by Emeka ObasiNiger as battle ground is sweet music to the ears of President Alassane  Dramane  Ouattara whose goal is to divert attention from his contentious third term in Cote d’Ivoire and keep war away from his country through neighbouring Burkina Faso, Mali and Guinea respectively.When Ouattara boldly announced in Nigeria that ECOWAS leaders were battle ready to restore Mohamed Bazoum to power in Niger, he meant every word that came out of his mouth. “We are determined to restore president Bazoum to his functions”, the Ivorian leader said.ECOWAS chairman, Bola Tinubu, was yet to announce a Foreign Minister when…

by Gene Chamberlain CHICAGO  — Josh Allen pronounced himself ready for the regular season, and Kyle Allen made a strong statement about why he should be the Buffalo Bills’ backup quarterback. Josh Allen warmed up for the opener by leading a scoring drive and the Bills (2-1) finished the preseason with a 24-21 win Saturday over the Chicago Bears. The Bills’ starter completed 5 of 7 for 49 yards on Buffalo’s first possession. He left the game after Damien Harris’ 2-yard touchdown run up the middle ended the 72-yard drive. “I thought coach (Sean McDermott) did a good job of…

by Russ Bynum and Aaron Morrison JACKSONVILLE, Fla.  — The white man who fatally shot three Black people in a racist attack at a Florida store shot one of his victims as she sat in her car, chased another through the store and shot the third as he entered, Jacksonville’s sheriff said Sunday. Shooter Ryan Palmeter, 21, legally purchased his guns in recent months even though he had been involuntarily committed for a mental health examination in 2017, Sheriff T.K. Waters said. He killed himself after killing his three victims. Waters identified those shot in Saturday’s attack at a Dollar…

ZURICH  — FIFA suspended Spanish soccer federation president Luis Rubiales from office on Saturday while its disciplinary committee investigates his conduct at the Women’s World Cup final, which included kissing a player without her consent. FIFA said Rubiales is removed from soccer duties for 90 days “pending the disciplinary proceedings opened” against him Thursday. Rubiales refused to resign from his soccer presidency Friday at an emergency meeting where he had been expected to leave under intense pressure from the Spanish government, women players plus soccer clubs and officials.

by Agency reports The Wagner Group’s presence extends from the ancient battlegrounds of Syria to the deserts of sub-Saharan Africa, projecting the Kremlin’s global influence with mercenaries accused of using brutal force and profiting on mineral riches they seized. But that was under Yevgeny Prigozhin, who in what could have been his final video released earlier this week appeared in military fatigues and held an assault rifle from an unidentified dry and dusty plain as he boasted that Wagner is “making Russia even greater on all continents and Africa even more free.” On Wednesday, a private jet carrying Prigozhin and…

by Meg Kinnard COLUMBIA, S.C.  — The first Republican presidential debate provided an opportunity for candidates to make their cases directly to a national audience, and some of that attention is translating into fundraising boosts. Biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy has taken in $450,000 since Wednesday night’s debate, with an average donation of $38, campaign spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin told The Associated Press on Thursday. Ramaswamy, a political newcomer who occupied center stage in the absence of current GOP front-runner Donald Trump, scored several memorable moments during the debate, criticizing some rivals as “super PAC puppets” who were using “ready-made, preprepared slogans”…

by Emma Burrows and Aamer Madgani WASHINGTON  — A preliminary U.S. intelligence assessment concluded that an intentional explosion caused the plane crash presumed to have killed a mercenary leader who was eulogized Thursday by Vladimir Putin, even as suspicions grew that the Russian president was the architect of the assassination. One of the U.S. and Western officials who described the initial assessment said it determined that Yevgeny Prigozhin was “very likely” targeted and that the explosion falls in line with Putin’s “long history of trying to silence his critics.” The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they…

by Ashok Sharma and Krutika Pathi NEW DELHI  — India became the first country to land a spacecraft near the moon’s south pole on Wednesday — a historic voyage to uncharted territory that scientists believe could hold vital reserves of frozen water, and a technological triumph for the world’s most populous nation. After a failed attempt to land on the moon in 2019, India now joins the United States, the Soviet Union and China as only the fourth country to achieve this milestone. A lander with a rover inside touched down on the lunar surface at 6:04 p.m. local time,…

by Jay Cohen CHICAGO — The Chicago White Sox fired executive vice president Ken Williams and general manager Rick Hahn on Tuesday, cutting ties with their baseball leadership amid another disappointing season. Williams, who originally joined the White Sox front office in 1992 as a scout, was in his 11th season as executive vice president after serving as the club’s general manager for 12 years. He was one of baseball’s most prominent Black executives. Hahn joined the organization in 2000 and had been the GM since October 2012. Williams and Hahn helped Chicago to the 2005 World Series title. The…

by Kate Brumback ATLANTA  — Rudy Giuliani, Donald Trump’s lawyer and confidant, turned himself in at a jail in Atlanta on Wednesday on charges related to efforts to overturn then-President Trump’s lossin the 2020 presidential election in Georgia. The former New York mayor, was indicted last week along with Trump and 17 others. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said they participated in a wide-ranging conspiracy to subvert the will of the voters after the Republican president lost to Democrat Joe Biden in November 2020. Bond for Giuliani, who was released after booking like the other defendants, was set at…