As the year comes to an end, one of Eddy Kenzo’s biggest achievements this year has been the acquisition of a new vehicle, a luxury Range Rover sport.
Following months of cruising it on our dusty roads, the musician has decided to customize it just like many artistes.He has customised the number plate from UAY 667T to the initials of his name ‘EK’ for Eddy Kenzo.
Customisation of one’s plate into a number of your choice currently costs Shs20 million at the moment. Initially it was Shs5 million though this was pushed to Shs20 million in July.
But would this be too much to a person who received a car believed to be worth over Shs200 million at a zero cost?! Kenzo, formerly a street child was gifted with the same vehicle in August by city businessman, Kaki, one of his biggest music fans.
Airtel Uganda has today December 30, 2016 handed prizes worth millions of shillings to lucky winners in third draw of their Tulumbe AFCONcampaign.
The prize awarding ceremony took place at Airtel Uganda’s office on Clement Hill in Kampala.
Speaking at the handover, Remmie Kisakye Kakuru reaffirmed Airtel Uganda’s commitment to football in Uganda.
“Our support for the development of football in Uganda begins at the grassroots with our Airtel Rising Stars platform. That support is further displayed in our sponsorship of the Uganda National Football team; the Uganda Cranes who as you know made history this year by qualifying for the 2017 AFCON tournament.”
“It is upon this win that Tulumbe AFCON was built. Essentially, Airtel is rallying Ugandans to support the Uganda Cranes as they head to Gabon in January 2917,” she added.
Also speaking at the event, Phanindra Nichanametla, Airtel Uganda’s Finance Director congratulated the winners and encouraged the rest of the country to actively participate in the campaign saying, “These winners are from various parts of the country including Mbale, Masindi, Hoima and Bulooba, among others. My hope is that this will encourage everyone across Uganda to participate in Tulumbe AFCON.”
The day’s big winner, Ms. Joan Namazi Sengo took home the coveted ticket for 2 to an all-expenses trip to Gabon come January. Ms. Namazi is also the first female winner of the tickets to Gabon. Barely able to contain her excitement, she expressed her gratitude to Airtel Uganda and support to the Uganda Cranes.
This is the third round of subscribers to benefit from the Tulumbe AFCON campaign.
For one to take part in the campaign, Airtel Uganda subscribers are required to dial *162#, where they have the choice to opt into the campaign by selecting option 1. Customers will then be made aware of their target and will be required to recharge and use Airtel Uganda services up to this target. Upon reaching the targets, subscribers will receive 100 per cent bonus, which, on accumulation, will be rewarded to them as airtime to be used for voice (prepaid), data and SMS.
Participants are entered into a weekly draw where they could win 5 TVs, smartphones, and an iPhone 6 Plus. The grand prize of a pair of tickets to Gabon is awarded fortnightly. Winners will be contacted by Airtel on 0752-600-222.
The world's highest bridge, the Beipanjiang Bridge in China.
A bridge in China suspended over a 1854-foot gorge became the ‘world’s highest’ when it opened to automotive traffic, reports said.
The Beipanjiang Bridge took three years to build, cost more than $146.7 million dollars, and stretches to be 4,396 feet long. Its four-lane roadway sits nearly two thousand feet over the Beipan River, which it’s named after, to connect the Yunnan and Guizhou provinces in southwest China
It surpassed the 1,837-foot-tall Sidu River Bridge for its world record title.
We know what you’re thinking: $146.7 million is cheap! And it is! After all, when the Golden Gate Bridge spanning San Francisco Bay was built in 1933 it cost $1.5 billion (in adjusted dollars), and the brand new New Bay Bridge, on the other side of town, ended up costing a whopping $6.7 billion when it was finished in 2013.
The Beipanjiang Bridge is part of the 2,115 mile Hangrui Highway which connects Hangzhou to the China-Myanmar border crossing in Ruili. Construction actually finished on the bridge September 10, but the massive sky-scraping overpass only opened to vehicular traffic yesterday, Thursday December 28.
Though the Beipanjiang Bridge might be the highest bridge in the world, the world’s ‘tallest’ bridge is still the Millau viaduct in France which tops out at 1,125 feet.
With just three weeks in the Oval Office, President Barack Obama has expelled 35 Russian intelligence operatives and sanctioned five Russian entities and four individuals for an alleged cyber assault on Democratic political organizations during the 2016 presidential campaign, the White House announced.
“I have ordered a number of actions in response to the Russian government’s aggressive harassment of U.S. officials and cyber-operations aimed at the U.S. election,” Obama wrote in a statement. “These actions follow repeated private and public warnings that we have issued to the Russian government and are a necessary and appropriate response to efforts to harm US interests in violation of established international norms of behavior.”
ON SPOTLIGHT: Russian President Vladimir Putin
He said all Americans ‘should be alarmed by Russia’s actions’, which were designed to ‘interfere with the US election process’.
“These data theft and disclosure activities could only have been directed by the highest levels of the Russian government,” Obama said. “Moreover, our diplomats have experienced an unacceptable level of harassment in Moscow by Russian security services and police over the last year. Such activities have consequences.”
Kremlin spokesman Dimitry Peskov said the sanctions are intended to ‘spoil’ U.S. relations with Russia and ‘undermine’ the incoming Trump administration.
Obama issued an executive order, amending his April 2015 decree to expand authorization for a response to certain cyberactivity that seeks to interfere with or undermine US election processes and institutions.
Obama said that the State Department is also shutting down two Russian compounds, in Maryland and New York, used by Russian personnel for intelligence-related purposes, and has ordered 35 Russian intelligence operatives to leave the US within 72 hours.
State Department deputy spokesman Mark Toner wrote in a statement: “The Russian government has impeded our diplomatic operations by, among other actions: forcing the closure of 28 American corners which hosted cultural programs and English-language teaching; blocking our efforts to begin the construction of a new, safer facility for our consulate general in St. Petersburg; and rejecting requests to improve perimeter security at the current, outdated facility in St. Petersburg.”
“Today’s actions send a clear message that such behavior is unacceptable and will have consequences,” he added.
House Speaker Paul Ryan supported the new sanctions, saying in a statement that “Russia does not share America’s interests. In fact, it has consistently sought to undermine them, sowing dangerous instability around the world. While today’s action by the administration is overdue, it is an appropriate way to end eight years of failed policy with Russia. And it serves as a prime example of this administration’s ineffective foreign policy that has left America weaker in the eyes of the world.”
The Democratic National Committee, which was targeted by the attacks, applauded the president for taking action, but said that he didn’t go far enough.
“These intrusions were not just ‘hacks.’ They were attacks on the United States by a foreign power and should be treated as such. Therefore, today’s action alone by the White House is insufficient,” the DNC said.
“Now it’s time for President-elect Trump and the Republican leadership in Congress to put our national security before politics and show the American people that they are serious about protecting our democracy.”
The Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation said that Russian military and intelligence organizations hacked digital files belonging to the Democratic National Committee and continue to target US entities.
“These cyber-operations have included spearphishing campaigns targeting government organizations, critical infrastructure entities, think tanks, universities, political organizations and corporations leading to the theft of information,” according to a report issued by the DHS and FBI. “In foreign countries, [Russian] actors conducted damaging and/or disruptive cyberattacks, including attacks on critical infrastructure networks. In some cases, [Russian] actors masqueraded as third parties, hiding behind false online personas designed to cause the victim to misattribute the source of the attack.”
Obama warned that today’s actions will not be the full extent of his administration’s response to Russia’s interference in the election, which some Democrats partly blame for Hillary Clinton’s loss to Donald Trump.
“We will continue to take a variety of actions at a time and place of our choosing, some of which will not be publicized,” Obama promised. “In addition to holding Russia accountable for what it has done, the United States and friends and allies around the world must work together to oppose Russia’s efforts to undermine established international norms of behavior and interfere with democratic governance.”
He pledged that his administration will provide a report to Congress in the coming days about Russia’s efforts to interfere in the election, as well as “malicious cyberactivity related to our election cycle in previous elections.”
The announcement is not the culmination of the broad review of Russian hacking recently ordered by Obama. That review is ongoing, and the government is expected to release its findings before Obama leaves office next month.
The timing of today’s announcement is notable, with Obama’s term coming to a close in 22 days. Trump has questioned the intelligence community’s conclusions and has not said he firmly believes that Russia was behind the hacks.
In a statement Thursday, Trump said it was “time for our country to move on,” but said he would meet with intelligence officials nonetheless.
CONVEYED MESSAGE: South Sudan Second VP James Wani Igga. Photo Credit/eyeradio.org
South Sudan President Salva Kiir is considering, as a New Year ‘gift’, an amnesty for several inmates imprisoned for various offenses across the nation, a senior official said.
While addressing inmates at Juba Central Prison, Vice President, James Wani Igga said the president’s national dialogue initiative is a program designed to bring real peace in the country.
He explained that the peace ‘vehicle’, embedded in the president’s national dialogue initiative, will also cover prison inmates.
“If you are released from here and you go and commit the same mistake that you brought here in the first place, then it will be unfortunate and you will face your own crime under law without further help,” stressed Igga, amidst cheers from the various inmates.
The Vice-President, formerly a speaker of the country’s Parliament, vowed to meet the President and First Vice-President General Taban Deng Gai to reach a decision regarding the prisoners’ complaints.
Igga said although the inmates have been convicted for different offences, others have been convicted due to ‘rumour’ and ‘ear say’.
“Others [inmates] may have committed a crime without knowing and others may have been brought here by other powerful forces, but all in all, we are reaching out to all the people of South Sudan to embrace peace and close dark chapters of our country’s history and to start the New Year 2017 as the year of peace,” he added,
The Vice-President shared some light moments and shook hands with former senior officials from the President’s Office, who were convicted in June and are now serving life imprisonment at Juba Central prison.
Child inmates at Juba Central Prison’s juvenil section.Many are charged with murder and theft.
Speaking during the same occasion, a prisoner, only identified as Kaunda, highlighted some of the challenges facing his colleagues and faulted the country’s judiciary mismanaging cases.
“There are people remanded for more than 10 years because the complainants have either forgotten they arrested somebody or no longer interested in the case, but police investigators and prosecutors are still holding such people in prison here,” he stressed.
He complained about cases before the Court of Appeal; the nation’s second highest court, saying it does not work in public interest.
“People wait for their appeal result between five to 10 years for a case to be concluded. The common jargon in the appeal court is that the first opinion is finished and from there you will never hear of the second and third opinion anymore,” Kaunda said on Tuesday.
“Lawyers and family will also forget you in the process of this long wait,” he added.
The Director of Juba prison, Brigadier General, Michael Malou Makuach told the inmates that their complaints would be forwarded to relevant authorities and encouraged the inmates to support the President’s dialogue initiative.
As the year comes to an end, many an employee especially those working for big corporate companies are always looking forward to an ‘end of year party’.
And so were NTV employees. Unfortunately, their bosses hadn’t planned one for them this year, the first time such is happening at the Serena based TV station.
We are reliably informed that in protest, the employees mobilized funds amongst themselves and it was not until yesterday that a reasonable sum of money had been raised. A source told The EagleOnline that the only person from management to have contributed towards the party was Maurice Mugisha.
And finally the ‘protest party’ was held on Wednesday at Serena Hotel amidst murmurs from the disappointed staff.
The source also said that contrary to the norm when workers used to get bonuses at the end of year, no one has ever received such since NTV Uganda’s MD Aggie Konde assumed office four years ago.
Nevertheless, this disappointment didn’t dampen their party spirit and many who attended have described the party as ‘fun’.
SECURITY GURUGURU: Events Promoter Balaam Barugahare with Dixon Okello 'Bond' and senior police officers.
We are only a few days away from 2017 and as is the norm various artistes will throng Sheraton Hotel for the UG Mix party that ushers revellers into a new year.
The security team after finalising plans at the Sheraton Hotel earlier today.
But with less than two days left, security hasn’t been taken for granted; events promoter, Balaam Barugahara has convened a meeting with security to plan for the fete where thousands of revellers are expected to turn up.
Among those in attendance was corporate events security guru, Dixon Okello popularly known as ‘Kampala’s James Bond’ and several senior police officers.
“Following a high profile security meeting held today, at Sheraton Hotel between the Event promoter Balaam Barugahara and security agencies, Sheraton hotel is now under tight security 24/7,” Okello intimated to us.
Okello added: “All revellers should respect and cooperate with security for the success of the concert, he added.
All top Ugandan artistes will perform in this annual concert that attracts over 15,000 revellers. Expect the best fireworks in Kampala. As usual, I will coordinate and manage event security.”
The event is scheduled for December 31 at the Sheraton Hotel gardens
Two Swiss nationals, charity workers Daniel Plattner and Claudia Derungs, the founders of Njuba Children’s Centre in Buwama, Mpigi district have been ordered to leave Uganda, following accusations that activities at a school they run are ‘incompatible with the education standards in the country’.
Under the Njuba Kinderhilfe Uganda, a charity organization founded in Switzerland in 2008, Plattner and Derungs together with Robert Kityo Sengooba, a Ugandan national based in Switzerland, run the centre that is located in Kasubi-Kami village.
According to sources, authorities in Buwama led by the District Police Commander (DPC) recently broke the ‘sad news of orders from above’ to the centre’s managers. The source, hastened to add that the order to leave might be linked to the centre’s affiliation to the proscribed Bridge International Academy (BIAs) schools, which were ordered closed by the High Court in November this year.
Through court sixty three the BIA schools were closed after the organization contested an earlier closure ordered by government in July, following a petition from the Ministry of Education over concerns of poor sanitation, ill-trained teachers and the curriculum followed.
“The government insists we didn’t follow the Ugandan syllabus, that the project taught children only pornographic and sexually-explicit syllabi,” the source said, adding however that: “We have been operating in the country for several years before Bridge (BIAs) came here.”
“We were just affiliated to them and they (BIAs) started their school-related operations in Uganda in 2015, six years after we came here; nothing more,” the source further said, adding they intend to appeal the decision ordering them to leave.
By press time it was not possible to get comment from the authorities over the matter but according to their website, Njuba Kinderhilfe Uganda carries out projects related to ‘school support, external family support; nursery school learning; activities for children and village support’.
However, this year some Ugandan ministers including ethics minister Father Simon Lokodo and a host of MPs accused the BIA schools and some NGOs of promoting homosexuality.
“It is these international schools and some NGO’s operating in Uganda, which are funded by Europeans and the USA that end up teaching bad habits to our children like homosexuality,” one MP said.
The burnt out Casablance Bar in Kansanga, a plush city suburb.
“Now they burn my venue down. So heart broken. Sorry my brother Tezz and Family,” musician Pius Mayanja aka Pallaso broke the sad news.
MEGA LOSS? Pius Mayanja aka Pallaso
By his ‘venue’, Pallaso meant Casablanca Bar in Kabalagala which was gutted by a fire that destroyed properties worth millions Wednesday morning.
This came at a time when the hangout joint was only two days away from officially opening shop to the public and Pallaso was scheduled to be the main performer on the day, Saturday, to usher revelers into a new year.
According to the police, the main building was not affected but the wooden extension of the bar is what burnt down and, of the things destroyed there were: three flat screens, four loud speakers, one base speaker, seven sofa sets, seven fridges, and an uncounted number of expensive liquors among other drinks.
Pallaso’s manager says they had booked the venue for Saturday and now that the show is in balance, they are having talks with the bar’s management to see chart a way forward.
TRAGEDY: Hollywood actresses, mother Debbie Carrie Fisher died one day apiece on December 28 and December 27, respectively.
Debbie Reynolds had just one day to mourn the death of her daughter before she, too, died.
Two days. Two deaths of iconic Hollywood actresses.
But unlike daughter Carrie Fisher’s death, details of what caused Reynolds’ death remain a mystery.
Reynolds, 84, died Wednesday, her son Todd Fisher said.
“She spoke to me this morning and said she missed Carrie,” Todd Fisher said, adding: “She’s with Carrie now.”
He did not give a cause of death. Reynolds had complained of breathing problems, an unidentified source told the Los Angeles Times.
Reynolds was one of Hollywood’s biggest stars in the 1950s and 1960s. Born Mary Frances Reynolds, she was a bubbly singer, dancer and actress who starred in “Singin’ in the Rain” and “The Unsinkable Molly Brown.”
But despite her star power, she treated everyone with respect, her publicist Ed Lozzi said.
“The people that worked for her … she was just so respectful and caring and thoughtful to her publicists and her agents,” Lozzi said. “A lot of stars we worked for were not. She was special that way.”
Her film career began after being spotted in a beauty pageant at age 16. She became famous when she was picked to co-star with Gene Kelly and Donald O’Connor in “Singin’ in the Rain,” one of Hollywood’s best-known musicals.
She married then famously divorced singing sensation Eddie Fisher, who left Reynolds for Elizabeth Taylor in 1959.
“I have no regrets about my career. I’m just thrilled I’ve had it,” she told CNN’s Larry King in 1990. “You know, it stood by me. Marriages failed; my career always stayed. It gave me the fun of life, you know. It allowed me to travel and meet wonderful, funny people.”
On Wednesday, King tweeted: “Debbie Reynolds was pure class. She was loving, talented, beautiful, and unsinkable. I feel sorry for anyone who never got a chance to meet her.”
Though she stepped away from film for much of her career, Reynolds continued to entertain on Broadway stages and in Las Vegas nightclubs. She also appeared on many television shows, including one of her own — “The Debbie Reynolds Show” — that lasted just one season.
Actress Ruta Lee, a longtime friend of Reynolds, told CNN affiliate KABC that Reynolds used her celebrity to help others.
“I was blessed by the almighty in having this wonderful sister who taught me so much in life,” she said. “Debbie was without a doubt one of the most generous, wonderful, loving human beings that God put on this Earth.”
Carrie Fisher, whose grit and wit made ‘Star Wars’ Princess Leia an iconic and beloved figure to millions of moviegoers, was 60 when she died Tuesday, four days after a cardiac event on a flight from London to Los Angeles.
