Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza the gay couple from Malawi were sentenced to the maximum 14 years in prison for unnatural acts and gross indecency.
The gay couple were convicted under Malawi’s anti-gay laws.
Chimbalanga and Monjeza were arrested a day after they celebrated their engagement with a party at a hotel were Chimbalanga worked as a janitor.
Homosexuality is illegal in Malawi and in many other African countries, including Zimbabwe were activists have been fighting for gay rights to be included in the new constitution.
It has been reported that Uganda is considering a bill that could sentence homosexuals to life in prison.
FIFA has ordered age test to be performed on players at the Under 17 World Cup in Nigeria to catch teams who field over-aged players. This follows reports that hosts Nigeria were going to select a number of over age players for the October 24 to November 15 finals.. FIFA said it would conduct magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) tests “to protect the integrity of the tournament and in the spirit of fair play.”
Defending champions, Nigeria have always done well in these tournaments but there has always been rumours that they field over age players.
“MRI of the wrist can identify players who are definitely above 17 years,” FIFA said in a statement. “It is reliable, evidence-based and safe for the player.”
Internet search and advertising giants, Google has unveiled an SMS service that would help provide information via SMS texts to mobile phone users in Africa. Google SMS will be available first in Uganda and will provide information via SMS on a number of topics including health and agriculture tips, news, local weather and sports.
“At Google we seek to serve a broad base of people — not only those who can afford to access the Internet from the convenience of their workplace or with a computer at home,” the company said in a blog post.
“It’s important to reach users wherever they are, with the information they need, in areas with the greatest information poverty,” Google said.
Google noted that Africa has the world’s highest mobile phone growth rate and that mobile use on the continent is six times higher than Internet penetration.
“Most mobile devices in Africa only have voice and SMS capabilities, and so we are focusing our technological efforts in that continent on SMS,” it said.
A monkey urinated on Zambian President Rupiah Banda during a press conference outside his office in Lusaka. It has been reported President Banda took the unfortunate incident in good humour. ‘You have urinated on my jacket,’ Mr Banda told the monkey. He also added, ‘I will give this monkey for lunch to Mr Sata,’ he joked reffering to opposition leader Michael Sata. Will Mr Sata see the funny side of this joke?
Free University Scholarships are being provided for girls who can pass their virginity test in Birwa Chiefdom, Northen Sierra Leone. The Biriwa Youth Association for Development says that they have hundred of scholarships for girls who are especially in their teens and who can prove to the community nurse in the town that they are indeed virgins. This is meant to reduce teen pregnancies.
Bono and Bod Geldof have always campaigned for African Aid and have helped raise millions of cash in aid of poor African families. But to some, the two Irish rockers are now associated with a poor and weak Africa which is unable to help itself and depended on donor aid. So are they really good for Africa? Personally I think Bono and Bob Geldof have done a great job raising money for those poor families in Africa. And also creating more awareness to the problems facing Africa. Having grown up in rural Zimbabwe, I know how difficult life can be and how difficult it is for many families in Africa. For that reason I support anyone who is making an effort to make the lives of poor families better.
But Bono and Bod Geldof also have their critics, recently I read an article by Barry Malone writing for Reuters news agency from Ethiopia and he says;
“I’ve sat with Ethiopians in gardens lush with greenery and laughed about a land where according to Bono and Bob Geldof’s famous 1984 Band Aid song, “nothing ever grows, no rain and rivers flow.”
The article goes on to say
“for most Africans it’s a turn-off when Geldof and Bono are used to present a range of African issues, it perpetuates everything these guys claim to be speaking out against…..an Africa that is weak and incapable of picking itself up.”
Encouraging foreign investment in Africa will be far much better than the rich countries focusing more on Aid, is what some Africans believe to be the solution to Africa’s problems.
“Even though Bono and Bob Geldof now talk about foreign investment in Africa, they will always be associated with negative images of Africa and it discourages investment and tourists,” their critics say in the same article. The critics say there is a new generation of successful African people who should be used to promote the African continent.
I think Bono and Bob Geldof have done a very good job for Africa and are still using their time to do more great work for Africa. Being very popular individuals I believe Africa needs them and it stands to benefit more from their work even though some people think otherwise.
Feel free to add your contributions by posting your comments.
Angola’s flag carrier TAAG, already banned from flying to Europe, said Friday it had suspended a pilot and his co-pilot for landing at the wrong airport in Lusaka, the capital of Zambia.
Surely how can a serous error like this be allowed to happen??? The pilot landed the Boeing 737 at Lusaka City Airport when he should have landed at Lusaka International Airport during a regular stopover from Harare to Luanda on April 17, TAAG said in a statement.
“Because this is a serious incident, Angola’s Aviation Authority and TAAG have opened an investigation into the matter,” it said.
“TAAG regrets the grief this has caused to passengers and reiterates its promise to deliver a service with the highest security standards.”
The state carrier was banned from EU airspace in 2007, the same year one of its planes crashed, killing six people on board. The government fired TAAG’s board last year and created a commission to investigate and improve safety.
Angola expects the airline to be allowed to fly to Europe later this year.
(Reporting by Henrique Almeida Source: http://uk.news.yahoo.com/22/20090424/tod-oukoe-uk-angola-pilot-6d5fb3c.html)
