(Atlanta Black Star) Africa is set to become the world’s economic engine within the next 10 years and during the 21st century is a well-known fact. Sub-Saharan Africa is the second fastest-growing region of the world today, trailing only developing Asia. In 2012, sub-Saharan Africa maintained solid growth, with output growth at 5 percent on average.
As a result, Africa now has the fastest-growing middle class in the world. Some 313 million people, 34 percent of Africa’s population, spend US $2.20 a day, a 100 percent increase in less than 20 years, according to the African Development Bank. It is also acknowledged that Africa’s middle class is on course to becoming larger than that of India. By 2060, Africans living below the poverty line are estimated be in the minority – 33 percent.
(ABC) The Williams sisters have already won five Wimbledon ladies' doubles titles 11 times, the last of which came in 2012.Overall, Serena and Venus have won 13 Grand Slam doubles titles.
Their path to a sixth has been eased slightly by a defeat for number one seeds Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza. Serena will face either five-time champion Venus or Angelique Kerber in Saturday's final.
Zimbabweans have embarked on a nation-wide strike which has led to some cities across the country shutting down on Wednesday.
The protest was called by activists to put pressure on the government, which is said to be responsible for the country’s deteriorating economic situation.
Many Zimbabweans stayed at home while foreign banks and most businesses in the capital Harare shut down operations turning the city into a ghost town.
A variety of nut thefts hit an all-time high in California in 2015, according to CargoNet, an alliance of cargo shipping firms and law enforcement agencies aimed at preventing losses, which totaled $4.6 million overall from 31 reported cases — more than the three previous years, combined.
Sophisticated organizations often use high-tech tactics, hacking into trucking companies to steal their identities, AP reported. They carry fake shipping papers, pose as truckers, and drive off with loads of nuts such as cashews, almonds, walnuts or pistachios — some worth $500,000 per load.
COMPTON (MNS) — Compton Fire Department Chief Jon Thompson has been placed on leave pending an investigation into compliance in the use of defibrillators by members of the department.
Deputy Fire Chief Bryan Batiste, who has assumed Thompson’s responsibilities on an interim basis, says the removal of four of the key lifesaving devices from the department’s trucks and ambulances shouldn’t worry residents.
Batiste said county regulators ordered the removal last week after fire officials couldn’t provide documentation showing some firefighters had been properly trained to use them.
The container situated at the police camp where the four police officers suspected of being involved in the killing work was burned down by mostly motorcycle taxi drivers despite its cordoning off as a crime scene.
(USA TODAY) Rio was awarded the games back in 2009, during a period of economic and political optimism that now seems a long way off. In the years since, the country has seen its economy disintegrate, the currency tumble and a shocking slew of scandals practically dismantle the government.
There’s trouble at the local level, too: Rio de Janeiro’s state government is broke. Recently the state didn’t have the cash to pay public workers like firefighters, cops, teachers and doctors, and half a million of them went on strike, shutting down hospitals and schools across the state.
What's more, a startling investigation by the Associated Press last year revealed that the waters Olympic athletes will swim and boat in are so polluted with human feces and other contaminants that Olympians could risk getting ill.
As Americans gather to celebrate 240 years of Independence, RT spoke to the leaders of the Texas and California independence movements over the possibility of some future secession in an effort to build separate sovereign countries.
The Texas Nationalist Movement, which says it has about a quarter of a million supporters, has already called on the state's governor to support a referendum for Texans.
Besides #Texit, there is also a similar movement in California, which is not only the most populous American state. It has an economy the size of France. Many Californians and Texans, however, are getting tired of seeing their tax dollars go to Washington.
(CNN) - The U.S. Justice Department's civil rights division will be the lead agency investigating the shooting of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Gov. John Bel Edwards told reporters Wednesday.
The U.S. attorney's office, the FBI and state police also will be involved, he said.
Edwards said he has "very serious concerns" after having watched a cell phone video of the shooting.
"The video is disturbing to say the least," he said.
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He said officials agreed there should be an independent investigation."There should be no doubt in anybody's mind that this incident is going to be investigated impartially and thoroughly," the governor said.Edwards said he expressed his condolences Wednesday to Sterling's family, speaking on the phone with his aunt.
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(Newser) – After seeing the results of the three previous trials of Baltimore Police officers charged in the death of Freddie Gray, Lt. Brian Rice has decided to be tried by a judge rather than a jury, the Baltimore Sun reports.