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This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 12 NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Vultures scavenge for dead animals along a river turned sewer conduit in Kenya's capital Nairobi. Its waters turn from clear to black as it traverses informal settlements and industrial hubs. The river and its tributaries cross Kibera, known as Africa’s largest slum with close to 200,000 residents, and other informal settlements. It skirts dozens of factories that manufacture textiles, liquor and building materials. Many have been accused by environmentalists of discharging raw sewage and other pollutants like oil, plastic and glass into the water. Now the new national government, installed after the August election, says it's on a mission to clean up the Nairobi River. Nairobi is one of Africa’s fastest growing cities and is struggling to balance the needs of creating jobs and protecting the environment … [Read more...] about Is there hope for a dying river in Kenya’s growing capital?

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 8 BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon’s top prosecutor Wednesday ordered the release of all suspects detained in the investigation into the deadly 2020 port blast in Beirut and filed charges against the judge leading the probe, he told The Associated Press. The move by chief prosecutor Judge Ghassan Oweidat marked another blow to the investigation, which has stalled for years. The probe has threatened to rattle Lebanon’s ruling elite, which is rife with corruption and mismanagement, and has helped push the country into an unprecedented economic meltdown. Oweidat charged Bitar with resuming his work despite legal challenges against him that had halted the investigation, abusing authority, conducting work contradictory to his prerogatives, and overstepping his authority. He also issued a travel ban. The decision came after Bitar on Monday resumed the investigation … [Read more...] about Top prosecutor orders release of Beirut port blast detainees

TEL AVIV - Two Israelis were injured Saturday in a shooting in East Jerusalem, a day after a lethal shooting rampage at a Jerusalem synagogue, the latest in an escalating string of violence that threatens to plunge the region into a new round of bloodshed. Israel's emergency services said that they received a report of the shooting in Ma'alot Ir David, an Israeli settlement in East Jerusalem, at 10:42 a.m. on Saturday. The alleged shooter, a 13-year-old Palestinian from the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan, was apprehended by an armed civilian at the scene, according to the Israeli police. Earlier reports mistakenly said that the shooter was killed on-site. Saturday's shooting came a day after a Palestinian gunman killed seven people, including a 14-year-old boy, during Friday night prayer services outside a synagogue in East Jerusalem, spurring celebrations by Palestinians in Gaza, East Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank. On Saturday, Israeli authorities announced new … [Read more...] about After deadly attack in East Jerusalem, risk of escalation

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 17 LIMA, Peru (AP) — When police fire tear gas at protesters demanding the resignation of Peruvian President Dina Boluarte, most run away. A few, though, run toward the gas canisters as quickly as possible — to neutralize them. These are the “deactivators.” Donning gas masks, safety goggles and thick gloves, these volunteers grab the hot canisters and toss them inside large plastic bottles filled with a mixture of water, baking soda and vinegar. The deactivators made their debut in Peru street protests in 2020, inspired by protesters in Hong Kong who in 2019 unveiled new strategies to counteract the eye-stinging, breath-stealing effects of tear gas. With protesters in Lima facing a nearly daily fusillade of tear gas, more people have joined the ranks of deactivators trying to shield them and keep … [Read more...] about Peru’s protest ‘deactivators’ run toward tear gas to stop it

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 15 GOMA, Congo (AP) — It took years for Marie Louise Wambale to re-establish her life after fighting between the M23 rebel group and the Congolese army forced her to flee with almost nothing more than a decade ago. Like most Catholics in eastern Congo, she hoped that Pope Francis could bring a message of hope at a time when the M23 rebels are posing their greatest threat here since 2012. “Many people were disappointed because they wanted to welcome him to our home, for him to come here and live our suffering, to feel it with his own eyes,” she said. “We wanted him to live it because there are many people who have fled the war. There are pregnant mothers who gave birth in the camps in very bad conditions — many women and children are suffering.” Now Wambale has been tasked with taking this message to Kinshasa, … [Read more...] about Survivors of conflict to meet Pope Francis in Congo

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 8 AGUADULCE, PANAMA — One-year-old Carlos Alejandro Lee plays on the living-room floor with Matchbox cars. His father fiddles with his cell phone a few feet away. His grandfather calls out from the patio. Taking a brief rest from a day of chasing cattle, the older Lees jokingly taunt each other in a familiar game of one-upmanship. The grandfather, Carlos Lee, a provincial all-star in Panama, boasts of being the best baseball player in the family. The father, Carlos Noriel Lee, the newest Astros slugger, simply wags his finger in disagreement. The six-year, $100 million major-league contract he recently signed is all the validation he needs. Lee, 30, drew his $100 million with a powerful swing that has averaged 98 runs driven in over his eight-year major-league career, providing promise that he will fortify the middle of the batting order behind … [Read more...] about Astros’ $100 million slugger is a breed apart