In connection with the 10 fatalities in a stampede on New Year‘s Eve at a concert in the nation’s capital, Kampala, a music promoter in Uganda has been charged with nine counts of negligence.
On Tuesday night, Abbey Musinguzi appeared before the Makindye Chief Magistrate’s Court. He was remanded to Luzira prison after denying the accusations.
The prosecution claims that when he shut down the mall’s entrances, leaving only one gate open for more than 20,000 people to leave, he started a stampede at Freedom City Mall.
The 52-year-old was arrested on Monday.
His lawyer claims his client is being targeted because he is a known supporter of opposition National Unity Platform leader Robert Kyagulanyi, also known as Bobi Wine.
Meanwhile, the police have summoned more people, including the owner of the building, to record statements over the deadly incident.
The Artic walrus continues to draw sizable crowds to Arborough, but experts warn that anyone who harms the mammal could face legal repercussions.
Due to the presence of a wandering walrus, a beach town’s New Year’s fireworks were postponed at the advise of wildlife specialists.
The animal, now known as Thor, is thought to have appeared in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, on Friday afternoon.
Many people think that the Arctic walrus is stopping for a rest as it travels north.
He was previously spotted on the Hampshire coastline last month amid sightings as far away as Brittany in France.
Image: Thor pictured taking a break on the Hampshire coastline last month
Scarborough Borough Council cancelled the town’s New Year’s Eve fireworks display on the advice of British Divers Marine Life Rescue.
Its experts had expressed concerns that loud bangs and bright flashes could cause “distress” to Thor.
They had previously requested people not to disturb the creature and cordons have been put in place.
The unusual visitor has attracted large crowds.
They are said to have witnessed some playful behaviour.
RSPCA inspector Geoff Edmond, who has determined that the walrus does not appear to be sickor injured, encouraged people to enjoy the sight from a respectful distance.
He said: “We understand it’s exciting and unusual to have the walrus take up a temporary residence, however, it’s in his best interests to be left alone as much as possible, so we’re asking people to remember he is a wild animal and avoid the temptation to get near to him and disturb him.
“We would also remind everyone that the walrus is protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981, and so disturbing the animal may constitute an offence.”
President Gustavo Petro stated on New Year’s Eve that the five largest armed groups operating in Colombiahad reached an agreement with the government to a six-month truce.
The Andean nation’s internal strife, which has lasted for over six decades and claimed at least 450,000 lives between 1985 and 2018, will be resolved, according to Petro, the nation’s first left-wing president.
President Gustavo Petro announces ceasefire with the five largest armed groups to support peace talks.
Colombia’s government has agreed to a six-month ceasefire with the five largest armed groups operating in the country, President Gustavo Petro announced on New Year’s Eve.
Petro, the country’s first left-wing president, has pledged to end the Andean nation’s internal conflict, which has run for almost six decades killing at least 450,000 people between 1985 and 2018.
“This is a bold act,” Petro wrote on Twitter. “The bilateral ceasefire obliges the armed organisations and the state to respect it. There will be a national and international verification mechanism.”
Among the groups are the leftist armed group the National Liberation Army (ELN) as well as dissident groups run by former members of the now-demobilised Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), Segunda Marquetalia and Estado Mayor Central.
The truce was the main objective of Petro’s “total peace” policy aimed at ending the country’s armed conflict, which has persisted despite the dissolution of FARC in 2017.
The armed groups still operating in Colombia, the world’s largest cocaine producer, are locked in deadly disputes over drug trafficking revenues and other illegal businesses, according to the Institute for Development and Peace Studies (Indepaz), an independent think-tank.
Despite the government’s efforts to negotiate with Colombia’s various armed groups, which include a combined total of more than 10,000 fighters, it has so far failed to contain the spiral of violence engulfing the country. Indepaz recorded nearly 100 massacres last year.
The ELN, the last recognised rebel group in the country, has been negotiating with the government since November.
The Segunda Marquetalia and Estado Mayor Central groups – splinter factions of FARC which broke from the 2016 peace pact – have held separate talks with the government.
AGC, the country’s largest drug gang, is made up of the remnants of extreme right-wing paramilitaries that demobilised in the early 2000s.
The government is offering the groups “benevolent treatment from the judicial point of view” for the armed actors “in exchange for a surrender of assets, a dismantling of these organisations and the possibility that they stop exercising these illicit economies”, Senator Ivan Cepeda recently told AFP news agency.
Some dissidents refused to lay down their arms alongside their FARC comrades six years ago, when the fearsome rebel group signed the deal with Bogota to end more than five decades of conflict.
Colombia has suffered more than 50 years of armed conflict between the state and various groups of left-wing fighters, right-wing paramilitaries and drug traffickers. There are currently about 90 political and criminal groups operating in the country, according to Indepaz.
CNN’s coverage of New Year’s Eve could look very different this time around.
According to Variety, network CEO and chairman Chris Licht announced at a town hall discussion with CNN employees on Tuesday that anchors and correspondents cannot drink on camera this NYE. Or off camera, in fact.
Licht seemingly implied that the sight of Anderson Cooper battling uncontrollable laughter or a viral, loosened-up Don Lemon resulted in a loss of “respectability” among viewers, and hurt CNN’s credibility as a whole.
In fact, it may be the opposite.
Licht took over as the new head of CNN earlier this year following the merger between Discovery and parent company WarnerMedia. While his new edict applies to correspondents and anchors, it’s unclear if Cooper’s usual New Year’s Eve co-host Andy Cohen will also need to abide by this same rule.
Days after the Andy hosted their latest NYE broadcast, Cohen appeared on the Howard Stern Show, where he was unapologetic about his behavior on-air, despite admittedly being “a bit overserved.”
“I won’t be shamed for it, I had a blast, Anderson has a blast. We left and we were like ‘That was fun, what a fun New Year’s Eve,’” he said. “No apologies for my drinking on New Year’s Eve, none.”
