🚂 Switching tracks

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Good morning 🌤️ A man and his dog were rescued in the Pacific Ocean after being stranded for two months. They survived on raw fish and rainwater and were found in surprisingly good condition. A professor credited the dog’s companionship as key to the man’s survival, saying it "may have well made the difference" between life and death...

…and you can’t get a text back.

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Headlines

🚤 Boat Tragedy

20 people died when a boat carrying 34 passengers capsized in Lake Victoria. The boat was en route from Lwanabatya to Kasenyi when it overturned due to overloading and bad weather, underscoring the importance of wearing life jackets and avoiding vessel overloading. However, limited access to affordable life jackets and high taxes prevent people from using proper safety equipment while traveling on water. Furthermore, government support was MIA during the recovery efforts for the victims.

⚖️ Warning: Tear gas ahead

In a statement, the UN Human Rights Office officially closed its operations in Uganda yesterday, after the government decided to end its mandate back in February. As a rationale for booting the Human Rights Office, the Uganda government said it has its own human rights body and no longer needs another. But as we all know, the Uganda Human Rights Commission is a sieve trying to hold water.

🚂 Switching tracks

After swinging and missing on funding from China for the new SGR project, Uganda will restore an old British-era railway line to reduce shipping costs to North Uganda, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The line, which is part of the East Africa rail network you would remember if you copied all your History notes in high school, was built during British colonial rule, stretches from Mombasa, and has been defunct for nearly 40 years.

What’s the deal? The restoration will be undertaken by the China Road and Bridge Corporation, with the Ugandan government providing Shs. 200Bn ($55.48M) for the project.

The news of the restoration follows the announcement of another project to build a standard gauge railway to link Naivasha to Kampala.

Other headlines

Buganda celebrates 30 years since Kabaka Mutebi's coronation

MTN and Airtel battle for 5G dominance

FDC grassroots polls flop as party members protest

Tourism board starts classification of accommodation facilities nationwide

G-25 Africa Summit: An opportunity to market Uganda’s coffee

Uganda now the 10^th most vulnerable country

Betting machines in Uganda are uncertified

Afrobasket: Uganda’s Gazelles settle for 7th place

Kakwenza petitions EU to [visa] ban government officials over rights abuse

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Beyond Borders 

🌍️ Africa

🇳🇪 Juntas & Jihad. Last month’s militia-led coup in Niger created a 3,500-mile stretch of African countries run by military juntas, derisively termed—the coup belt. The Sahel region is now the global epicenter of jihadist violence and the subject of geopolitical meddling by the West and Russia for influence. Recently, in the aftermath of the coup, the Niger Junta traded the help of the devil they know (France) by severing French military cooperation ties, for the devil they sort of know—Russian group Wagner—to aid in the fight against terrorism in the country. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) imposed sanctions on Niger and gave the military a one-week ultimatum to reinstate the deposed president. (ECOWAS’ history of military interventions)

🇪🇹 Amhara Trouble. Ethiopia declared a state of emergency due to escalating violent clashes between the national army and local fighters in the Amhara region. Tensions have been rising since the government announced the dismantling of regional forces in Amhara in April, a decision that nationalists felt would weaken the region, leading to protests and social disruption. Ethiopian Airlines cancelled flights to Gondar and Lalibela airports in the Amhara region due to the increased unrest, with the UK and Spain also issuing security alerts.

🇰🇪 Kenya, Assemble. Kenya expressed its willingness to lead a multinational force into crisis-stricken Haiti. While several countries previously supported the idea of sending a specialized support force, Kenya is the first country to step forward to lead the intervention, despite a less-than-stellar human rights record, limited experience in overseas missions, and zero French.
In October 2022, after the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in 2021, Haiti’s interim prime minister, Ariel Henry, requested the urgent deployment of a specialized armed force to address the gang violence, fuel shortages, and high cost of living that have caused a humanitarian emergency in Haiti. Kenya’s request was supported by the UN secretary-general and the US; the same U.S. that criticized the same Kenyan force for the fatal shooting of protesters.

Other headlines

Somalia Athletics Chair suspended over slow 100m viral Video

Henri Konan Bedie , former Ivory Coast president, dies at 89.

ATMIS continues troop drawdown in Somalia amid Al Shabaab threats.

TikTok suspended in Senegal amid clampdown on dissent

Kenya suspends Worldcoin scans

Nigerian stowaways who survived 14 days on ship’s rudder rescued in Brazil

Migrants continue to pour into Libya following expulsions from Tunisia

🗺️ The rest of the world

🚗 Uber goes vroom. Remember that brilliant idea you had that people told you would never make money? Well…after making a total of $31Bn in losses since 2014, Uber finally made a profit. During a quarterly call with investors, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, a man who doesn’t know how much an Uber costs, highlighted two major milestones achieved during the quarter: the first quarter of free cash flow over $1Bn and the first operating profit. However,...Uber’s stock slumped as the company’s second-quarter earnings fell below analysts’ expectations. But…Uber plans to be profitable every quarter going forward and expects strong results for the third quarter of 2023, so let’s hope they can pay their drivers well enough so we never hear “let’s settle this off-app” again.

🇵🇰 Bombing in Pakistan. ‘An Afghan branch of the Islamic State group’ (which is a very LinkedIn way to refer to a terrorist militant organization) claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing in Pakistan at a pro-Taliban party's election rally, killing 54 people and injuring around 200. The group, via their website, claimed the attack was in response to forms of democracy they deemed anti-Islamic. Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attack, swore the perpetrators would be punished, and talked about the significance of the ensuing visit by Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng to sign new agreements to boost trade and economic ties in Islamabad.

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Nn’ebigenderako

Politics and Government

Russia-Ukraine war update

Trump charges

Canadian PM and his wife, Sophie separate

Business and Finance

Amazon launched virtual healthcare service US-wide

Science and Technology

The Lazarus worm | The heaviest animal ever

The US’ new nuclear reactor

AI-powered chatbots coming to your already overwhelming WhatsApp soon

Sports

Women’s World Cup update | Ledecky breaks Phelps’ swimming record

Arsenal wins the Community Shield

Tiger Woods joins PGA Tour policy board

Lifestyle and Entertainment

Kanye’s X (Twitter) account reinstated

Lizzo accused of sexual harassment by former dancers

Procrastination corner

Games and Puzzles

From Braingle.

The same two letters can be prefixed to each of these words to make different words. What are these two letters?

—one
—edge
—own
—ought
—awl
—aught

Answer at the bottom

Our picks

🧠 Test your social intelligence

📱 2023 iPhone photography awards

🚽 The most lavish public restroom in the world

Games answer

Answer: D and R
Drone
Dredge
Drown
Drought
Drawl
Draught

Have a good week!

— Too Long; Didn’t Read (TLDR)

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