Mpondwe, Uganda | AFP | At the bustling Mpondwe border post, a woman crossing from the Democratic Republic of Congo into Uganda is whisked away to an isolation unit after a thermal scanner picks up her high temperature. Health workers keep Mulefu Kyakimwa, a 32-year-old vegetable oil trader, under …
Read More »UGX 200bn allocated for 2021 elections
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Government has allocated 223 billion shillings for the implementation of the Electoral Roadmap for the 2021 General Elections. This was revealed by the Minister for Finance, Planning and Economic Development Matia Kasaija on Thursday during the presentation of the budget for financial year 2019/2020. …
Read More »The first transatlantic flight 100 years ago
Paris, France | AFP | When two British pilots steered a biplane across the vast Atlantic 100 years ago, battling frozen sleet and thick fog for more than 16 hours, they were making aviation history. With their harrowing 3,000-kilometre (1,860-mile) crossing, Captain John Alcock and navigator Lieutenant Arthur Whitten Brown completed …
Read More »Difficult to imagine Egypt not winning Group A at Africa Cup
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | Hosts Egypt are favoured not only to win Group A at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations this June, but to go on and lift the trophy a record-extending eighth time. They possess in serial Liverpool scorer Mohamed Salah an African superstar and can expect …
Read More »Governor sacked after Mali massacre
Bamako, Mali | AFP | The Malian government on Wednesday sacked the governor of the central Mopti region following a village massacre in which 35 people died. Three days of national mourning would also be held “in homage to the victims of the terrorist attack perpetrated on June 10, 2019 against …
Read More »US names special Sudan envoy as protesters demand guarantees
Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | The United States Wednesday named a special envoy to Sudan to find a “peaceful” solution between demonstrators and generals, as protest leaders demanded “international guarantees” for implementing any agremeent reached with the army rulers. Shops and restaurants meanwhile began to reopen in Sudan’s capital Wednesday after …
Read More »Johnson plays down no-deal Brexit as he launches bid to become PM
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Boris Johnson said Wednesday he would only take Britain out of the EU without a deal as a “last resort”, officially launching his campaign to be prime minister with a promise to unify a country still deeply divided over Brexit. The former foreign minister is …
Read More »Solo, yet tutti: App puts orchestra in your living room
Aix-en-Provence, France | AFP | It’s a musician’s dream — rehearse alongside a full orchestra, but in your own living room. And the immersive experience is possible because, yes, there’s an app for that, courtesy of a French start-up, Digital Music Solutions. “NomadPlay” is all down to an algorithm which separates …
Read More »Catalan separatists’ trial: Five key facts
Madrid, Spain | AFP | The high-stakes trial of 12 Catalan separatist leaders over their role in Catalonia’s failed 2017 independence bid is due to wrap up on Wednesday after four months of hearings. Here are five key facts about the trial: Who are the accused ? Nine former ministers in …
Read More »Taboo-breaking TV soap on sex and women has Senegal in a lather
Dakar, Senegal | AFP | Cheikh hoists his second wife Mareme onto his shoulder and carries her to their rose petal-covered bed, where he lays her down. The frolicking couple embrace and…. what happens next is left to the viewer’s imagination as the camera suddenly switches to a pair of white …
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