, as relatives waited for news of the dozens of people said to be missing. It was not clear … Continue reading
BEIJING (AP) — China’s announcement of a 7 percent rise in military spending for the year came shortly after President Donald Trump called for a 10 percent increase in America’s defense budget, prompting renewed scrutiny of how the two countries’ capabilities compare. While the U.S. military remains the dominant force in Asia and the world, … Continue reading
SINGAPORE (AP) — Inbee Park made a birdie on the last hole Friday to take a one-stroke lead over Michelle Wie and two others after two rounds of the LPGA’s Women’s Champions tournament. Park lost her place atop the leaderboard when she made a double-bogey on the 12th hole, her only blemish in two rounds … Continue reading
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — The Latest on Malaysia’s investigation into the killing of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s half brother (all times local): 12:30 p.m. A Malaysian official says the country is preventing North Korean diplomats from leaving because Pyongyang “manipulated” the murder case involving the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong … Continue reading
BANDARERO, Kenya (AP) — Loko Kalicha Junno says she trekked for a week to save her 10 cattle from dying of thirst and hunger. But none survived. Now, at one of the last watering holes in this remote village, she fears for herself. “If this water gets finished I am going to die,” said the … Continue reading
TSHOLOTSHO, Zimbabwe (AP) — From kitchen items to livestock and even her house, Assa Mkwananzi says she has “lost it all” to floods that have hit southern Zimbabwe. “We lost all our blankets, pots and cooking utensils, our goats and chickens as well because of the heavy rains,” Mkwananzi told The Associated Press in the … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — Without fanfare, President Donald Trump signed a scaled-back version of his controversial ban on many foreign travelers Monday, hoping to avoid a new round of lawsuits and outrage while fulfilling a central campaign promise. His order still bars new visas for people from six Muslim-majority countries and temporarily shuts down America’s refugee … Continue reading
BANJUL, Gambia (AP) — As Gambia enters a new era of democracy, President Adama Barrow has reiterated his commitment to ending human rights abuses in the country. “Orders have already been given for all those detained without trial to be released,” he said Saturday before thousands of Gambians who gathered at Independence Stadium Saturday … Continue reading
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Somalia’s new president visited victims wounded by the Mogadishu car bomb that on Sunday killed 34. President Mohamed Abdulahi Mohamed offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of those who planned the blast. The explosion hit a busy marketplace in the western part of the capital, said police … Continue reading
KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Famine has been declared in two counties of South Sudan, according to an announcement by the South Sudan government and three U.N. agencies, which says the calamity is the result of prolonged civil war and an entrenched economic crisis that has devastated the war-torn East African nation. The official classification of … Continue reading
SURIGAO, Philippines (AP) — A powerful nighttime earthquake in the southern Philippines killed at least six people and injured more than 120, with officials combing through cracked buildings and nearby towns Saturday to check on the damage and other possible casualties. The magnitude 6.7 quake roused residents from their sleep late Friday in Surigao del … Continue reading
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Seven Kenyan doctors who are officials of the medics union were jailed Monday for failing to call off a two-month strike by doctors at public hospitals that has seen several die due to lack of medical care. Judge Hellen Wasilwa said she could not delay further the contempt of court sentence … Continue reading
Spartan Echo 