Trump aide under fire for kneeling on White House sofa

Washington: US President Donald Trump’s senior adviser Kellyanne Conway sparked social media fury late Monday after kneeling on a White House sofa with her shoes on.

In an image captured by an foreign news agency photographer, Conway appears casually kneeling on the couch as Trump poses for a photo with leaders of historically black colleges and universities.

Twitter users were quick to berate Conway, with many calling her body language a sign of “disrespect.”

“Conway with her shoes on the couch in Oval Office — consistent with general level of disrespect Trump team has shown,” tweeted one user.

“The new stock photo for ‘white privilege,’” wrote another Twitter user of the image, which shows her surrounded by a large number of black people who are standing.

“The country’s most esteemed African American educators have gathered together at the White House, and Kellyanne Conway cannot be bothered to acknowledge them with the respect of formal courtesy,” wrote one commentator on the women’s interests website Jezebel.

Uganda named best in English speaking

Uganda has been named the best English Speaking country in Africa. The study conducted by World Linguistic Society names Uganda as top, followed by Zambia, South Africa and Kenya.According to reports, the study revelations have risen amid video from a Miss Rwanda contestant who reportedly failed to express herself in English. In 2015, one of the beauty queens in the Miss Rwanda pageant, Uwase Honorine, could hardly answer questions asked by the judges.

Rwanda, a former French speaking country embraced English after a fall out with France, marking the move from francophone to Anglophone political divide.
English is Uganda’s official language and the language of instruction in schools and institutions in the country. Children start studying the language as early as pre-primary school.

Recently, the Government instructed schools to teach in vernacular in the lower primary, but still maintained English as a subject in the children’s curriculum.

Top English speaking countries in Africa

 1. Uganda

2. Zambia

3. South Africa

4. Kenya5. Zimbabwe
6. Malawi
7. Ghana
8. Botswana
9. Sudan 

Homes burned, shops looted in anti-migrant attacks, South Africa

Violence against foreigners has flared up again in parts of South Africa.

Earlier this month, immigrants' homes and businesses were looted and torched in suburbs of Johannesburg and Pretoria, the capital city, raising concerns about anti-foreigner sentiment in the country.

The latest attacks follow previous bouts of xenophobic violence in 2008 and 2015 which resulted in the deaths of foreign nationals and the displacement of hundreds of migrants who were too afraid to continue living in the new communities they now called home.

With the end of apartheid and the dawn of democracy in 1994, South Africa opened itself up to the world. 
A steady stream of migrants from around Africa made their way south in search of safety and better opportunities, in what was once the continent's fastest-growing and largest economy.

But nowadays, with the economy static and youth unemployment rising, some locals are accusing foreigners of stealing jobs and of being involved in criminal activities, such as drug peddling and prostitution.

Anti-immigrant sentiment is on the rise with community leaders and some in government echoing the dangerous rhetoric heard in parts of Europe and the United States.

On Friday, authorities gave permission to a group of people to hold an anti-immigrant rally in Pretoria. The march descended into violence when some protesters attempted to storm into a suburb of Pretoria West, which is home to a predominantly migrant community. 

The migrants in the area mobilised and vowed to fight back as a large contingent of riot police had to be deployed to avoid large-scale violence between the two groups.

Guinea President Fires Ministers after Deadly Protests

Guinea's President Alpha Conde fired three ministers, according to a decree read on state television Monday, following violent protests over a teachers' strike last week in which seven people were killed and dozens more were injured.

Ibrahima Kourouma, the minister of pre-university education, and Civil Service Minister Sekou Kourouma were removed along with Environment Minister Christine Sagno, the decree said.

Though the decree gave no reason for the dismissals, a senior government official, who asked not to be named, said the sackings of Ibrahima Kourouma and Sekou Kourouma were directly linked to the strike.

The government agreed to a deal to end the strike last week.

Teachers in Guinea walked out early this month over the government's decision to dismiss or cut the salaries of many junior staff after the latest civil service exams. Their students then took to the streets to support them.

The protests turned violent when demonstrators clashed with gendarmes in several neighborhoods of the capital Conarky.

Oscars 2017: Complete winners list.

Best actor in a supporting role 

• Mahershala Ali – "Moonlight" -- WINNER
• Jeff Bridges - "Hell or High Water"
• Lucas Hedges – "Manchester by the Sea"
• Dev Patel - "Lion"
• Michael Shannon - "Nocturnal Animals"

Best makeup and hairstyling

• "A Man Called Ove"
• "Star Trek Beyond"
• "Suicide Squad" -- WINNER

Best costume design

• "Allied"
• "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" -- WINNER
• "Florence Foster Jenkins"
• "Jackie"
• "La La Land"

Best documentary feature

• "Fire at Sea"
• "I Am Not Your Negro"
• "Life Animated"
• "13th"
• "O.J.: Made in America" -- WINNER

Best sound editing

• "Arrival" -- WINNER
• "Deepwater Horizon"
• "Hacksaw Ridge"
• "La La Land"
• "Sully"

Best sound mixing

• "Arrival"
• "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story"
• "Hacksaw Ridge" -- WINNER
• "La La Land"
• "13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi"

Best actress in a supporting role

• Viola Davis — "Fences" -- WINNER
• Naomie Harris — "Moonlight"
• Nicole Kidman — "Lion"
• Octavia Spencer — "Hidden Figures"
• Michelle Williams — "Manchester by the Sea"
• 
  

View image on Twitter

Best foreign language film

• "Land of Mine" (Denmark)
• "A Man Called Ove" (Sweden)
• "The Salesman" (Iran) -- WINNER
• "Tanna" (Australia)
• "Toni Erdmann" (Germany)

Best animated short film

• "Blind Vaysha"
• "Borrowed Time"
• "Pear Cider and Cigarettes"
• "Pearl"
• "Piper" -- WINNER

Best animated feature film

• "Kubo and the Two Strings"
• "Moana"
• "My Life as a Zucchini"
• "The Red Turtle"
• "Zootopia" -- WINNER

Best production design

• "Arrival"
• "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them"
• "Hail, Caesar!"
• "La La Land" -- WINNER
• "Passengers"

Best visual effects

• "Deepwater Horizon"
• "Doctor Strange"
• "The Jungle Book" -- WINNER
• "Kubo and the Two Strings"
• "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story"

View image on Twitter

Best film editing

• "Arrival"
• "Hacksaw Ridge" -- WINNER
• "La La Land"
• "Moonlight"
• "Hell or High Water"

Best live action short film

• "Ennemis Intérieurs"
• "La Femme et le TGV"
• "Silent Nights"
• "Sing" -- WINNER
• "Timecode"

Best documentary short subject

• "Extremis"
• "4.1 Miles"
• "Joe's Violin"
• "Watani: My Homeland"
• "The White Helmets" -- WINNERS

Best cinematography

• "Arrival"
• "La La Land" -- WINNER
• "Lion"
• "Moonlight"
• "Silence"
• 
  

Ugandans welcome Museveni - Besigye talks

A cross-section of leaders and ordinary Ugandans yesterday welcomed reports of planned talks between President Museveni and ex-presidential candidate Dr Kizza Besigye, calling the development a manifestation of political maturity.

Whereas Information Minister Frank Tumwebaze said he was not aware of the dialogue initiative, which has been a highly controlled process over the months, the President of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party on whose ticket Dr Besigye stood for president last year; was more measured.

“Since 2011 we (FDC), among other opposition parties and civil society organisations (CSOs), set four pre-conditions that would have to be met before we engaged in any dialogue with the government,” Maj Gen Muntu Mugisha noted, without giving specifics, adding: “The same pre-conditions have been our basis for any dialogue (post 2016 elections) in all interactions between us and all actors who have approached us on the issue of dialogue. I am not aware that those preconditions have been fulfilled. Without their fulfillment I do not see any dialogue (taking place).”.”

“As far as we (as government) are concerned, we have no comment,” minister Tumwebaze said, calling the reports a “Daily Monitor story”.

This newspaper, based on conversations with sources close to both President Museveni and Dr Besigye over the last three months, yesterday broke the story that the principals have agreed on a foreign mediator, a neutral venue and broad agenda for imminent talks.

The dialogue could start with a one-on-one meeting between the duo as early as next month, according to individuals briefed on the matter. The historic development is expected to be announced soon by the foreign mediator and the talks are expected to last six months and will involve the government on the one hand, political parties, religious leaders and civil society on the other hand.

The parties have spent the last several months behind the scenes discussing its modalities in a highly controlled process involving the Prime Minister’s office on the one side and a technical committee of FDC party on the other hand.

2016 UACE results,general performance and others.

KAMPALA - Education and sports Janet Museveni officially released the 2016 Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE) results on Tuesday, indicating a significant improvement in performance compared to the previous year.

This time, the pass rate was 98.7% compared to 97.8% of 2015, UNEB executive secretary Daniel Nokrach Odongo said.

This means the failure rate dropped – from 2.2% in 2015 to 1.3%.

While it emerged that on a general scale female candidates beat their male counterparts in last year's A' Level exams, Economics and science subjects were the worst done subjects.

And under this, Biology was the worst-done of all, having 40.8% of the candidates score principal pass E.

Another blemish is that results of 64 candidates from 11 education centers were withheld, which though is a significant drop from 279 cases in the previous year.

These results were held over exam malpractice.

With the candidature up this time round, UNEB chairperson Prof. Mary Okwakol said more candidates chose arts disciplines than science subjects.

Last year saw 104,234 candidates register for the final exams, which was more than the 101, 268 who expressed interest in 2015. In essence, it means that total candidature rose by 2.9%.

UACE RESULTS OUT! Female candidates generally performed better than males in all subjects

Odongo: 104,234 candidates registered for #UACE2016, compared to 101, 268 in 2015, meaning total candidature increased by 2.9%

- Economics & science subjects were poorly done - Biology worst performed (40.8%) obtained principle pass 'E' #UACE2016
These are the Centers whose results were withheld 👇#UACE2016 These are the Centers whose results were withheld #UACE2016 
They include Alliance ss Ibanda.

Female candidates generally performed better than males in all subjects

Uneb set to release A-level results today

KAMPALA. The Uganda National Examinations Board (Uneb) is today scheduled to release last year’s Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE) examination results. 

Uneb publicist Hamis Kaheru said the First Lady and minister of Education, Ms Janet Museveni, is expected to preside over the release of the exams in Kampala. He advised head teachers to pick results of their respective schools from Uneb Ntinda offices in the afternoon.
Mr Kaheru added: “Results will also be posted on school portals where they can be accessed or accessed through SMS. Type UACE, leave space, type candidate’s index number and send to 6600.”
Mr Dan Odongo, the Uneb executive secretary, said recently the examining body applied modern technology to mark students’ scripts in some aspects.
He further said the new grading system introduced last year for A- level students will be used in the 2016 examination results. Uneb would in the past depend on the students’ performance to fix the grading. 
“Students with Distinction One must have scored 80 per cent and above. Distinction Two ranges between 75 and 79, credit three (70 to 74) while a failure will be below 35per cent,” he said.
However, schools are uncomfortable with the new grading system, arguing that it is unfair for some students who fail to balance all the papers. The director Namirembe Hillside, Dr Hillary Kiiza, said the new system demands that a student offering a subject with two papers must have distinctions in all their papers in order to get an “A”.
“Uneb surprised us in the 2015 examinations when it increased the grading without informing the schools. It is unfair to grade students who obtained the same average mark differently,” Dr Kiiza said.

Prophet Andrew Ejimadu, a controversial Zambian pastor, asks his congregation to kiss his designer shoes to receive a miracle

A controversial pastor has left many people doubting his calling, after members of his church were caught kissing his designer shoes. 

A popular pastor has come under fire after photos of him allegedly compelling his church members to kiss his designer shoes for miracle surfaced online. 

The man of God who is identified as Pastor Andrew Ejimadu (Seer 1) who is the founder of Christ Freedom Ministries Zambia could be seen sitting down on a chair while many of his church members gather round him kissing his shoes.

The image has left many people talking and wondering how a man of God could make his congregants do such a thing. The incident, it is believed alleged took place during a church service in Lusaka.

The members reportedly bent down to kiss the feet of the Prophet Seer 1 to receive blessings in return.

Car Bomb in Somali Capital Kills 30

Somali officials say at least 30 people were killed and dozens others wounded when a massive car bomb exploded in a busy market in the capital Mogadishu on Sunday.

The blast ripped through a busy market in Kawo-Goday in Wadajir district on Sunday afternoon.

Security officials and witnesses said the blast occurred as the people were going about their daily business activities. They said the victims included civilians, shopkeepers and government soldiers.

No one has yet claimed the responsibility for the blast, but officials blamed al-Shabab militants.

Somalia’s new president Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo vowed to defeat al-Shabab in a Twitter message following the attack. He condemned the bombing in the strongest terms, saying it indicates al-Shabab's "barbarism."

He called on Somalis and government’s army to unite against the group.

Earlier in the day the president stressed there is an urgent need to fight and defeat the group as quickly as possible.

“My vision is to defeat al-Shabab in the next two years, hopefully if we work very closely together, we will be able to defeat them” he said during a meeting in Mogadishu with African Union leadership and representatives of troop-contributing countries. “If Somalia is to achieve prosperity, than there is an urgent need to root out the group” he said..

Ambassador Francisco Madiera, the African Union envoy to Somalia, assured the president that AU troops operating in Somalia are committed to working towards a peaceful Somalia. “We can cooperate with one another and harmonize our efforts to do exactly that (defeat Al-Shabab),” Madiera said.

In a newly released audio message, a senior al-Shabab leader, Sheikh Hassan Yaqub, called the new Somali president an “apostate” and warned Somalis against supporting him.

Wrong national anthem played for gold medallists

Russian gold medal winners at the biathlon world championship in Austria had to sing the correct version of their national anthem.

Aleksei Volkov, Maksim Tsvetkov, Anton Babikov, and Anton Shipulin were handed the microphone when organisers played an old version of the anthem.

The dazzling firefall of Yosemite has returned

The rare and stunningly beautiful phenomenon only occurs during a two-week window in February.

While winter in Yosemite National Park offers a spectacular opportunity to witness the national park's unparalleled beauty, there's one phenomenon in particular worth planning a trip around.

During the last two weeks of February, the angle of the setting sun transforms the 2,130-foot Horsetail Falls into what many have nicknamed "The Yosemite Firefall." The effect is so convincing that it almost appears as if lava is pouring out of the granite cliffside. For photographers, this spectacle is not to be missed, with many snatching up the best spots to catch the phenomenon as early as 5 a.m. each morning.

"The zeitgeist of it all, the social media, the viral nature of this year's photography played a huge role in (the crowds)," Bay Area photographer Sean Flansbaum told the SFGate in 2016. "I wouldn't say it was out of control, but it became really kinda fevered. It spread like a wildfire, in terms of the popularity."

Like any other weather-dependent event, the enthusiasm over the natural phenomenon can quickly lead to disappointment when the setting sun is stymied by storms, clouds or fog. Some years, the firefall has failed to show at all during the critical two-week window.

Asamoah Gyan found guilty of having 'unethical hair'

Former Sunderland forward Asamoah Gyan has been found guilty of having "unethical hair" under United Arab Emirates Football Association guidelines.
The 31-year-old is one of 40 players to have been found to breach Saudi Arabian rules on hairstyles.
Gyan is currently on loan at Arabian Gulf League side, Al Ahbi, who are based in Dubai.
Suhail Al-Mansoori of Al Wahda recently told he would have to cut his curly perm while in 2012 Saudi Arabia goalkeeper Waleed Abdullah was told to cut his "un-Islamic hair" before a match. 

Former PM Allimadi son asks Trump to stop military aid to Uganda

Milton Allimadi, a son to former Obote II Prime Minister Eric Otema Allimadi, has urged the US administration of President Donald Trump to stop giving military aid to Uganda.

According to Mr Allimadi, successive US governments since 1986 when President Yoweri Museveni came to power have spent US$21 billion on supporting Uganda’s military to support the government of ‘a mass killer’ (President Museveni).

The younger Allimadi, the Editor of US-based Black Star News, said he petitioned Mr Trump after he watched a documentary, ‘A Brilliant Genocide’, a documentary he says, ‘focuses on the largely unreported crimes committed first by the Ugandan army (first as the National Resistance Army or NRA and later as the Uganda People’s Defense Force, or UPDF) against civilians in the northern part of Uganda, including the Acholi people’.

“Gen. Museveni has used U.S. money and training to entrench his regime in power and commit crimes against Ugandan civilians in all parts of the country. Some of the most notorious massacres have been committed in Kasese, Corner Kilak, Mukura (where victims were roasted alive in railway wagons), Karamoja, and in Buganda over the Kayunja-crisis. No part of the country has been spared.”

According to Mr Allimadi, he wants the US to enforce three things against Mr Museveni’s regime; ‘immediately cut off arms supplies and any military and non-humanitarian support; take steps to ensure that the perpetrators of crimes committed by the Museveni regime, including Gen. Museveni himself, face justice, (just as the US has demanded that Joseph Kony and his associates face justice); use diplomatic pressure and sanctions to force the Ugandan government to compensate victims of all atrocities committed by Museveni’s regime, including the killing of relatives and loss of property such as land and livestock throughout Uganda’.

However, contacted for comment, Government spokesperson Ofwono Opondo said: “ First, I don’t know him (Milton Allimadi) and I think he is looking for relevance; many Ugandans don’t know him. I think he is trying to enter Uganda media space using this. The US has capacity to monitor their aid and they have been doing that. That Genocide is what Olara Otunnu has been talking about; Obote talked about and it is blackmail,” Mr Opondo said on phone.

The young Allimadi is a son to Eric Otema Allimadi (RIP), a former Prime Minister who served under the Obote II government which was also accused of abusing human rights between December 1980 and July 1985.