(Reuters) - Edward Brooke, the Massachusetts Republican who was the first African-American to be popularly elected to the U.S. Senate, died on Saturday at the age of 95, the state Republican Party said. Brooke was Massachusetts attorney general when he was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1966, at a time when the country was gripped by racial unrest. Before his election, there were two other African-American senators shortly after the Civil War. But until early in the 20th century, senators were picked by state legislatures and not by popular vote. In the Senate, Brooke joined a small band of liberal Republicans who often went against the wishes of the Republican president, Richard Nixon. Brooke opposed the buildup of troops in Vietnam, and later in the middle of the Watergate scandal, he became the first Republican senator to call for Nixon to resign. He was re-elected in 1972 by an almost 2-1 margin. But by the time he ran for a third term in 1978, he was involved i

The Speed Governors and Road Safety association is asking the driver of the matatu that killed 10 people in an accident in Embu to bear responsibility for the deaths. The association says preliminary observation indicate that the speed governor installed in the matatu belonging to Neno sacco was faulty while the driver was speeding and overtaking at a dangerous point. They spoke even as the roads claimed nine more deaths across parts of the country. Speaking in Embu town after visiting the scene of the accident and interviewing those who survived the crash, Gitonga said they had established that the matatu regular driver had called in sick and was replaced by an inexperienced person. He said the number of accidents had reduced since the government introduced digital speed governors but some drivers were tampering with the gadgets. Road Association of Kenya chairman David Kiarie urged the National Transport and Safety Authority to take action against the sacco. He also

Abu Anas al-Liby, who was due to stand trial over the Tanzania and Kenya bombings, dies from complications after liver surgery Abu Anas Al-Liby was due to stand trial on 12 January over the attacks, in which 244 people were killed and more than 5,000 wounded. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images A Libyan man accused of masterminding the 1998 al-Qaida bombings of US embassies in Kenya and  Tanzania  has died just days before he was due to stand trial in New York for the crimes. Abu Anas al-Liby, 50, died on Friday from complications following liver surgery, his wife said. He had a $5m (£3.3m) bounty on his head and was high on the FBI’s most-wanted list when he was captured by US forces in Tripoli in October 2013. He and a Saudi businessman Khalid al-Fawwaz were due to stand trial on 12 January over the attacks, in which 244 people were killed and more than 5,000 wounded. His wife, Um Abdullah, accused the US government of “kidnapping, mistreating, and killing an innocent man”, ac

 A 7-year-old girl survived a plane crash in Kentucky that killed four people Friday night, and the disoriented little girl walked away from the wreckage and reported the crash to a local resident, authorities said. The small Piper PA-34 reported engine trouble and lost contact with air traffic controllers as it was flying over the southwestern part of Kentucky about 5:55 p.m. CST, the FAA said. About a half hour later, a Lyon County resident called 911 and told dispatchers that a 7-year-old girl had walked to his home and said she had been involved in a plane crash, said Sgt. Dean Patterson of the Kentucky State Police. "This girl came out of the wreckage herself and found the closest residence and reported the plane crash," Patterson said. "It's a miracle in a sense that she survived it, but it's tragic that four others didn't." The girl was in emotional distress and taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, Patterson said. At th

courtesy of | NATION MEDIA GROUP  A fourth-year university student will spend two years in jail for posting on social media unprintable insults against President Uhuru Kenyatta. Alan Wadi Okengo, alias Lieutenant Wadi, was accused of posting the messages on his Facebook account on December 18 and 19 at an unknown place within Kenya. Wadi, 25, a political science student at Moi University, was arrested as he attempted to sneak out of the country through the Busia border on December 31. He was brought back to Nairobi CID headquarters where he was interrogated by cybercrime police sleuths. Wadi, who looked composed, told Milimani Law Courts resident magistrate Ms Ann Kaguru that he was ready to “apologise to President Kenyatta personally if he was not handed down a custodial sentence.” The charge against the university student stated that “the message he sent was calculated to to bring into contempt the lawful authority of the President of the Republic of Kenya.

You may imagine that true intimacy involves the overturn of boundaries so that you are able to develop a closer relationship with your beloved. However, healthy relationships require partners to have clear boundaries.  Boundaries, in a physical sense, are built in order to keep out intruders who may cause damage. Similarly, in an emotion sense, boundaries are kept in order to prevent people trampling on sensitive issues and overstepping the mark.  If you are in love, you may enjoy your relationship being an all-encompassing part of your life in which you share everything. The temptation to wear  ‘  his  ’  and  ‘  hers  ’ dressing gowns and eat from the same plate can be present. Telling your innermost secrets to your lover and forgetting your own needs may come naturally for a while. Later on down the line though, you will discover that the old boundaries you used to have become necessary once more.  Unbalanced, weak relationships involve one partner who sets boundaries the oth

Sometimes we pray for Mr. Right, but when he comes along we forget all about God. We don’t talk to Him anymore. We don’t spend time with Him anymore. We barely find time to pray, except for when things are going bad for us. When God is the center of your marriage, you aim to be a good spouse, not because you are head over heels in love, not because your spouse deserves it, but because you want to honor God. A few years ago, my ex husband and I started going through difficult times. I can easily blame it on our careers. He was a successful businessman who traveled frequently, leaving me at home to care for our  two kids. I also owned a successful dance studio in our neighborhood. Together, were financially set. The perfect marriage if you were on the outside looking in. But the truth is…. our marriage was doomed from the beginning because God was nowhere in our marriage. We were so focused on being successful that we forgot all about God. Too busy to even realize our marriage w

NAIROBI, KENYA:  High Court on Friday temporarily suspended the implementation of of various clauses of the controversial security laws act pending hearing and determination of a case by CORD Among the clauses suspended is 12, 29, 48, 56, 58, 58. In his ruling, Justice George Odunga said that some of the clauses touch on fundamental issues in the bill of rights. More to follow. Standard. 

A 95-year-old newlywed Virginia man has died just weeks after his 96-year-old wife was taken away by family members to Florida. Add caption Eddie Harrison died Tuesday in a hospital after suffering from influenza, said Rebecca Wright, who was caring for the couple in their Alexandria, Virginia, home. Harrison became distressed after his wife and longtime companion, 96-year-old Edith Hill, was taken away, Wright said. Wright is Hill's daughter. "He lived for her, and she lived for him. It's the love story of the century," Wright said, recalling how they would dance, take walks and care for each other. Harrison and Hill's marriage this year after 10 years of companionship was disputed in court. Their wedding was problematic because Hill has been declared legally incapacitated for several years. Another of Hill's daughters, Patricia Barber, contested the marriage, saying it would complicate the eventual distribution of Hill's estate. But Hill and H

 A suburban Boston man is accused of killing his wife during an argument over a Christmas gift, reports CBS Boston. (Photo: CBS Boston) Julio Resto, 51, pleaded not guilty to murder and other charges in Waltham District Court Wednesday afternoon in the death of his wife, 42-year-old Gloria Resto. He was ordered held without bail. Police say Resto first tried to strangle his wife and then stabbed her with a kitchen knife in their apartment in Waltham early Wednesday morning. Julio told police his wife was upset with him because he did not buy her a Christmas gift, reports the station. After he stabbed her, police say, Resto tried to kill himself by stuffing a towel in the exhaust pipe of his car, but it didn't work. Prosecutors say he then drove to Waltham police headquarters, walked in with a knife in his hand and yelled out to officers, "Shoot me. I have nothing to live for! I just killed my wife," reports the station. Police reportedly used a beanbag gu

Five people who were attending Prophet David Owour’s grand crusade being held at Kaptembwa grounds in Nakuru town have been reported dead. Nakuru OCPD Bernard Kioko said the five died from natural causes at the Crusade grounds. Kioko pointed that the five were reported to have been suffering from different ailments and had been brought to the crusade to receive healing miracles from the renowned prophet. “The five faithfuls’ had attended prayers believing to receive their healing miracle from the prophet but they unfortunately succumbed to their ailments,” said Kioko. Bodies of the deceased have been taken to Nauru County mortuary for post-mortem. The crusade begun on December 31 has attracted several people from all over the country and is expected to end tomorrow. Several people have claimed to have been healed from various diseases while others with disabilities have also claimed to have received miracles since the crusade began yesterday.

A New Year’s Eve celebration in Shanghai ended in disaster when a stampede left at least 36 people dead and nearly 50 others injured, marking one of the biggest disasters to befall a major Chinese city in recent years. The stampede began at about 11.35pm in Shanghai’s Chen Yi Square, a wide promenade popular with tourists between a row of historic art deco buildings and the Huangpu riverfront, according to China’s state newswire Xinhua. Witnesses told Agence France-Presse that the mayhem centered on a stairway leading up to a viewing platform overlooking the river. Some people were trying to climb to the platform as others tried to get down, causing panic and mass confusion. “People were screaming, women were screaming and people starting jumping off the staircase to get clear,” a Shanghai resident named Sarah said. “There was a quiet, and then people on the stairs fell in a wave and people started to get trampled.” A video posted later by the newspaper Southern Metropolis Dai

The National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) has advised Kenyans be extra vigilant and report any threats they may encounter. NCTC said terror threats are still there and called for co-operation to address the menace. The centre is charged with detecting and countering terrorism.  The centre said roadsides, lecture halls, dinning halls, residential areas, waiting areas or rest rooms, shopping malls, restaurants, hotels and hospitals remain prime targets for terror attacks. NCTC Director Isaac Ochieng' said crowded places could be "vulnerable to a range of criminal acts including terrorism". "To those who manage crowded places, they need to search the premises during and after opening, remain vigilant during opening hours, ensure emergency exits are secured when not in use to prevent unauthorised entry, check toilets regularly for unattended items and report suspicious activities," he said in a statement. Ochieng' said terrorists may also target th

Indonesian military personnel carry the coffin of a victim recovered from the ill-fated Malaysian air carrier AirAsia flight QZ8501, upon their arrival at the military airbase in Surabaya, East Java Wednesday. PHOTO |AFP SURABAYA, Indonesia, Soldiers acting as pall bearers today carried coffins containing the first two bodies from AirAsia Flight QZ8501 into Surabaya airport, from where the ill-fated plane departed, as sombre relatives gave their DNA to help identify loved ones. The bodies were taken from an air force plane to a military ambulance to be transported to a hospital for examination and identification — but many exhausted families were left waiting for news as bad weather hampered search efforts. Officials had hoped to recover most of the bodies but rough conditions made it difficult for helicopters to fly over the area in the Java Sea where several corpses and debris from the Airbus A320-200 were found a day earlier. In Indonesia’s second-biggest city Surabaya,

It's common for people to think about what they want to do in life, but what about what not to do? 1. Stressing out When we fail to see the big picture of the miracle of life itself, we get caught up in the intricacies that simply don’t matter much – if at all – in the long run. The first book I wrote was about  how to defeat stress , because it is one of the greatest enemies of the human race. Focus on the good things, not the setbacks, and you certainly won’t regret it. Listen to Bob Marley, mon’. 2. Working too much Perhaps the most common regret people have in later years is working too much – the rest of us should take note. So much of life seems to revolve around making money and getting ahead, but lifestyle is a choice. There are “poor” people living much better lives than wealthy workaholics. People work hard to be able to buy more stuff, but  we’re better off with fewer things . Possessions are not the key to a  fulfilling life ! 3. Not investing (enough) One

Dear Friend, We have less than 24 hours remaining in 2014. That means there is still time for you to make a gift to Abagusii Global Radio - AGR FM before the New Year. Don’t miss this important deadline. Please make a donation now.  fundly.com/our-support-comes-from-you In honor of our 6th anniversary, we hope you will consider a gift of $20, $100, or even $200. No matter the size, your gift will make a difference in our mission to revolutionize ABAGUSII GLOBAL RADIO and nonpr ofit practice. Thank you for your support! Happy New Year. Jeremiah Orina Ontiri President & CEO

Oprah's about $300 million short Oprah Winfrey is no longer the world’s richest black woman. That distinction  now belongs  to Nigerian oil baroness and fashionista Folorunsho Alakija. Folorunsho Alakija attends a fashion show in Lagos, Nigeria, on Dec. 27, 2012 Bennett Raglin—Getty Images Alakija is worth at least $3.3 billion — about $300 million more  than American television personality Oprah —  Ventures Africa  reports. The 62-year-old started her career as a secretary at the erstwhile Merchant Bank of Nigeria, but moved to England in the early 1980s to study fashion design. She then returned to her native country and set up a high-end label called Supreme Stitches. Although she amassed some wealth from the label, a significant proportion of Alakija’s fortune comes from an oil-exploration license granted to her company Famfa Ltd. in 1993. The 617,000-acre oil block would go on to become the highly lucrative OML 127, in which Alakija’s family retains a 60% stake.