Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | Disgraced former South African president Jacob Zuma could appear in court within weeks on charges of corruption, fraud and money laundering in connection with a decades-old $5 billion arms deal, reports said Sunday. Quoting sources close to the case, news websites News24 and TimeLive …
Read More »Egypt heads to polls to choose between Sisi and ‘rival’
Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Egyptians headed to the polls Monday in a presidential election to choose between incumbent Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and a little-known politician who has struggled to make the case he is a serious contender. Polling stations opened at 9:00 am (0700 GMT) for the three-day vote, …
Read More »China invents invisible ‘super material’
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | China has claimed it has created a mysterious “super material” that can make anything invisible — and it could make the country unstoppable in war. The exact functions of the materials have not yet been disclosed but a Chinese news platform reported that the …
Read More »Mugabe’s wife Grace under probe for ivory smuggling
Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwean police are investigating former ruler Robert Mugabe’s wife Grace, accused of smuggling ivory worth millions to underground foreign markets, a state-owned weekly reported Sunday. The Sunday Mail said investigators from the parks and wildlife authority handed documents to police showing that the former first …
Read More »Doctor’s own diagnosis drives quest for a cancer cure
Bethesda, United States | AFP | Christian Hinrichs knew his life had forever changed the day he thought he was pouring milk into a glass, but heard it splashing on the floor instead. It was 2005, and the young cancer surgeon had just undergone the removal of his right eye …
Read More »Woman shoots boyfriend dead in YouTube stunt
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Monalisa Perez and her boyfriend Pedro Ruiz of the U.S. state of Minnesota were recording the stunt for their YouTube channel which publishes videos of their daily lives and pranks. Ruiz convinced Perez to shoot him from a foot away with a powerful Desert …
Read More »War of words over DR Congo’s humanitarian crisis as children die
Kananga, DR Congo | AFP | A war of words has broken out between the United Nations and the DR Congo government which is shunning a donor conference in Geneva to raise $1.7 billion to tackle a humanitarian crisis that Kinshasa says has been vastly exaggerated by aid workers. Prime …
Read More »Black Panther billions
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | As expected, Panther” easily passed $1 billion worldwide when China opened to strong numbers. Overseas, the Marvel title now ranks above nearly all recent comic-book movie adaptations. It was expected to cross $600 million in North America. This year, not only is “Black Panther” …
Read More »Chad soldier, 20 Boko Haram fighters killed in clash: army source
N’Djamena, Chad | AFP | A Chadian soldier and 20 Boko Haram members were killed in a clash in the restive Lake Chad region near Nigeria, a Chadian military officer told AFP Saturday. The incident occurred on Friday on an islet named Tchoukou Hadje, the officer said, adding that five …
Read More »Bar installs alarm system on beer glasses to stop thieves
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Beer Wall, a popular bar in Bruges, Belgium, has recently installed alarm sensors on all of its beer glasses as well as a scanner at the entrance, in order to deter patrons from stealing them. All of the roughly 1,600 Belgian beers sold …
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