Democratic Republic of Congo’s constitutional court this week approved a proposal that could see President Felix Tshisekedi run for a third term after a referendum. Here is what we know: Third term – Tshisekedi, 63, has been in power since 2019 and under the current constitution has to step down at the end of his second five-year term at the end of 2028. The head of state and his supporters have for months been preparing public opinion, without explicitly stating that he will seek a third term. But they have called for a revision of the constitution that they deem…
Author: Oki Bin Oki
Congo said on Tuesday that a Rwandan armed group operating in eastern Congo had signed a protocol committing to disarmament, but Rwandarejected the move as inconsistent with a U.S.-brokered peace agreement between the two countries. Congo’s government said the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a group founded by ethnic Hutu fighters including some linked to the perpetrators of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, had signed a protocol on disarmament, demobilisation and cantonment. The FDLR is a central issue in a peacedeal signed by Congo and Rwanda in Washington last year aimed at ending the conflict in eastern Congo.…
George and Amal Clooney left their home in the south of France amid wildfires ravaging the region. Actor Clooney, his human rights lawyer wife and their two children left their Brignoles property earlier this week. He told the city’s mayor Didier Brémond in a letter: “We have no idea whether our beautiful home makes it through this terrible moment”. Clooney added he and his wife were committed to help repairing their village after the fires “whatever happens”. The family bought their Brignoles home in 2021 and were all awarded French citizenship in December 2025. The letter, which was shared with…
Egypt’s cabinet has confirmed that a drone attack caused the fire that broke out on Wednesday on two ships at the Mediterranean port of Damietta, a key liquified natural gas (LNG) hub. “No party has claimed responsibility,” a statement said, adding that authorities were continuing to investigate the incident and “take the necessary measures to preserve Egypt’s interests and national security”. The drone reportedly hit a US-owned floating storage and regasification vessel, Energos Winter, sparking a blaze that spread to a Greek-owned LNG tanker, GasLog Salem. Verified videos posted on social media showed clouds of black smoke rising from the…
A fifth-year student at the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) died after suffering convulsions while asleep at his rented house in Juja, Kiambu County. According to police, the incident occurred on the night of July 28 and was reported to Juja Police Station at about 3:53 p.m. on July 29 by a second-year pharmacy student, who told investigators she had spent the evening with her boyfriend at his residence in Skyline Apartments. The student said they had supper together, after which they went to bed at around 9 p.m., with the deceased appearing to be in good…
The National Council on the Administration of Justice (NCAJ) has approved a series of reforms aimed at strengthening Kenya’s justice system, including endorsing the draft Sexual Offences Bill 2026, reactivating its election preparedness committee ahead of the 2027 General Election, and adopting new measures to improve criminal investigations and child protection. The resolutions were adopted during the Council’s 38th meeting chaired by Chief Justice Martha Koome. Before deliberating on its agenda, the Council launched five justice reform initiatives, including people-centred justice guidelines, a background study on people-centred justice, the Justice Sector ICT Policy and Action Plan, procedures for handling sexual…
A judge ordered all videos featuring popular animated character Wolfoo to be removed from platforms including YouTube after ruling that the cartoon illegally copied audio from Peppa Pig. Wolfoo, a Vietnamese animation about a young wolf who lives with his family, has had hundreds of millions of views online. A High Court judge in London recently ruled in favour of entertainment giant Hasbro, which owns the rights to Peppa Pig, after it sued Wolfoo’s makers SConnect for copyright infringement. Mr Justice Smith said the copying – in which Wolfoo videos used short audio clips of Peppa and her family saying…
The National Crime Research Centre (NCRC) will on Thursday launch a landmark report detailing the extent of theft and illegal trade in donkey skins and related products in Kenya, shedding light on what it describes as an emerging security and socio-economic challenge. The report, titled Theft and Illegal Trade in Donkey Skins and Related Products in Kenya, is the first comprehensive national study examining the scale, drivers and impacts of donkey theft and the illicit trade in donkey skins. According to the NCRC, the findings expose the complex nature of the illegal trade, including the involvement of organised criminal actors,…
Large parts of Kenya were plunged into darkness on Wednesday night following a widespread power outage that disrupted electricity supply across several regions of the country. The outage, which was first reported shortly after 8:20 p.m., affected Nairobi, Mombasa, Eldoret, Nakuru, Kilifi, Nyeri and several other towns, with residents taking to social media to report losing power almost simultaneously. The blackout disrupted evening activities in homes and businesses, prompting many Kenyans to seek information online about the cause of the outage and its geographical extent. In a statement, Kenya Power confirmed the widespread outage, attributing it to a system disturbance…
US authorities are seeking the extradition of six Kenyan nationals over an alleged business email compromise fraud. Prosecutors say the group deceived American institutions into sending money to accounts the syndicate controlled. USA wants Elvis Omari Obaigwa, Francis Mobisa Asanyo, Peter Omari, Linus Karani, Bernard Morara Osoro and Godfrey Julius Mbogori extradited to the USA, claiming that they were allegedly engaged in business email compromise fraud schemes that siphoned billions of Kenyan shillings from the US government entities and academic institutions. The named suspects face charges tied to a scheme that Kenyan media describe as running into billions of shillings.…
Mulching robot mowers need regular maintenance to cut neatly, safeguard grass health, and last longer. Blade condition and deck cleanliness impact performance since these machines cut often and leave fine clippings as grass nourishment. Turf accumulation, dull blades, wetness, and improper settings can impair mulching effectiveness and yield inconsistent results. Simple maintenance helps the mower cut grass neatly, distribute clippings uniformly, and operate reliably. A robot mower can cut grass smoother and healthier all season with proper cleaning, blade upkeep, and smart settings. Daily and Weekly Cleaning Routine for Better Performance Removing Grass Clippings from Blade Deck Grass clippings…
Fifa president Gianni Infantino has written to all 211 member associations saying they will receive $40m (£30m) if they back his controversial plan to sell off stakes in its major competitions. Infantino has set a deadline of 19 September for football federations to accept his plans if they want to access an initial $20m (£15m). Football’s world governing body has said it wants to create a commercial subsidiary to run its main events, including the World Cup, and external investors will be able to buy stakes in it. Uefa, European football’s governing body, accused Fifa of using football “to enrich…
Oscar-winning Irish musician Glen Hansard has died in a motorbike crash in Dublin. Hansard, 56, was the frontman for rock group The Frames and also featured in The Commitments. He won an Academy Award for Best Original Song for Falling Slowly in 2008 which he wrote for the low-budget film Once. Hansard was born in Dublin in 1970 and busked on its streets before landing the role of Outspan Foster in Alan Parker’s The Commitments, a 1991 film about a soul band made up of a group of working-class young people from Dublin. He had founded The Frames a year…
French DJ and electro-house musician Kavinsky has been found dead at his home in Paris aged 50. The star, whose real name was Vincent Belorgey, enjoyed a slow-burning hit with his 2010 track Nightcall, which soundtracked the opening credits to the 2011 stylish neo-noir crime movie Drive, starring Ryan Gosling. After being performed at the Paris 2024 Olympics closing ceremony, the modern synthwave cult classic became the most Shazamed song in a single day in the history of the music identifying app. President of France Emmanuel Macron led the tributes to the late DJ, posting on Facebook that Kavinsky was…
Former top US health official Anthony Fauci refused to answer questions at a US Senate hearing about the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic, saying he feared Republican lawmakers would try to use his testimony to prosecute him for perjury. He invoked the Fifth Amendment to the US Constitution, which says no individual can be “compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself”. Days before the hearing, Republican Senator Rand Paul released more than 1,000 pages of Fauci’s pandemic-era writings, in which he mused about fame and the origins of Covid. Fauci said Paul has a grudge against…