Some 300,000 people have fled fighting in Sudan's Darfur region in the first five months of 2013, the UN's top aid official Valerie Amos warns. www.bbc.co.uk | 5/23/13 9:45 PM

African leaders plan to meet this weekend at a summit in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, as part of the 50th anniversary celebration of the formation of the Organization of African Unity (OAU).The Theme of the summit is pan-Africanism and renaissance.  “Under this theme, Africa will be looking at that spirit of pan-Africanism that inspires through solidarity, unity of purpose for us to be able to get rid of colonialism and its shackles,” said Erastus Mwencha, the deputy chairman of the ... www.voanews.com | 5/23/13 9:40 PM

Moore, Oklahoma held the first funeral for a victim of Monday's monster tornado -- a nine year-old girl killed when the storm tore apart her elementary school. Windy and rainy weather added to the somber atmosphere as Antonia Candelaria was buried Thursday. She was one of 24 people who died when the twister destroyed entire neighborhoods of the town near Oklahoma City. Early estimates put the damage in Moore at $2 billion. Twelve-hundred homes were blown away or damaged. More than 300 ... www.voanews.com | 5/23/13 9:27 PM

Somali-Canadian rapper K'naan has long drawn musical inspiration from his troubled homeland.

www.topix.net | 5/23/13 9:12 PM

Ominous ties are emerging between skyrocketing sectarian violence in Iraq and Syria's civil war. Analysts say al-Qaida-linked militants are flowing back and forth from both countries and are seeking to use religious differences to bring down the government, not only in Damascus, but also in Baghdad. Iraqis are witnessing the worst violence to rock their country in five years. Bombings and other attacks against Sunni Muslim and Shi’ite targets are stoking sectarian tensions. One major ... www.voanews.com | 5/23/13 8:56 PM

Stocks in Asia and Europe plunged Thursday after a report unexpectedly showed Chinese manufacturing is shrinking. Japan's Nikkei stock index tumbled 7.3 percent after the report's release showing Chinese factory production dropped in May for the first time in seven months. It was the Nikkei's biggest one-day loss since Japan's March 2011 tsunami and nuclear disaster. Stocks in London, Paris and Frankfurt followed suit, closing down more than two percent. U.S. markets closed ... www.voanews.com | 5/23/13 8:50 PM

As the African Union celebrates the 50th anniversary of its founding, a group of respected leaders and activists led by former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan is urging African leaders to maximize the continent’s natural resource potential. The African Progress Panel released their 2013 report this month, stating that African countries must not miss the opportunity to exploit the continent's vast stores of coal, oil, metal ores, and other natural resources. The panel believes the ... www.voanews.com | 5/23/13 8:48 PM

South Sudan President Salva Kiir said Thursday that he would “never accept” the International Criminal Court. He spoke during a visit from new Kenyan president and ICC indictee Uhuru Kenyatta, who pledged the creation of roads, rail and pipelines to deepen economic ties between Kenya and the new nation. It was Uhuru Kenyatta’s first visit to South Sudan since becoming Kenya’s president, and he was greeted with open arms by Salva Kiir, who told him “this is your home” and pledged the new ... www.voanews.com | 5/23/13 8:37 PM

MIAMI -; When Cuban hunger striker Guillermo Farinas arrived in Miami, he said he was prepared to face rejection from radical members of the Cuban-American ... www.trinidadtimes.com | 5/23/13 8:20 PM

Havana, May 23 (Prensa Latina) Half a century from its foundation, the Cuban Institute for Research on Sugar Cane By-Products (ICIDCA) is focusing on agricultural diversification programs with the development of new products. Sources from the sector highlighted among the current guidelines the improvement of the processes to obtain alcohol, torula melasse, sorbitol, animal food, and bioproducts ... www.trinidadtimes.com | 5/23/13 8:19 PM

Santo Domingo.- The United Nations Program for Development (UNDP) on Thursday rejected the planned mine at Loma Miranda (central) by the Canadian company Xstrata Nickel Falcondo. "The deficiency in the environmental impact study concludes that the project doesn't meet the country's environmental and social requirements," said UNDP local representative Velerie Julliand. The ... www.trinidadtimes.com | 5/23/13 8:11 PM

College Park, Md.- The Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico and other tropical storm-prone areas had better get ready for another busy hurricane season, maybe unusually wild, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) forecast Thursday, AP reports. NOAA said there'll be 13 to 20 named Atlantic storms, 7 to 11 that strengthen into hurricanes and 3 to 6 that become major hurricanes. It ... www.trinidadtimes.com | 5/23/13 8:11 PM

Miami.-The Dominican Republic is among Latin America's fastest growing trade partners of China and South Korea, according to an analysis by online publication Latinvex based on figures from the International Monetary Fund and the Korean government. Dominican Republic exports to China last year grew 40.8 percent to $411 million. That was the fifth-highest increase in Latin America. Total ... www.trinidadtimes.com | 5/23/13 8:11 PM

Americans were warned on Thursday to brace for an extremely active hurricane season - less than a year after the devastation of Sandy, which hit the east coast in October 2012 - with 13 to 20 named storms, including seven to ... www.trinidadtimes.com | 5/23/13 7:53 PM

Officials yesterday defended the timing of storm alerts amid cries from many residents that they were unprepared for the heavy downpour that flooded significant portions of New Providence. The thunderstorm passed over the island Tuesday evening and yesterday. Trevor Basden, senior deputy director at the Department of Meteorology, said proper alerts were issued on time. "We were tracking ... www.trinidadtimes.com | 5/23/13 7:07 PM

Perry Walkine awoke Tuesday night to the sound of his kitchen cabinet falling and discovered that his entire apartment was flooded in five inches of water. Walkine, a retiree, lives in the government apartments on Sutton Street, off Lyon Road, in the Kemp Road area. "This is the first time that I have experienced such things with the water," he said. "Last night, one of my ... www.trinidadtimes.com | 5/23/13 7:07 PM