Tunis, Tunisia | AFP | A Tunisian court handed a British DJ a one year jail term in absentia Thursday after he played a remixed recording of the Muslim call to prayer, a judicial source said. Dax J, who left Tunisia after last weekend’s set in the northeastern town of Hammamet, …
Read More »Rio Olympic marathon champion fails drugs test – reports
Paris, France | AFP | Jemima Sumgong, the first Kenyan woman to win Olympic marathon gold when she triumphed at Rio in 2016, has failed an out-of-competition dope test, reports claimed Friday. The 32-year-old, who is also the reigning London Marathon champion, tested positive for the banned blood booster EPO …
Read More »US strikes on Syrian base: what we know
Washington, United States | AFP | The missile strike against a Syrian air base marks the first time the United States has directly attacked the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. Here is what we know so far about the target and the outcome of the strike. – The target – At …
Read More »World parliament assembly calls for action on famine, drought in Africa
The 136th Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly chaired by Uganda’s Rebecca Kadaga, ended on Wednesday with the adoption of the Dhaka Declaration calling for urgent international action to save millions of people from famine and drought in parts of Africa and Yemen. The five-day assembly in Dhaka also took a resolution on …
Read More »Uruguay to sell marijuana in pharmacies from July
Montevideo, Uruguay | AFP | Uruguay will become the first country in the world to allow recreational marijuana to be sold in pharmacies, starting in July, the president’s office said Thursday. The South American country adopted a revolutionary law in 2013 that fully legalized the production, sale and consumption of marijuana. …
Read More »Café Javas in Entebbe closed for repairs
Entebbe’s popular quick-casual and coffee-themed restaurant Café Javas at Victoria Mall will be closed for repairs after part of the ceiling board collapsed late on Wednesday night. No one was injured and the management of the chain issued a statement re-assuring customers. KnightFrank Uganda, the managers of Victoria Mall, also …
Read More »Landmine kills 19 in Somalia as president vows war on Shabaab
Mogadishu, Somalia | AFP | A minibus hit a landmine in Somalia on Thursday, killing 19 people just hours after the new president of the troubled nation declared fresh war against Al-Shabaab militants. The minibus was travelling in the southern Lower Shebelle region when it hit the landmine near the …
Read More »Nigeria court unfreezes millions in ex-first lady Patience Jonathan’s fraud probe
Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | A judge in Lagos on Thursday ordered Nigeria’s anti-graft agency to release one of several bank accounts frozen as part of an inquiry into the wife of former president Goodluck Jonathan. Patience Jonathan had filed a complaint against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in …
Read More »Gambia elects MPs for post-Jammeh era
Banjul, Gambia | AFP | Polls closed on Thursday evening in The Gambia with voters expected to usher in a new generation of lawmakers to scrutinise a raft of reforms promised by President Adama Barrow, in the first election since longtime leader Yahya Jammeh left power. Turnout was low when …
Read More »Nigerian becomes first African to fly solo around the world
Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Nigerian airline pilot Ademola Odujinrin, known as “Lola”, has become the first African to fly solo around the world, his foundation Transcend said in a statement Thursday. The 38-year-old Nigerian left Washington in September last year abord a Cirrus SR22, a small, single engine airplane, …
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