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☆ Uganda passes bill banning identifying as LGBTQ
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The new law appears to be the first to outlaw merely identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ), according to rights group Human Rights Watch. In addition to same-sex intercourse, the law bans promoting and abetting homosexuality as well as conspiracy to engage in homosexuality. Violations under the law draw steep penalties including death for so called aggravated homosexuality and life in prison for gay sex. I support the bill to protect the future of our children," said lawmaker David Bahati during debate on the bill. In recent weeks Uganda authorities have cracked down on LGBTQ individuals after religious leaders and politicians alleged students were being recruited into homosexuality in schools.

Putin is just the third head of state to be indicted by the International Criminal Court while still in power. The ICC accuses Putin of responsibility for the war crime of deporting Ukrainian children - at least hundreds, possibly more - to Russia. TRAVEL ABROADThe ICC's 123 member states are obliged to detain and transfer Putin if he sets foot on their territory. Kenya's President William Ruto and his predecessor Uhuru Kenyatta were both charged by the ICC before they were elected. Former Kosovo President Hashim Thaci, one of Milosevic's adversaries in the 1990s Balkan wars, left office after being indicted for war crimes by the Kosovo war crimes tribunal in The Hague.

☆ Factbox: What is the International Criminal Court?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

THE HAGUE, Netherlands, March 17 (Reuters) - The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin, accusing him of responsibility for the war crime of illegal deportation of children from Ukraine. It can prosecute crimes committed by nationals of member states or on the territory of member states by other actors. It has 123 member states. * The ICC website says there have so far been 31 cases before the court, with some cases having more than one suspect. * The ICC has convicted five men of war crimes and crimes against humanity, all African militia leaders from Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali and Uganda.

☆ Son of Uganda's president says to stand for leadership in 2026
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Uganda's opposition has long accused Museveni of seeking to impose a monarchy on Uganda and claimed he was grooming his son Muhoozi Kainerugaba to take over from him. Currently a special presidential advisor for special operations, the 48 year-old general is known for firing off controversial tweets that have earned him reprimands from his father. "The Prime Minister of UK is 42 years old, the Prime Minister of Finland is 37 years. Museveni not yet said whether he intends to stand again in 2026, although his supporters have encouraged him to do so. Reporting by Elias Biryabarema; Editing by Hereward Holland; Sofia Christensen and Frank Jack DanielOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ The man in charge of deporting Pablo Escobar's 'cocaine hippos' explains how he plans to fly 70 of them across the world
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Crystal Raypole | Jessica Orwig | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Authorities plan to relocate 70 of the hippos living wild in Colombia, but it's not an easy task. Very carefully, according to David Echeverri López, head of Biodiversity Management, Protected Areas, and Ecosystem Services at Cornare in Colombia. So, authorities will continue pursuing other options, from sterilization to searching for other zoos and sanctuaries willing to take hippos. The thickness of a hippo's skin, and the density of their subcutaneous tissue, also makes it challenging to deliver enough anesthesia to keep them asleep for the right amount of time. Cornare has sterilized 13 hippos, López said, and relocated seven to zoos in Colombia.

☆ Explainer: International Women’s Day: date, history and this year’s theme
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Josie Kao | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

March 6 (Reuters) - As the world gears up to celebrate International Women's Day (IWD) on Wednesday, here is a look at what the global event stands for, this year's theme and the issues that activists are focusing on. WHAT IS INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY? WHAT IS THIS YEAR'S INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY THEME? The U.N.'s theme this year is "DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality." WHY IS INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY IMPORTANT?

☆ French court dismisses Uganda lawsuit against TotalEnergies
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( America Hernandez | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Companies TotalEnergies SE FollowPARIS, Feb 28 (Reuters) - A French civil court ruled on Tuesday that a lawsuit brought by campaigners against energy major TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA) over its oil projects in Uganda and Tanzania was inadmissible. TotalEnergies in a statement to Reuters said the court had found it "formally established a vigilance plan comprising the five items required by the duty of vigilance law, in sufficient detail so as not to be considered purely summary". The court in its ruling, the first based on the 2017 law, said nothing prevented France from enacting laws that govern the overseas activities of companies present in France. TotalEnergies had argued a French court did not have jurisdiction over the overseas activities of its subsidiary TotalEnergies EP Uganda. Reporting by America Hernandez and Benjamin Mallet; editing by Silvia Aloisi and Barbara LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ French court to rule on landmark TotalEnergies Uganda case
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( America Hernandez | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

PARIS, Feb 27 (Reuters) - A French court on Tuesday could order oil major TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA) to halt the development of an east Africa pipeline in a landmark case based on legislation that makes big companies liable for risks to the environment and human rights. TotalEnergies has argued that its vigilance, compensation and relocalisation plans are fair and legal, and that a French court does not have the power to control the overseas activities of its subsidiary TotalEnergies EP Uganda. The non-governmental organisations behind the suit seek an emergency suspension of TotalEnergies' east Africa projects until financial compensation has been paid to those they say have been harmed as a result of those plans. In a statement to Reuters on Monday, TotalEnergies said its vigilance plan had been implemented effectively in the projects under scrutiny. Reporting by America Hernandez, Editing by Silvia Aloisi and Aurora EllisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

After Russia invaded Ukraine, the West formed what looked like an overwhelming global coalition: 141 countries supported a United Nations measure demanding that Russia unconditionally withdraw. South Korea Indonesia Israel Thailand Japan Saudi Arabia Philippines Afghanistan CambodiaBy contrast, Russia seemed isolated. Eritrea “Russian actions are being distorted” North Korea Russia Belarus Syria Eritrea “Russian actions are being distorted” North Korea Russia Belarus SyriaBut the West never won over as much of the world as it initially seemed. But like many other African countries, South Africa appears careful to balance its growing ties with Russia against maintaining a relationship with the West. Others that provided Ukraine with military support have declined to impose economic sanctions on Russia.

☆ Uganda, Other African Nations Push for Fossil-Fuel Projects
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Nicholas Bariyo | Photographs Badru Katumba For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

MURCHISON FALLS NATIONAL PARK, Uganda—A herd of elephants stomped through savannah grasslands to the throbbing sounds of bulldozers preparing oil wells that will soon start feeding a 900-mile pipeline from this wildlife and nature reserve. The $10 billion project has become a flashpoint in the global battle against climate change, as some African governments with unexplored natural resources seek to resist a global push to limit investment in new fossil-fuel projects.

☆ Uganda says it will not renew mandate of U.N. human rights office
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KAMPALA, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Uganda has said it will not renew the mandate of the United Nations' human rights office in the East African country, citing the development of its own sufficient capacity to monitor rights compliance. "The ministry wishes to convey the government's decision not to renew the mandate of the OHCHR Country office in Uganda beyond the current term," said the letter, which the ministry confirmed to Reuters as authentic. OHCHR Uganda country office spokesperson Bernard Amwine told Reuters he had no comment. President Yoweri Museveni's government has over the years been criticised by the opposition, human rights activists and Western countries for various rights violations including torture, illegal detentions and extrajudicial killings of opponents and critics. The OHCHR Uganda office was established in 2006 and was initially allowed to focus only on human rights issues in conflict-plagued areas in Uganda's north and northeast, according to the Uganda government.

☆ Facebook co-founder Moskovitz funds research into cooling the Earth with sunlight reflection
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

(It's sometimes called solar radiation modification or solar geoengineering.) But it's potentially important, it could be very, very helpful, it could be disastrous," Stone told CNBC. And so it goes for solar geoengineering," Stone said. Everyone perceives it to be controversial," Camilloni told CNBC. "This is no one's Plan A for how you deal with climate risk, and whatever happens, we have to cut our emissions," Stone told CNBC.

☆ East African regional leaders demand ceasefire in eastern Congo
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( Clement Manirabarusha | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BUJUMBURA, Feb 4 (Reuters) - East African regional leaders on Saturday renewed their call for an immediate ceasefire by all sides in the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo that pits the country's military against a rebel group it has accused Rwanda of supporting. At a summit in Burundi's capital Bujumbura, the leaders of the regional East African Community (EAC) bloc called for an "immediate ceasefire by all parties," according to a communique issued at the end of the meeting. The conflict has inflamed regional tensions with Congo accusing neighbour Rwanda of backing and sponsoring the Tutsi-led rebellion. United Nations experts and Western powers have also accused Rwanda of backing the M23, although Rwanda has denied any involvement. Saturday's summit was attended by heads of state from Rwanda, Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Burundi and senior officials from the region.

☆ Davos 2023: 'Keep it in the ground' Greta Thunberg tells protest at end of WEF
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Maha El Dahan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Climate activist Greta Thunberg takes part in a protest on the last day of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland January 20, 2023. REUTERS/Arnd WiegmannDAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Greta Thunberg and around 30 other activists braved sub-zero temperatures on Friday in a protest calling for climate justice as the World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting wound up in Davos. Now" and "Fossil fuels have got to go", while Thunberg held up a sign saying "Keep it in the ground". The 20-year-old Swedish activist stuck to her stance against all new oil, gas and coal developments during the fringe event, that was not part of the official conference agenda. In 2019, the then 16-year-old Thunberg took part in the main WEF meeting, famously telling leaders that "our house is on fire".

☆ Protesters target BNP in Paris over loan to oil company
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Sarah MeyssonnierPARIS, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Protesters from ecological movement Extinction Rebellion rallied outside a BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA) building in Paris on Friday to oppose the French bank's loan to an oil major leading in an East African oil pipeline project. EACOP is the acronym for the $3.5 billion East African Crude Oil Pipeline, a project run by France's TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA) whose construction licence was approved by Ugandan authorities on Thursday. BNP Paribas decided not to finance the EACOP project in 2021, but last year participated in a one-year liquidity loan of $8 billion to TotalEnergies as one of a dozen banks. One protester, referring to the loan, said "this blank check allows TotalEnergies to finance absolutely anything it wants, so yes BNP Paribas may not directly underwrite the project but it still remains the second-largest financial partner." The bank has a goal to finance 30 billion euros ($32.5 billion) of renewable energy projects by 2025.

☆ Davos 2023: Greta Thunberg accuses energy firms of throwing people 'under the bus'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Maha El Dahan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 19 (Reuters) - The world's most powerful activist confronted the man in charge of regulating global energy in Davos on Thursday, demanding an end to fossil fuel investments. Greta Thunberg urged IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol to stop the global energy industry and the financiers who support them from fuelling carbon investments. "As long as they can get away with it they will continue to invest in fossil fuels, they will continue to throw people under the bus," Thunberg warned. He also said he was less pessimistic than the climate activists about the shift to clean energy. Asked why she did not want to advocate for change from the inside, Thunberg said there were already activists doing that.

☆ UN chief slams fossil fuel industry expansion in Davos speech
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Ivana Kottasová | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Guterres pointed blame squarely at the fossil fuel industry when addressing the Davos crowd, composed of billionaires, politicians and business leaders, including dozes of high level executives from the world’s biggest oil and gas companies. And like the tobacco industry, those responsible must be held to account,” Guterres told the conference. A new report published on Tuesday by the campaign group Reclaim Finance revealed that dozens of banks and financial institutions with net zero pledges are still pouring money into fossil fuels. Since signing, however, it found members have invested hundreds of billions into fossil fuels. Guterres called on companies to “put forward credible and transparent transition plans on how to achieve net zero,” by the end of 2023.

☆ Uganda Declares End of Deadly Ebola Outbreak
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Nicholas Bariyo | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

KAMPALA, Uganda—Uganda’s Ebola outbreak is over, the country’s health ministry said Wednesday, capping a nearly four-month struggle to contain a rare strain of the highly contagious virus for which there are no proven vaccines or antiviral treatments. Uganda’s Health Ministry said 42 days had passed since the last known patient diagnosed with the Sudan strain of Ebola was discharged from a hospital, taking the country beyond twice the virus’s maximum incubation period. Fifty-five people are confirmed to have died from the virus since September in the second-deadliest known Ebola outbreak in Uganda’s history, while at least 142 were infected. The ministry said another 22 people are believed to have died from the virus as far back as early August, but were never tested.

☆ Uganda’s latest Ebola outbreak is over, WHO and officials say
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: 1 min

Uganda’s latest outbreak of the Ebola virus is over. Uganda’s government and the World Health Organization made the announcement Wednesday. The Sudan strain of the Ebola virus, unlike the Zaire strain that has caused outbreaks in neighboring Congo in recent years, has no proven vaccine. This outbreak was the first in a decade of the less common Sudan strain. Ebola, which can sometimes manifest as a hemorrhagic fever, spreads through contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person or contaminated materials.

☆ Uganda declares over Ebola outbreak that killed 55
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Elias Biryabarema | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Motorists and cyclists are seen at a traffic light intersection in Kabuusu area of the Lubaga division amid the Ebola outbreak in Kampala, Uganda November 16, 2022. "We have successfully controlled the spread of Ebola in Uganda," Health Minister Jane Ruth Aceng said during a ceremony to mark the outbreak's end. The outbreak killed 55 of the 143 people infected since September, according to health ministry figures. Unlike the more common strain of the virus, Ebola Zaire, which has been behind several recent epidemics in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo, the strain behind Uganda's outbreak, Ebola Sudan, has no proven vaccine. Even so, experts said Uganda's experience battling previous outbreaks of Ebola and its viral cousin Marburg helped its response.

☆ Uganda declares itself Ebola-free after swiftly turning tide on outbreak
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Elias Biryabarema | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/3] Motorists and cyclists are seen at a traffic light intersection in Kabuusu area of the Lubaga division amid the Ebola outbreak in Kampala, Uganda November 16, 2022. "We have successfully controlled the spread of Ebola in Uganda," Health Minister Jane Ruth Aceng said during a ceremony to mark the outbreak's end. Aceng said this was Uganda's eighth Ebola outbreak since 2000, when the country recorded its first and most deadly one that killed more than half of the 425 people it infected. In the early weeks of the outbreak, cases spread beyond the epicentre of Mubende, 150 km (90 miles) west of the capital Kampala, to several other districts, including Kampala. Unlike the more common strain of the virus, Ebola Zaire, which has been behind several recent epidemics in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo, the strain behind Uganda's outbreak, Ebola Sudan, has no proven vaccine.

☆ WhatsApp's new feature could help Iranians bypass censors and coordinate protests during government-imposed internet blackouts
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-07 | by ( Stephanie Stacey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Messaging platform WhatsApp will help users bypass repressive restrictions using proxy servers. This follows a string of internet shutdowns in Iran, imposed amid ongoing anti-government protests. The move follows a string of internet shutdowns by Iranian authorities in an attempt to quash dissent and clamp down on anti-government protests. WhatsApp's new feature will allow users to go online using proxy servers, which can help mask their location and bypass government-imposed controls and restrictions. This will enable people to keep using WhatsApp even if their connection is blocked or disrupted — and maintain contact with family, friends, or fellow protesters.

☆ Fact Check-No reports of an Ebola virus outbreak at GW Hospital
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

There is no evidence of a patient testing positive for the Ebola virus at The George Washington (GW) University Hospital in Washington, D.C., health officials told Reuters. Users online are sharing a claim that the hospital is no longer accepting patients out of concern over a possible Ebola outbreak. Examples of users sharing images of a tweet that reads, “BREAKING NEWS: GW HOSPITAL isn’t accepting no patients due to a possible EBOLA OUTBREAK. Also Washington Hospital Center has no bed space with a line out the door” can be seen on Facebook (here) and (here). There has not been a reported case of a patient who tested positive for the Ebola virus at GW Hospital, health officials told Reuters.

☆ Several children die in stampede in Uganda at New Year's Eve celebration
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( Kelsey Neubauer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A stampede occurred at a New Years concert and fireworks display in Uganda. Witnesses say the event occurred when people rushed down stairs to get off a platform. Nine people died during a stampede at a concert and fireworks celebration Saturday in Kampala, the country's largest city, the BBC reported. Sylvia Nakalema, a witness who got caught in the stampede, told The Guardian, that the fireworks show turned deadly when viewers descended stairs from a platform where they had been watching. One in Seoul, South Korea, during a Halloween celebration in the city left 150 dead.

☆ Nine suffocate to death in Ugandan New Year firework crush, police say
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

KAMPALA, Jan 1 (Reuters) - At least nine people including a 10-year-old boy suffocated to death as crowds rushing to see a New Year's firework display got stuck in a narrow corridor in a shopping mall near Uganda's capital, police said. People started pushing through a passage in the Freedom City Mall just after clocks struck midnight, the force said. In doing so, many people suffocated to death. People had been celebrating the New Year at the mall which is on a highway linking Kampala to Entebbe airport. Reporting by Elias Biryabarema; Editing by Andrew HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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