London, United Kingdom | AFP | WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s nearly seven-year stay at Ecuador’s embassy in London came to an abrupt end on Thursday when police entered the building and arrested him after Ecuador withdrew his asylum. Assange has been living at the embassy in London’s plush Knightsbridge …
Read More »Ridding space of old satellites and debris
Colorado Springs, United States | AFP | With constellations of thousands of telecommunication mini satellites expected to orbit Earth in the near future, the risk of space-debris collisions will grow. For Nobu Okada, it’s an opportunity. The 46-year-old Japanese entrepreneur founded the start-up Astroscale in Singapore in 2013 with the …
Read More »‘Sudan’s Bashir on way out’
Thousands of Khartoum residents chant ‘the regime has fallen’ Khartoum, Sudan | THE INDEPENDENT & AFP | Sources in Khartoum indicate that Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir has been ordered by the army to step down and consultations are under way to set up a transitional council. Sudan security has also freed …
Read More »Battle for space more stealth than Star Wars
Colorado Springs, United States | AFP | At tens of thousands of kilometers above the Earth, a Russian satellite slowly approached the French-Italian satellite Athena-Fidus in October 2017, a move France later denounced as “an act of espionage.” What is less widely known is that just a few days before …
Read More »Airbus flies into new era with change of boss
Paris, France | AFP | Frenchman Guillaume Faury took over as CEO of European aerospace giant Airbus on Wednesday, looking to benefit from the current troubles of rival Boeing and limit potential disruption from Brexit and US President Donald Trump’s trade threats. The 51-year-old will replace Tom Enders, who is …
Read More »SUDAN: New troops movement, army to make statement
Sudan army to make an ‘important statement soon’: state media Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | The Sudanese army was Thursday planning to make “an important announcement”, state media said, after weeks of protests against longtime leader President Omar al-Bashir. “The Sudanese army will issue an important statement soon. Wait for it,” …
Read More »Uber launches electric bikes, scooters in Paris
Paris, France | AFP | US ride-hailing group Uber said Wednesday that it would start deploying electric bikes and scooters for rent on Paris streets as soon as this week, joining a crowded market which city officials have vowed to rein in. Initially 500 of its Jump bikes and 500 …
Read More »Minister Azuba off to Canada to flag-off Uganda Airlines
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Minister of Works and Transport Monica Azuba will lead a team of managers heading to Canada to conclude ceremonial matters and flag off the new Uganda Airlines aircraft to Entebbe. She will join an acceptance team from Uganda Airlines that is already at the …
Read More »Two arrested as police hunt for kidnappers of US tourist Kimberly
Kanungu, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Two men have been arrested and are in custody as Uganda’s security continues the hunt for the four kidnappers of US tourist Kimberly Sue Endicott at Queen Elizabeth Park last week. Police spokesperson Fred Enanga confirmed to URN that there were some arrests made in …
Read More »Vision journalists injured as multiple crashes paralyze traffic at Lugogo
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Veteran New Vision journalists Elvis Basudde Kyeyune and Jeff Andrew Lule were injured in a road accident at Lugogo, along the Kampala-Jinja Highway as a heavy downpour hit Kampala this morning. Traffic flow was paralyzed for more than two hours at Lugogo -Industrial junction after …
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