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☆ Ted Cruz is citing the Bible and preaching on Twitter in defense of the LGBT community, and it's quite something
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Aditi Bharade | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ted Cruz preached tolerance for the LGBT community during a Twitter spat with a pastor. "Let he that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her," Cruz tweeted. The Texas senator then invoked another Bible verse to support his argument that gay people should not be persecuted. We are talking the laws of man, not the Old Testament laws of God,'" Cruz tweeted. Cruz also mentioned another Bible verse — "let he that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her" — arguing that it is cruel and hypocritical to judge others for sinning.

Persons: Ted Cruz, Cruz, —, Sen, Tom Ascol, Jesus, Caesar, Ascol, Hodges, Roe, Wade Organizations: Service, Newsweek, The Texas Tribune Locations: Florida, Texas, Uganda

☆ Dieuveil Malonga visited 48 African countries to create a new 'Afro-fusion' cuisine
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Rebecca Cairns | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Malonga visited 48 of the 54 African countries in a bid to better understand the diverse traditions, dishes and ingredients. Combining his Euro-centric training with his experiences of African cuisine, Malonga developed his signature style. Nigerian restaurant Ikoyi became the first Michelin-star West African restaurant in the UK in 2018, and the meteoric success of Chika’s, a multi-million-pound UK snack brand that highlights Nigerian flavors, shows a growing appetite for West African food. While the trend caused controversy and a backlash from some in Africa, it also sparked interest in West African cuisine among US internet users that has continued since. Next will be African cuisine – that’s why we are preparing the market,” he adds.

Persons: Meza Malonga, Dieuveil Malonga, ”, Malonga, –, Dieuveil, Chris Schwagga, Europe’s, “, matriarchs, Meza Organizations: CNN, Michelin, Chefs, Malonga's, Ikoyi Locations: Uganda, Cameroon, Africa, “ Africa, Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, Germany, Kigali, Rwanda, France, Europe, Malonga's Congolese, Congolese, Münster, Ivory Coast, Ghana, West, West African, Musanze, Lake Ruhondo

CNN —Ugandan troops discovered the bodies of 54 Ugandan soldiers who were killed during an al-Shabaab attack on an African Union base in Somalia last week, according to Ugandan officials. “During that operation, UPDF discovered the lifeless bodies of 54 fallen soldiers, including Lt Col Edward Nyororo, the commander….,” the agency said. After Ugandan troops reclaimed the base, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni announced that two commanders who ordered their soldiers to retreat during the May 26 militant attack would face a court martial. Ugandan soldiers are stationed at the forward operating base as a peacekeeping force. Unverified images shared on jihadi media channels showed about a dozen Ugandan troops, with arms restrained behind their backs, being captured by the militants.

Persons: UPDF, Col Edward Nyororo, …, Yoweri Museveni, Oluka, Obbo, Shabaab, ” Organizations: CNN, African Union, Uganda People’s Defense Force, Twitter, European Union, United, Somali, US State Department Locations: Somalia, Uganda, Buulo Mareer, Mogadishu, State, United States

☆ Uganda says 54 soldiers killed by al Shabaab in Somalia
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KAMPALA, June 4 (Reuters) - Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni said on Saturday that 54 Ugandan peacekeepers were killed in an attack last week by militant group al Shabaab on a military base in Somalia. Museveni said the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) had since recaptured the base from the Islamist group. “Our soldiers demonstrated remarkable resilience and reorganized themselves, resulting in the recapture of the base by Tuesday,” the president said. Al Shabaab fighters had targeted the base early last Friday in Bulamarer, 130 km (80 miles) southwest of the capital Mogadishu. Al Shabaab, which has said it carried out suicide bomb attacks and killed 137 soldiers at the base, has been fighting since 2006 to replace Somalia's Western-backed government with its own rule based on a strict interpretation of Islamic law.

Persons: Yoweri Museveni, Museveni, “, ”, Al Shabaab, Kanjyik Ghosh, Elias Biryabarema, Cynthia Osterman, Daniel Wallis Organizations: Uganda People’s Defence Forces, Somalia's, Thomson Locations: KAMPALA, Shabaab, Somalia, Uganda, Bulamarer, Mogadishu, Al Shabaab, Bengaluru, Kampala

☆ Museveni says Uganda won't be swayed after anti-LGBTQ law triggers aid cut threats
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

His comments were the first since he signed the bill into law, triggering widespread Western criticism including threats by U.S. President Joe Biden and others to cut aid to Uganda and impose other sanctions. If you try to recruit people into a disorientation, then we go for you. And that one I totally support, and I will support.”The law also imposes a life sentence for same-sex intercourse and a 20-year sentence for promotion of homosexuality. Firms including media and non-governmental organisations that knowingly promote LGBTQ activity will also incur harsh fines, the law says. Homosexuality was already illegal in the conservative and highly religious East African country, and homosexuals faced ostracism and harassment by security forces.

Persons: Pres Museveni, Yoweri Museveni, Joe Biden, Museveni, George Obulutsa, Hugh Lawson Organizations: U.S, Resistance Movement, Thomson Locations: Uganda KAMPALA, Uganda

☆ Uganda accuses West of blackmail in its response to anti-LGBTQ law
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

KAMPALA, May 30 (Reuters) - Uganda on Tuesday condemned the Western response to the East African country's new anti-LGBTQ law, considered one of the harshest in the world, and said sanctions threats from donors amounted to "blackmail". The law signed by President Yoweri Museveni carries the death penalty for "aggravated homosexuality", an offence that includes transmitting HIV through gay sex. In the Ugandan government's first detailed comments since Museveni signed the law, Information Minister Chris Baryomunsi rejected the condemnation. REUTERS/Abubaker Lubowa/File Photo"While we appreciate the support we get from partners, they must be reminded that we are a sovereign country and we do not legislate for the Western world. In an interview, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk told Reuters he expects the courts to agree.

Persons: Yoweri Museveni, Joe Biden, Antony Blinken, Josep Borrell, Museveni, Chris Baryomunsi, Abubaker, Human Rights Volker Turk, Turk, France's, Emma Farge, Alison Williams, Aaron Ross, Nick Macfie Organizations: Ugandan, Reuters, REUTERS, UN, Human Rights, Thomson Locations: KAMPALA, Uganda, EU, Kampala, Tanzania

☆ Ted Cruz calling Uganda's anti-gay law 'horrific' is odd considering he voted against protecting same sex marriages just last year
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Aditi Bharade | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Ted Cruz was one of many politicians who condemned Uganda's new anti-gay bill, calling it "horrific." He added: "ALL civilized nations should join together in condemning this human rights abuse." President Joe Biden, for one, called for the law's "immediate repeal" in a statement on Monday, saying that it was a "tragic violation of universal human rights." He also added that he would consider implementing "sanctions and restriction of entry into the United States against anyone involved in serious human rights abuses or corruption." However, Cruz's strong criticism of Uganda's new law is interesting, considering his established stance on gay rights.

☆ Biden Urges Uganda to Repeal Drastic New Anti-LGBT Law
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( Nicholas Bariyo | Gabriele Steinhauser | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/articles/ugandan-president-signs-drastic-anti-lgbt-law-3a6a09e1

☆ Uganda’s President Signs Punitive Anti-Gay Bill Into Law
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( Abdi Latif Dahir | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The president of Uganda signed a punitive anti-gay bill on Monday that includes the death penalty, enshrining into law an intensifying crackdown against L.G.B.T.Q. people in the conservative East African nation and dismissing widespread calls not to impose one of the world’s most restrictive anti-gay measures. The law, which was introduced in Parliament in March, calls for life imprisonment for anyone who engages in gay sex. Anyone who tries to have same-sex relations could be liable for up to a decade in prison. The offense of “attempted aggravated homosexuality” carries a sentence of up to 14 years.

CNN —Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has signed some of the harshest anti-LGBTQ laws in the world, the speaker of parliament said, defying international pressure. The bill includes the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality’ which includes sex with a minor, having sex while HIV positive and incest. The bill criminalizes sex education for the gay community and makes it illegal not to expose what it calls perpetrators of aggravated homosexuality to the police. Uganda’s longtime president has already faced extensive criticism from Western governments, including the US, over the law. “The civil society in Uganda together with the LGBTQI community are prepared to take this to the courts and challenge the law.

☆ Factbox: Global firms in Uganda face LGBTQ conundrum
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

May 29 (Reuters) - Uganda's tough new anti-LGBTQ law, which stipulates the death penalty for "serial offenders", presents a conundrum for multi-nationals wanting to grow in Africa while promoting diversity and inclusion. Here are some global firms that have substantial operations in Uganda and their strategies for LGBTQ inclusion. GOOGLEGoogle, owned by Alphabet (GOOGL.O), launched its first wi-fi network in Uganda in 2015 in the capital, Kampala. On its website, the company says "supporting LGBTQ+ communities has been a priority from the earliest days of Google." EYEY offers services in Uganda including tax and advisory.

☆ Uganda enacts harsh anti-LGBTQ law including death penalty
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Same-sex relations were already illegal in Uganda, as in more than 30 African countries, but the new law goes much further. It imposes capital punishment for some behaviour including transmitting a terminal illness like HIV/AIDS through gay sex, and stipulates a 20-year sentence for "promoting" homosexuality. Uganda receives billions of dollars in foreign aid each year and could now face another round of sanctions. The bill's sponsor Asuman Basalirwa told reporters that parliament speaker Anita Among's U.S. visa was cancelled after the law was signed. "Our data shows that this law runs counter to the interests of economic progress and prosperity of all people in Uganda," he said.

☆ Biden warns Uganda of possible sanctions due to anti-gay law
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, May 29 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden condemned Uganda's new anti-gay law on Monday, and said the United States may impose sanctions and will evaluate the implications of the law "on all aspects of U.S. engagement with Uganda." Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on Monday signed one of the world's toughest anti-LGBTQ laws, including the death penalty for "aggravated homosexuality," drawing Western condemnations and risking sanctions from aid donors. "This shameful act is the latest development in an alarming trend of human rights abuses and corruption in Uganda," Biden said in a statement. "And we are considering additional steps, including the application of sanctions and restriction of entry into the United States against anyone involved in serious human rights abuses or corruption," said Biden. Same-sex relations were already illegal in Uganda, as in more than 30 African countries, but the new law goes further.

☆ Reaction: Biden, McCarthy debt ceiling deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

WASHINGTON, May 27 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden and top congressional Republican Kevin McCarthy have reached a tentative deal to raise the federal government's $31.4 trillion debt ceiling, ending a months-long stalemate. DEMOCRATIC REPRESENTATIVE TED LIU"Tonight, I have been informed that there is an agreement in principle between the White House and House Republicans. This was a House Republican manufactured crisis. REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVE BOB GOOD "I am hearing the 'deal' is for a $4 trillion increase in the debt limit. "If we didn't reach a deal … the average American person would clearly see a hit ... we had to reach some kind of conclusion here."

☆ Uganda confirms casualties among country's soldiers in Somali attack
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The assailants numbered about 800 and during the attack the Ugandan troops were forced to withdraw to a nearby base, about nine kilometres away, he said. Al Shabaab fighters targeted the base early on Friday in Bulamarer, 130 km (80 miles) southwest of the capital Mogadishu. Al Shabaab said in a statement at the time that it had carried out suicide bomb attacks and killed 137 soldiers at the base. Al Shabaab tends to give casualty figures in attacks that differ from those issued by the authorities. ATMIS has so far not said how many troops were killed or wounded in the attack.

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/articles/as-oil-giants-retreat-globally-smaller-players-rush-in-4a8283da

☆ Malawi: Toddler dead, 23 others missing as hippo capsizes boat in Nsanje district
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Nimi Princewill | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —A toddler has died after a boat ferrying more than 30 villagers across the Shire River in Malawi’s Nsanje district was attacked by a hippo, causing it to overturn, authorities said. A police spokesperson, Agnes Zalakoma, said the incident happened early Monday and 23 of the boat’s 37 passengers were missing and feared dead in the water, which is infested with crocodiles and hippos. “Well-wishers managed to rescue 13 people while 23 others went missing and the dead body of the toddler has been found,” Zalakoma said in a statement Monday, adding that the deceased child was only one-year-old. According to a lawmaker for the Nsanje district, Gladys Ganda, the villagers were crossing the Shire River to get to their farms at the Malawian border with Mozambique when their boat was hit by a hippo. In December, a two-year-old Ugandan boy was attacked by a hippo which swallowed half of his body before spitting him out, Uganda’s police said.

☆ Russia, Ukraine to receive African mission on potential peace plan, Pretoria says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Wendell Roelf | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Details of the plan have not been publicly divulged, although Ukraine's stated position for any peace deal is that all Russian troops must withdraw from its territory. Putin and Zelenskiy had agreed to receive the mission in their respective capitals Moscow and Kyiv, a South African Presidency statement said. The peace plan is also backed by African leaders of Senegal, Uganda, Egypt, the Republic of the Congo, and Zambia. Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year but the war has largely stalemated, although Ukraine is expected to start a counteroffensive soon to try to take back land occupied by Russia. Reporting by Wendell Roelf; Writing by Bhargav Acharya; Editing by Olivia Kumwenda-MtamboOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Bat lands worldwide are besieged, seeding risk of a new pandemic
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +16 min

This collision – bats and humans competing for resources on territory long the domain of the bats – could trigger the next pandemic. As people destroy bat habitats worldwide, they are unwittingly helping bat-borne viruses mutate, multiply, and infect other species, including homo sapiens. For millennia, bat viruses lurked across the forests of West Africa and in other undisturbed parts of the world but posed little threat to humanity. They’re potent proliferators: Some roost tightly together and in close quarters with other bat species. Each of the bat viruses analyzed by Reuters has epidemic potential, according to the World Health Organization.

☆ After a Yearlong Dating Hiatus, (Cautiously) Embracing Something New
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Louise Rafkin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For Ande Flower, the first year of the pandemic coincided conveniently with a personal commitment to staying single. Flower began transitioning from female to male in 2018, following a move from Seattle to Pacific Grove, Calif., for a new job. At the turn of 2020, he began a new chapter of his life publicly living as a man. Flower, an urban planner focused on affordable housing in the Central California region, vowed to spend the year getting to know himself. So, in December 2020, he cautiously ventured onto OkCupid and quickly became captivated by Veronica Savage’s unique dating profile.

☆ Ugandan Lawmakers Amend Anti-LGBT Bill Criticized by U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Nicholas Bariyo | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The Ugandan Parliament passed an earlier version of an anti-LGBT bill in March. Photo: Ronald Kabuubi/Associated PressKAMPALA, Uganda—Uganda’s Parliament on Tuesday removed a provision from a sweeping anti-LGBT bill that would have criminalized identifying as gay, lesbian, transgender or nonbinary, but retained most other elements of the legislation. The bill, which has been widely criticized by the U.S., other Western donors and the United Nations, was initially passed in March and includes harsh new punishments for LGBT people, including allowing the death penalty for repeated same-sex intercourse by anyone who is HIV-positive.

☆ Heavy rain, floods kill at least 136 in Rwanda and Uganda
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Philbert Girinema | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/6] Residents walk over a water bridge after their homes were swamped following rains that triggered flooding and landslides in Rubavu district, Western province, Rwanda May 3, 2023. REUTERS/Jean BizimanaSummary Rain causes flooding and landslidesRescuers search for people trapped in homesSix dead in Uganda from mudslidesNAIROBI, May 3 (Reuters) - Flooding and landslides triggered by heavy rain have killed at least 129 people in Rwanda and six in Uganda, authorities said on Wednesday, as rescuers hunted survivors trapped in homes. "We woke up at 2 a.m and heard people screaming," Angelique Nibagwire, 47, said from Karongi district in western Rwanda where at least 16 people died. In a mountainous area of neighbouring Uganda near the border with Rwanda, six people died overnight into Wednesday in the southwestern Kisoro district, the Uganda Red Cross said. Rwanda and Uganda have been experiencing heavy and sustained rains since late March.

☆ Ideas, and Coffee, Robust Enough for the Climate Crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Somini Sengupta | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

As a climate journalist, I get asked a perennial question by my fellow Americans: What do I do in the face of a crisis so big and complicated? The answer I witnessed on a recent reporting trip to East and Southern Africa: everything. In Uganda, coffee farmers are beginning to switch away from robusta, the coffee species they’ve grown and shipped abroad for decades but that is falling prey to droughts and diseases aggravated by climate change. Instead, they’re growing a totally different and tougher coffee called excelsa, a variety of the native species Liberica. They were trying to be less poor, because being less poor is the best way to be more resilient to climate shocks.

CNN —Uganda’s parliament has passed an amended version of the controversial Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2023 on Tuesday. Under the new proposed bill, homosexual conduct will still be illegal, but identifying as homosexual without conducting in homosexual acts will not be outlawed. The new bill has made amendments to distinguish between those who identify or appear to be LGBTQ+ and those who actually engage in homosexual acts. Sign it or veto itThe bill will now be returned to President Museveni who will decide whether to sign it into law or veto it. Scientists and academics had urged Museveni to veto the bill, which has been widely condemned by Western nations and human rights organizations.

☆ Uganda parliament passes harsh anti-LGBTQ bill mostly unchanged
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The legislation now heads back to President Yoweri Museveni, who can sign it, veto it or return it again to parliament. It was not immediately clear if the new bill satisfied his requests, and his office was not available for comment. Proponents of the bill say broad legislation is needed to counter what they allege, without evidence, are efforts by LGBTQ Ugandans to recruit children into homosexuality. Western governments suspended aid, imposed visa restrictions and curtailed security cooperation in response to another anti-LGBTQ law Museveni signed in 2014. The U.S. government said last week that it was assessing the implications of the looming law for activities in Uganda under its flagship HIV/AIDS programme.

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