OBAMA IN AFRICA- President Obama waves to a cheering crowd that packed an indoor stadium Sunday in Nairobi, Kenya, for the president’s visit. Kenya, the homeland of President Obama’s father, was the first stop on the president’s six-day journey through Africa, where he met with African heads of state and, on Monday, addressed the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. In addition to seeking to further trade and cooperative arrangements between the United States and the African continent, the president addressed issues of human rights, women’s rights, ethnic conflict, corruption, terrorism, democracy, economic growth and presidential term limits. While in Kenya, he met with his extended family members. He is the first sitting U.S. president to visit Kenya or Ethiopia.

Thick smoke filled the air when an underground transformer exploded about 11:20 a.m. last Friday near 6th and Main streets in Downtown. Multiple explosions followed, sending flames through some manhole covers as high as 20 feet in the air. Dominion Virginia Power switched off electricity in the area to prevent further explosions. About 400 people were evacuated from nearby buildings, with a few people treated at the hospital for smoke inhalation. The temporary power outages caused some businesses to close for the day.

Torch lily in Jackson Ward

NORTH SIDE REUNION- Old friends — and new ones — gathered last Saturday in Battery Park for food and fun at the 23rd Annual Northside Re- union. Hundreds of people who live or once lived on the city’s North Side shared in the good times.

NORTH SIDE REUNION- Children climb aboard a swing at the playground

NORTH SIDE REUNION- Ronald Mayo, left, and Kelvin Barnes grill scrumptious food

NORTH SIDE REUNION- William Berry, enjoying the music, shows off his dance moves.

PAST AND FUTURE- At a program marking the 85th anniversary of the Nation of Islam, Melvin K. Ra’Oof, a member of Masjid Bilal in Church Hill, describes plans for a new worship center with Daisha Coleman. The masjid sponsored the event Saturday at the Virginia Commonwealth University Commons celebrating the 1930 start of the offshoot of Islam in Detroit and recalling some of its leaders such as Malcolm X. The masjid and its members are no longer associated with the Nation of Islam. After the 1975 death of leader Elijah Muhammad, Masjid Bilal affiliated with Mr. Muhammad’s late son, Warith Deen Muhammed, who dropped the NOI name and converted his followers to a traditional Sunni form of Islam.