Berlin, Germany | AFP | A German intelligence agent said he pretended to be a jihadist planning an attack in online chatrooms because he was bored, as he went on trial for attempted treason. The 52-year-old suspect, named as Roque M., made headlines when he was arrested last November in …
Read More »Ready-to-use home-made explosives found in Paris suburb
Paris, France | AFP | Homemade explosives ready for use were found Wednesday in an unoccupied flat near Paris, judicial sources said. Gas canisters and electric wiring were also found in the flat in Villejuif, a suburb south of the French capital, and two men were arrested nearby, the sources …
Read More »US Treasury announces sanctions on South Sudan officials
Washington, United States | THE INDEPENDENT | The United States Department of the Treasury on Wednesday announced targeted sanctions on Gen. Paul Malong Awan, former South Sudan’s army chief of general staff, and two other Sudanese officials for their “roles in threatening the peace, security, or stability of the country.” The sanctions will also …
Read More »Southern Africa panel to probe Lesotho assassination
Maseru, Lesotho | AFP | Southern Africa’s regional body on Wednesday said it was sending a rapid-response team to probe the assassination of Lesotho’s army commander, a killing it lashed as “barbaric” and a blow to peace efforts. The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has been trying to foster peace …
Read More »Egypt, US armies set to resume joint exercise
Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Egypt’s military will host a biennial exercise with the US army next week for the first time since 2009, it said in a statement on Tuesday. The Bright Star exercise, scheduled every two years since 1981, will take place this year from September 10 …
Read More »‘Migration cannot be stopped, but can be managed’
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The 4th International Conference NOW in Kampala on “African Youth and Migration” concluded on Tuesday with a call to the African (AU) and European Union (EU) to try to develop common concepts of managing – not stopping – migration. “The AU and EU should work …
Read More »Pope Francis’s Colombia visit in 5 numbers
Bogota, Colombia | AFP | Pope Francis starts his fifth visit as pontiff to his native Latin America region on Wednesday with a trip to Colombia as it moves on from a half-century civil conflict. Here are five facts and figures about the 80-year-old Argentine-born pope’s trip from September 6-10. …
Read More »Keino to step down as Kenyan Olympic chief
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Kenyan Olympic chief Kipchoge Keino said Wednesday he will not stand for re-election during the General Assembly in Nairobi on September 29. The 77-year-old double Olympic gold medallist has been at the helm of the National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOCK) since 1999 when he …
Read More »What happens to ‘Dreamers’ after Trump revokes their residence rights?
Washington, United States | AFP | The Trump administration on Tuesday ordered the end of the “Dreamers” program that allowed illegal immigrants who came to the United States as children to remain in the country. That move threatens the futures of some 800,000 people, many now in schools, with jobs …
Read More »Why roads remain unattended in some areas despite govt pledges
Kampala, Uganda | CSBAG | Every financial year, the government commits to upgrade a number of roads across the country, but many of these roads have remained unattended to despite budgetary allocations. The government has on many occasions pledged to tarmac various roads across the country, but many of the …
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