Cairo, Egypt | AFP | An Egyptian court has sentenced a female television presenter to three years in jail after she spoke on her show about pregnancy outside marriage, a judicial source said on Friday. Doaa Salah was convicted of “outraging public decency”, the source said. The court also ordered her …
Read More »IN THE INDEPENDENT: Why Kayihura is in trouble
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The top stories in this week’s THE INDEPENDENT COVER STORY Kayihura in trouble: Behind arrest of top cops, the Rwanda twist. THE LAST WORD Crisis of the state in Uganda: How foreign interests have captured our politics thereby turning our people from citizens to …
Read More »Russians also used Instagram for US election disinformation
Washington, United States | AFP | The Russian-led effort to spread misinformation and sow discord ahead of the 2016 US election also used the social network Instagram, parent company Facebook acknowledged in Congress Wednesday. Facebook general counsel Colin Stretch told a hearing that Instagram posts by suspect Russian accounts were seen …
Read More »DW Akademie’s media mission
Organisation focuses on training of journalists amidst shrinking media freedoms Kampala, Uganda | IAN KATUSIIME | A leafy compound on John Babiiha Avenue in Kololo, Kampala, has become home to a number of German organisations in Uganda, including known ones like KfW under their trademark ‘German Cooperation’ and newer ones like DW …
Read More »Besigye wants damages for breach of UBC contract
Kampala, Uganda | GODFREY SSALI | Former FDC party presidential candidate Dr. Kiiza Besigye has finally testified against the Uganda Broadcasting Corporation (UBC) for refusing to run his 2011 presidential campaign adverts. Besigye and his witness Dan Wandera Ogalo, an advocate of the High court, testified before Justice Magret Oguli-Oumo but …
Read More »Future of news: bracing for next wave of technology
Washington, United States | AFP | If you think technology has shaken up the news media — just wait, you haven’t seen anything yet. The next wave of disruption is likely to be even more profound, according to a study presented Saturday to the Online News Association annual meeting in Washington. …
Read More »Gabon president wins libel case against French author
Paris, France | AFP | A Paris court on Thursday fined French journalist and writer Pierre Pean 1,000 euros ($1,170) and ordered him to pay a symbolic one euro in damages in a libel case brought by Gabonese President Ali Bongo. In a 2014 book called “Nouvelles affaires africaines” (“New African …
Read More »Facebook ‘context’ button is latest effort to fight fake news
Washington, United States | AFP | Facebook said Thursday it was testing a new “button” to allow users to get more context about a news source, in the latest move by the leading social network to curb misinformation. The new feature will allow users to get context on the source of …
Read More »Facebook beefing up team to thwart election manipulation
San Francisco, United States | AFP | Facebook on Monday said it will hire more than 1,000 people to thwart deceptive ads crafted to knock elections off course. The announcement came as the leading social network turned over to Congress some 3,000 Russia-linked ads that appeared to use hot-button issues to …
Read More »Burundi radio station suspended for criticising killings
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | The director of a Burundi radio station said Friday his outlet is being temporarily taken off air after criticising the government over the killings of dozens of refugees in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). CCIB FM+, which is run by Burundi’s chamber of commerce, …
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