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Analysis - In mid-May 2021, five High Court Kenyan judges blocked the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI), a government-supported plan to make fundamental changes to the country's constitution, declaring it "irregular, illegal, and unconstitutional". The decision undeniably represented a massive blow to the government of Kenyan President, Uhuru Kenyatta. It was also the latest dramatic twist in the BBI saga, which has seen the controversial initiative become the topic of heated debate in Kenya since its formal launch i
\t On Friday, internet and international calls were cut off across the West African nation in anticipation of the election results, according to locals and international observers in the capital, Conakry.
\t This was the third time that Conde matched-up against Diallo. Before the election, observers raised concerns that an electoral dispute could reignite ethnic tensions between Guinea's largest ethnic groups.
Kinshasa - Democratic Republic of Congo's top court has intervened in an unprecedented corruption case involving a key ally of the president, less than a day before a lower court was due to issue a verdict, legal sources said on Friday.
A court in Kinshasa is scheduled on Saturday to issue its ruling in the fast-moving trial of Vital Kamerhe, 61, a veteran powerbroker in national politics who is also President Felix Tshisekedi's chief of staff.
Prosecutors are seeking 20-year terms against Kamerhe and 78-year-old Lebanese businessman Jammal Samih, accused of siphoning off more than $50 million of public funds in a case deemed a litmus test of Tshisekedi's anti-corruption drive.
Neither the lower court nor Kamerhe's lawyer was able to say whether the scheduled verdict would be affected by the intervention.
Kamerhe's defence lawyers had notably raised \"exception of unconstitutionality\" in the trial's last pre-verdict session, on June 11.
The body of former professional wrestler Shad Gaspard has been identified by Los Angeles County authorities after it went missing Sunday, May 17.
Gaspard’s body washed up ashore at Venice Beach, where someone noticed the body before contacting law enforcement.
Some who are reportedly friends and family of Gaspard gathered at Venice Beach after his body was identified.
He’s survived by Aryeh and his wife Siliana Gaspard, who wrote a message on Instagram before his body was discovered.
“My prayers and hope for Shad Gaspard’s wife, son and family during this unthinkable time,” tweeted Johnson.
Viewers of “The Wendy Williams Show” will have to watch repeats of the show for the foreseeable future, as Williams is taking a hiatus as a result of fatigue caused by Graves’ disease.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Williams has been filming the show from her New York City apartment in episodes called Wendy has been dealing with symptoms from her Graves’ disease which is causing fatigue,” read a message on her Instagram page posted Monday, May 18.
The former radio host also followed doctor’s orders in 2018 when she took time off because of her longtime condition.
In that same year, Williams revealed that she was diagnosed with Graves’ disease and hyperthyroidism 19 years before.
She also took a six-week leave of absence last year after fracturing her shoulder and while also dealing with challenges related to the autoimmune disease.
Cleo Fields, politician, lawyer, and United States Representative from Louisianas Fourth Congressional District (1993-97), was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on November 22, 1962. At four years old, Fields lost his father, Isidore Fields, a dockworker, in a car crash. His mother, Alice Fields, supported her ten children by working as a maid and taking in laundry. Fields started working at a young age to help his family and save for college.
In 1980, Fields graduated from McKinley High School. He attended Southern University, where he majored in mass communications and then enrolled in its College of Law. In his final year of law school, he ran for the Louisiana State Senate. At twenty-four years old, Fields became the youngest elected state senator in Louisiana’s history. Fields championed environmental issues, job creation for minorities, and the elimination of illegal drugs.
In 1990, Fields ran for the House seat from Louisianas Eighth Congressional District, but he lost to Republican Clyde Holloway. After Louisiana redrew district lines, Louisianas Fourth Congressional District elected Fields to the House of Representatives in 1992. Fields became Louisiana’s second African American congressman.
During his two terms, Fields served as parliamentarian as well as on the Small Business, Banking, Finance, and Urban Affairs Committees. His main legislative goals included job creation, affordable health care, and decreasing the deficit.
Throughout his terms, lawsuits challenged the Fourth District’s new borders, which Fields helped create during his time in the state senate. The plaintiffs claimed that the borders violated their voting rights. Court decisions forced the state to redraw the district’s borders five times. Fields appealed to the Supreme Court and state legislature about the fifth border change, which resulted from a 1996 United States District Court decision. However, his petitions did not prevent the state legislature from agreeing to new borders, which excluded Fields’s home from the
The agency in a tweet late on Wednesday evening said the 284 new cases were reported in 13 states.
These are Lagos, Rivers, Oyo, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) , Borno, Plateau, Jigawa, Kano, Abia, Ekiti, Delta, Kwara,and Taraba.
NCDC said \"on May 20, 284 new confirmed cases and 8 deaths was recorded in Nigeria
\"Till date, 6677 cases have been confirmed, 1840 cases have been discharged and 200 deaths have been recorded in 34 states and the Federal Capital Territory, the agency tweeted.
The 284 new cases were reported from 13 states: Lagos - 199, Rivers - 26, Oyo - 19, FCT - 8, Borno - 8, Plateau - 7, Jigawa - 6, Kano - 5, Abia - 2, Ekiti - 1, Delta - 1 , Kwara - 1, and Taraba - 1.
A breakdown of the 6,677 confirmed cases shows that Lagos State has so far reported 2,954 cases, followed by Kano - 847, FCT - 435, Katsina - 281, Bauchi - 224, Borno - 227, Jigawa - 211, Ogun - 178, Oyo - 162,Kaduna - 152, Gombe - 136, Edo - 119, Sokoto - 113, Rivers - 79, ,Zamfara - 76, Kwara - 66, Plateau - 57, Osun - 42, Nasarawa - 34, Yobe - 32, Kebbi - 32, Delta - 28, Adamawa - 26, Niger - 22, Ondo - 20, Ekiti - 19,Akwa Ibom - 18, Taraba - 18, Enugu - 16, Ebonyi - 13, Imo - 7, Bayelsa - 7, Abia - 7, Benue - 5, and Anambra - 5 .
The Democratic Republic of Congo’s Justice Minister Celestin Tunda resigned his position on Saturday following a dispute with the president over proposed laws that would give politicians more control over criminal prosecutions.
In a televised statement, Tunda did not give a reason for his resignation. He had been briefly arrested late last month after their disagreement got to a head. Tunda has consistently opposed changes in the laws by the sitting government citing illegality.
The controversial reforms include proposals to define the powers of judges, which critics said is a ploy to muzzle the judiciary.
They were put forward by the Common Front for Congo, a coalition close to Kabila, who remains a behind-the-scenes force in national politics.
“There is no time in the government here in the Congo that we have discussed observations on proposed laws. The bills are the prerogative of the MPs, how could we discuss them in the government?” these are comments attributable to the ex minister.
“One must have the approval of the National Assembly before prosecuting a member of the government. What we have seen today is the birth of dictatorship.”
Tunis/Tunisia — The bureau of the House of People's Representatives (HPR) decided at its meeting Tuesday to hold a plenary session on June 2 to review two draft laws.
In a press release, the HPR bureau said it had included on the agenda of the plenary session an item on the vote on the end of the exceptional procedures relating to the functioning of the Parliament.
The HPR bureau, chaired by Rached Ghannouchi, also considered the announcement of the resignation of MP Zouhaier Makhlouf from the Qalb Tounes bloc.
It also decided to refer to the relevant committee the request to withdraw MP Amine Missaoui's signature from the legislative initiative on the criminalisation of defamation on the internet.
The People’s National Party (PNP) is rejecting as baseless the assertion by Prime Minister Andrew Holness that the party is pushing a strategy of confrontation in the ongoing election campaign. \tHolness issued the critique following his...
Nairobi — The Senate Ad Hoc Committee on coronavirus has urged the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to facilitate the evacuation of broke Kenyans living abroad, with priority given to students.
Sakaja wants Omamo to submit a detailed report by June 19 indicating the criteria used identify the Kenyans in the diaspora eligible for support and measures taken by the Ministry to mobilize resources to facilitate them.
\"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs should set a criterion on eligibility of Kenyans in the diaspora who are in dire need of coming back home but cannot afford air-tickets, giving priority to students,\" the committed recommended in its sixth progress report.
Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Ambassador Macharia Kamau is on record stating that evacuating Kenyans stranded abroad would be costly with the government opting to ask Kenyans willing to come back home to meet their travel costs.
Sakaja however, challenged the Ministry to make a request for support from the various emergency funds that have been set up to mitigate the effects of COVID 19, to ensure that all Kenyans willing to come back home are facilitated.
Nairobi — Kenyans can voluntarily contribute Sh200 per month to own a home, the State Department for Housing and Urban Development has said.
\"Only members registered with the Housing Fund are required to make voluntary contributions,\" read part of the statement.
Upon completion of registration, a member is allocated a unique identification number which they will use to make their monthly contribution to the Housing Fund.
According to the regulations guided by the fund, contributions can be accessed on the sooner of 15 years after a member's first contribution or the attainment of retirement age.
Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yattani earlier this year told National Assembly members in the Transport Public Works and Housing Committee that their was no guarantee that adequate funds will be channeled to the Ministry of Transport to fund the ambitious project to construct afford houses.
Porsha Williams came to part 1 of “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” reunion prepared to expose her co-star Kenya Moore for talking about Cynthia Bailey behind her back.
During the reunion, Williams accused Moore of being a fake friend, explaining that she had text message evidence of Moore bashing Bailey.
Andy Cohen, the reunion host, urged Williams to send the receipts to him and Bailey.
The 53-year-old Bailey shared to Burruss that she did not believe she would be friends with Moore after reading the receipts, but now she feels differently.
Bailey explained to Burruss that she would let the text message evidence play out on part 3 of the reunion.
[Nation] A group of politicians from Ukambani allied to Deputy President William Ruto are pushing for registration of a new party.
Akro Heroes FC, a juvenile and division two football franchise from Somanya in the Eastern region has merged with G.O Sports Academy under an agreement signed between the two outfits.
The arrangement also entrusts financial responsibility and brand development in the Eastern region to G. O. Sports with Mr Geoffrey Akro as Head Coach.
With this new development, G.O Sports currently has projects in five regions - Greater Accra, Ashanti, Oti, Eastern and Volta regions.
The merger means G.O Sports Academy will maintain two division two teams in Eastern and Volta regions.
G.O Sports currently runs four residential facilities in three regions: one each in Oti (Krachi) and Eastern (Somanya) and two in the Volta (Hlefi and Avatime Biakpa).
Liberia /l aɪ ˈ b ɪər i ə/ ( listen), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to its west, Guinea to its north and Ivory Coast to its east. It covers an area of 111,369 square kilometers (43,000 sq mi) and has a population of 4,503,000 people.[3] English is the official language and over 20 indigenous languages are spoken, representing the numerous tribes who make up more than 95% of the population. The countrys capital and largest city is Monrovia.
Forests on the coastline are composed mostly of salt-tolerant mangrove trees, while the more sparsely populated inland has forests opening onto a plateau of drier grasslands. The climate is equatorial, with significant rainfall during the May–October rainy season and harsh harmattan winds the remainder of the year. Liberia possesses about forty percent of the remaining Upper Guinean rainforest. It was an important producer of rubber in the early 20th century.
The Republic of Liberia began as a settlement of the American Colonization Society (ACS), who believed blacks would face better chances for freedom in Africa than in the United States.[7] The country declared its independence on July 26, 1847. The United Kingdom was the first country to recognize Liberias independence.[8] The U.S. did not recognize Liberias independence until during the American Civil War on February 5, 1862. Between January 7, 1822 and the American Civil War, more than 15,000 freed and free-born blacks, who faced legislated limits in the U.S., and 3,198 Afro-Caribbeans, relocated to the settlement.[9] The black settlers carried their culture and tradition with them to Liberia. The Liberian constitution and flag were modeled after those of the U.S. On January 3, 1848, Joseph Jenkins Roberts, a wealthy, free-born African American from Virginia who settled in Liberia, was elected
Turkey's dramatic military intervention into Libya's civil-cum-proxy war on the side of the Tripoli government has changed the narrative from 'Haftar tightening the noose around Tripoli' to his 'entire Western operation being in disarray,' as one analyst puts it.
Megerisi characterises the Libyan conflict as a 'proxy' war, as does Stephanie Turco Williams, Acting Special Representative of the secretary-general and Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya.
Turkey's intervention, backed by Syrian mercenaries, tilted the balance of power against Haftar
Haftar was initially stopped outside Tripoli mainly by militias loyal to al-Sarraj and a long stalemate persisted throughout 2019.
Megerisi says Haftar's next move may be to secure control of Libya's oilfields to justify his military adventurism to his domestic and external backers.
He also thinks it's unlikely the AU will succeed in getting a joint AU-UN special Libyan envoy appointed to replace the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General to Libya, Ghassane Salamé, who resigned in March in despair.
Winfrey is stepping up with the help of partner organizations like Live Healthy Chicago, who, since the health outbreak, has provided wellness visits and care packages to thousands of families in predominantly Black and Brown communities.
The collaboration between West Side United, Rush University Medical Center, the MAAFA Redemption Project, My Block My Hood My City and Forty Acres Fresh Market is also standing in the gap to ensure that food-insecure families and those living in food deserts are having their nutritious needs met.
When laying the framework for her donation, she reached out to the Greater Chicago Food Depository based on a recommendation and was introduced to Forty Acres Fresh Market which has, for years, been centered in the community, delivering healthy food options to families.
Oprah Winfrey has partnered with the organization to ensure food-insecure families have access to the healthy food options they need.
TOPICS: News charitable donation COVID-19 pandemic food insecurity Oprah Winfrey
In March 2020, humanitarian partners reported a total of 851 access constraints on movement of humanitarian personnel and humanitarian items within and into Libya.
Women and children continue to bear the brunt of the ongoing armed conflict in Libya: over the past year, the United Nations verified 113 cases of grave violations, including killing and maiming of children, attacks on schools, and health facilities.
The onset of the coronavirus in Libya poses yet another strain on the already overstretched health system, and further threatens the most vulnerable people in the country.
The international community must not turn a blind eye to the conflict in Libya and its catastrophic effect on civilians, including migrants and refugees, across the country.
Despite enormous challenges, the UN and our humanitarian partners have continued to reach the most vulnerable people in Libya.
[Dalsan Radio] The lower house has approved a bill providing for a 30% quota for women in the Somali parliament. Although the parliament has yet to ratify the bill, it is one more step towards the feminization of politics in Somalia.
Serge Brammertz, Chief Prosecutor of the Residual Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals (RMICT), has told The New Times that his team of investigators has good leads and continues to tirelessly hunt for seven other Rwandan Genocide fugitives indicted by the UN court years ago
One of the eight fugitives on the UN Tribunal's wanted list, Félicien Kabuga, a key suspected architect of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, was arrested Saturday, May 16, in Paris, France, after more than two decades on the run.
Despite the steps being made, Brammertz admitted issues remain just like he highlighted, mid last year, when he briefed the UN Security Council on efforts underway to arrest the eight Genocide fugitives indicted by the UN court.
Protais Mpiranya
He was in the news, mid last year, after Brammertz complained to the UN Security Council about the lack of cooperation from some countries in arresting Genocide fugitives that remain at large.
His subordinates included soldiers in the camp, other soldiers deployed around Bugesera region, reservists and members of the national gendarmerie force in Nyamata brigade, the Interahamwe militia and other civilians he used in the genocide.
Charles Ryandikayo
Born around 1961 in Musenyi, in the Gishyita commune of Kibuye prefecture, Ryandikayo was manager of a restaurant in Mubuga in the Gishyita commune during the Genocide.
Electoral authorities in Guinea on Saturday declared President Alpha Conde winner of Sunday's election with 59.49% of the vote, defeating his main rival Cellou Diallo.
\t Some people went to the streets to protest immediately after the announcement. Such demonstrations have occurred for months after the government changed the constitution through a national referendum, allowing Conde to extend his decade in power.
\t Opposition candidate Cellou Diallo received 33.50% of the vote, the electoral commission said. Voter turnout was almost 80%.
\t Political tensions in the West African nation turned violent in recent days after Diallo claimed victory ahead of the official results. Celebrations by his supporters were suppressed when security forces fired tear gas to disperse them.
They accuse the electoral authorities of rigging the vote for incumbent president Alpha Conde.
\t At least nine people have been killed since the election, according to the government. The violence sparked international condemnation by the U.S. and others.
\t ``Today is a sad day for African democracy,'' said Sally Bilaly Sow, a Guinean blogger and activist living abroad. The government should take into account the will of the people who have a desire for change, he said.
ICC warning
The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor warned on Friday that warring factions in Guinea could be prosecuted after fighting erupted.
“I wish to repeat this important reminder: anyone who commits, orders, incites, encourages and contributes in any other way to crimes … is liable to prosecution either by the Guinean courts or the ICC,” she said.
#ICC Prosecutor #FatouBensouda: "I wish to repeat this important reminder: anyone who commits, orders, incites, encourages or contributes, in any other way, to the commission of #RomeStatute crimes, is liable to prosecution either by #Guinean courts or by the #ICC."
— Int'l Criminal Court (@IntlCrimCourt) October 23, 2020
With Romeo close by, the entrepreneur didn’t hold anything back when it came to his opinions about the storylines of the show, specifically referencing the continuation of Romeo and Angela Simmons’ will they/won’t they romantic drama, even shortly after the slaying of her son’s father.
“I’m only showing you this so next time you’re watching this show you can use your real judgement and see how they flip peoples words and change positive moments into negative.
He continued to go off about the show’s disregard for people’s real-life situations in favor of creating more dramatic moments.
“Seeing how Master P and Romeo handles this situation respectfully only shows the bs and the fake side of how these producers of reality shows are really are,” one fan fired off.
Lil Twist not-so-subtly shaded the father and son on Twitter, calling them out for remaining on the show for so long before deciding to raise any concerns.
Nairobi — Kenya's Gaming tech start-up, Usiku Games, has launched the first made-in-Africa video conferencing system that will enable users enjoy better quality calls with unlimited attendees, at more affordable prices.
The web-based Gumzo system is also one of the most secure platforms with all calls encrypted ensuring that users' calls are private and protected.
According to Jay Shapiro, the Founder and CEO, of Usiku Games, Gumzo is Africa's first innovation in video conferencing built by Kenyan developers who have exhibited a high level of skill in coding and system architecture:
\"We are glad to have built this video conferencing system here in Kenya for the continent.
This is a turning point in Africa's innovation since our users will be able to enjoy lower rates, longer talk time and host many people at the same time without worrying about their security.
Gumzo supports fun times for users, allows groups to watch shared movies and play games with loved ones especially during these tough times.
