Le #Zimbabwe et la #Zambie travaillent à optimiser le fret minier par voie ferrée

L’Algérie adopte une loi érigeant la colonisation française en crime

A trial in a tent draws crowds as Uganda debuts mobile court for man accused of killing 4 kids.

It is the first test of the country’s controversial mobile court sessions intended to allow people to directly follow cases that draw widespread public interest.

The suspect, Christopher Okello Onyum, is accused of killing the children in a machete attack inside a nursery school in a suburb of the Ugandan capital of Kampala on April 2. The motive remains unclear in the incident that shocked many in this East African country.

Onyum on Monday pleaded not guilty to four counts of murder.

Witnesses said the attacker targeted a nursery school known as Gaba Early Childhood Development Program by disguising himself as a parent. He is said to have briefly talked to administrators there before locking the gate and then attacking the children.

An angry crowd later tried to lynch Onyum, who was rescued and taken into custody by police. He could face the death penalty if convicted.

President Yoweri Museveni’s order to have the case tried quickly and in the very public setting of a mobile court has proved controversial, with some critics saying it threatens to sensationalize a matter of obvious pain for the bereaved while also interfering with justice.

In a statement, the Uganda Law Society said the president’s directive amounted to executive interference and undermined the suspect’s right to a fair trial.

“This is not justice,” the society said in a statement. “It’s a judicial lynching rally.”

Hundreds of people gathered for the trial, which was being held in a large tent erected in the grounds of a church.

This is the first time mobile courts are being put into practice after a legal notice with formal directives for their operations were published in March.

The judiciary defended the decision, saying it highlighted its “commitment to taking #justice closer to the people through innovative approaches.”

Rodney Muhumuza, The Associated Press

#Senegal parades AFCON trophy despite CAF awarding 2025 title to Morocco after dispute; appeals decision at CAS, awaiting swift ruling.

#xenophobia in #SouthAfrica : Arrest these instigators of black on black violence in #KZN

#Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama criticised the U.S. for normalising the erasure of Black history.

Under President Trump, the U.S. has removed slavery exhibits and reinstated Confederate statues, which civil rights advocates say threaten decades of progress.

Mahama highlighted the removal of Black history courses from schools and the increasing bans on books about slavery and racism.

The White House defended Trump, claiming he has delivered historic support for Black Americans and enjoys their support.

Wounded, alone, facing death: More South Africans fighting in Russia’s war plead for help

A strike on a hospital in Sudan killed at least 64 people, WHO says. The strike on the Al Daein Teaching Hospital in East Darfur on Friday also injured at least 89 people and rendered the hospital non-functional, Tedros Ghebreyesus, the head of the WHO, said on X.

Sudan slid into chaos in April 2023 when a power struggle between the military and the rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces exploded into war throughout the country.

The RSF has blamed the military for the strike on the hospital.

The army has denied the attack, but two military officials said the strike was targeting a nearby police station. They spoke on the condition of anonymity as they were not allowed to discuss the matter openly.

The devastating war has killed more than 40,000 people, according to UN figures, but aid groups say that is an undercount and the true number could be many times higher.

The WHO has said that over 2,000 people have been killed in attacks on medical facilities since the start of the war.

“Enough blood has been spilled. Enough suffering has been inflicted. The time has come to de-escalate the conflict in Sudan,” said Ghebreyesus.

#Zuma wants commission to hand over WhatsApps, emails between Khampepe and Semenya. #SouthAfrica

A U.S. military refuelling plane crashed in Iraq, killing 4. Here’s what to know.

The U.S. Central Command, which oversees the Middle East, said the crash followed an unspecified incident involving two aircraft in “friendly airspace,” and that the other plane landed safely.

Here’s what is known so far about the tanker, which is the fourth publicly acknowledged U.S. aircraft to crash during the war against Iran:
The KC-135 is a long-serving tanker plane

The KC-135 Stratotanker is a U.S. Air Force aircraft used to refuel other planes in midair, allowing them to travel longer distances and maintain operations longer without landing. The plane is also used to transport wounded personnel during medical evacuations or conduct surveillance missions, according to military experts.

Based on the same design as the Boeing 707 passenger plane, the tanker has been in service for more than 60 years, supporting the U.S. Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps as well as allied aircraft, according to an Air Force description. The aging plane is set to be phased out as the air force receives a full complement of next-generation KC-46A Pegasus tankers.

Despite upgrades over the years, the KC-135s’ age has fueled concern about their reliability and durability.

“The last of these planes were produced in the 1960s,” said Yang Uk, a security expert at South Korea’s Asan Institute for Policy Studies. He added that the transition to the KC-46A has progressed more slowly than expected.

According to the Congressional Research Service, the Air Force last year had 376 KC-135s, including 151 on active duty, 163 in the Air National Guard and 62 in the Air Force Reserve.

A basic KC-135 crew has three people: a pilot, co-pilot and boom operator. Nurses and medical technicians are added in aeromedical evacuation missions.

Refuelling typically happens at the back of the plane, where the boom operator is located. A fuel boom is lowered to connect with fighters, bombers or other aircraft. On many of the planes, the boom operator works lying face down while looking out of a window on the underside of the plane.

Some KC-135s can also refuel planes from pods on their wings. The tankers also have room above the fuel stores to carry cargo or passengers if needed.

Refuelling tankers could play an increasingly important role if the Iran war drags on, as U.S. aircraft may need to fly longer missions to pursue Iranian forces retreating deeper into the country, said Yang.

Cause of crash and condition of crew not immediately known

The U.S. Central Command said four of the six crewmembers on board the crashed KC-135 have been confirmed dead and that rescue efforts are continuing. It said the circumstances of the crash are under investigation but that the loss of the aircraft was “not due to hostile or friendly fire.”

A U.S. official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the developing situation, said the other plane involved was also a KC-135. Yechiel Leiter, the Israeli ambassador to the U.S., wrote on X that the other plane landed safely in Israel.

Yang said it would be rare for a refuelling tanker to be downed by enemy fire because such operations are usually conducted in the rear of combat zones.

The crash came after three U.S. F-15E fighter jets were mistakenly downed last week by friendly Kuwaiti fire.
Past accidents

KC-135s have previously been involved in several fatal accidents. The most recent occurred on May 3, 2013, when a KC-135R crashed after takeoff south of Chaldovar, Kyrgyzstan, while supporting the war in Afghanistan.

In that crash, the crew experienced problems with the plane’s rudder, according to a U.S. Air Force investigation. While they struggled to stabilize the plane, the tail section broke away and the plane exploded midair, killing all three crewmembers onboard.

The most serious mid-air collision involving the plane happened in 1966, when a B-52 bomber carrying nuclear bombs struck a tanker near Palomares, Spain.

The accident caused the tanker to crash, killing four onboard. The disaster led to an extensive decontamination effort to clean up nuclear material dispersed when conventional explosives in the hydrogen bombs detonated after hitting the ground.

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Kim Tong-hyung And Adam Schreck, The Associated Press

Schreck reported from Bangkok. AP writers Ben Finley and Konstantin Toropin in Washington contributed.