'Hotel Rwanda' film hero, Paul Rusesabagina arrested on terrorism charges

 

 Paul Rusesabagina whose true life story of saving hundreds of Rwandans during the genocide in the country by sheltering them in the hotel he managed inspired the 2004 Hollywood film 'Hotel Rwanda', has been arrested on terrorism charges.
 The Hutu native who became well known after Hotel Rwanda, is wanted for a score of serious crimes. He is said to be the founder of the National Liberation Forces (FLN), ''an armed terrorist organisation'' under his Rwandan Movement for Democratic Change (MRCD).

China to build, restore 18,800 hectares of mangrove by 2025

 

 China plans to build and restore 18,800 hectares of mangrove forests by 2025, according to an action plan issued Friday by the Ministry of Natural Resources and the National Forestry and Grassland Administration. Of the total, 9,050 hectares of mangrove forests will be built over the next five years, and 9,750 hectares will be rehabilitated.
Protecting coastlines against increasingly ferocious storms and rising seas, mangroves also absorb planet-heating carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and provide nurseries for young fish, thereby supporting the livelihoods of coastal communities.

White House slams WHO over criticism of push for COVID vaccine

 

 The White House on Tuesday pushed back on concerns expressed by the World Health Organization after a US health official said a coronavirus vaccine might be approved without completing full trials.
"The United States will continue to engage our international partners to ensure we defeat this virus, but we will not be constrained by multilateral organizations influenced by the corrupt World Health Organization and China," White House spokesman Judd Deere said in a statement.
"This President will spare no expense to ensure that any new vaccine maintains our own FDA's gold standard for safety and efficacy, is thoroughly tested, and saves lives," he said.

K-pop’s BTS becomes first All-South Korean act to top U.S singles charts

 

Billboard has announced on Monday that K-pop sensation BTS has become the first all-South Korean act to rule the top US singles chart, with their English-language “Dynamite” hitting number one.
It is another milestone cementing the seven-member boy band’s global dominance, coming hours after BTS beat American heavyweights including Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande, and Taylor Swift to score the Best Pop award at Sunday’s MTV Video Music Awards.
The first BTS single sung completely in English, “Dynamite” was released August 21 and tallied 33.9 million US streams in just a week, with 300,000 units sold.
In securing the top spot, the song unseats Cardi B’s hit “WAP” featuring fellow rapper Megan Thee Stallion, a not-safe-for-work bop that held number one for two consecutive weeks.

Prophet Mboro fingers Prophet Bushiri in R5000 'Ticket To Heaven' scam

 

 Prophet Paseka “Mboro” Motsoeneng has linked Prophet Shepherd Bushiri of Enlightened Christian Gathering to the R5000 'Ticket To Heaven' scam he got entangled in. Daily Sun reported that in the last 4 years, Prophet Mboro has been made fun of "for going to heaven and trying to sell a selfie of himself in heaven."
However a former ECG employee, Thato has confessed to the deed and also disclosed that he was assigned the “project” to deface Prophet Mboro by Prophet Shepherd Bushiri. While Thato said he got the brief to create an image of what looked like heaven with Mboro in the background from the ECG leader, Bushiri’s spokesman Ephraim Nyondo said Mboro and Bushiri met in 2017 and resolved the matter.

AFCON trophy ‘missing’ at CAF headquarters in Egypt

 

 The Africa Cup of Nations trophy has reportedly been “stolen” from the Egyptian Football Association headquarters in Cairo. The Egyptian Football Federation confirmed to Goal that the trophy won by the Pharaohs three times in a row has been lost. Ex-Egyptian Football Association vice-president Ahmed Shobeir earlier revealed that the trophy was discovered missing during preparations to build a museum to house all of the silverware won by the North African nation.
“Officials of the committee which meets every five years and currently manages the Football

Arsenal confirm £27m signing of Brazilian defender Gabriel Magalhaes from Lille

 

Arsenal has finally confirmed the signing of Brazilain defender Gabriel Magalhaes from Lille.  The Premier League club made the announcement this afternoon with the help of his Brazilian compatriots, David Luiz and Willian.
 In a clip posted to the club's official Twitter page, Luiz starts by congratulating Willian on his move to the Emirates, with the winger replying: 'I'm so happy we will soon be together. Let's go full throttle and win trophies.

"I Like to Move It" DJ, Erick Morillo dies at 49

 

 DJ Erick Morillo, the musician known for his 90s hit "I Like To Move It", has died. His body was found this morning, September 1, in Miami Beach, reports TMZ. The circumstances surrounding his death are not yet known, law enforcement sources told the news site.
 Erick was best known for producing electro dance track I Like To Movie It, which he released in 1993 under the pseudonym Reel 2 Real.
 "Madagascar" movie franchise revived his hit song recently as it was used in the movie.

Denzel Washington, who once paid Chadwick Boseman's tuition, pays tribute

 

Chadwick Boseman was referred to as "the next Denzel Washington" and the first one has remembered Boseman as a "gentle soul."
Washington's rep released a statement to CNN paying tribute to Boseman who died last week at the age of 43 following a four-year battle with colon cancer.
"He was a gentle soul and a brilliant artist, who will stay with us for eternity through his iconic performances over his short yet illustrious career," Washington said in his statement. "God bless Chadwick Boseman."

Hong Kong begins coronavirus mass-testing amid calls for boycott

 

 Hong Kong began a voluntary mass-testing programme for coronavirus on Tuesday, amid calls for its boycott by some pro-democracy activists, as part of a strategy to break the chain of transmission in the city's third outbreak of the disease.
The testing programme has become the latest political flashpoint in China's self-governing territory, with many distrustful over resources and staff coming from Beijing, and fears that residents' DNA could be collected during the exercise.

Face masks mandatory in New Zealand as Auckland lockdown lifted

 

 Children went back to school and offices reopened in Auckland on Monday after authorities lifted the lockdown in New Zealand's largest city that was imposed to contain a sudden spike of coronavirus cases earlier in August.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she was confident the outbreak was under control, but made masks compulsory on public transport across the country of five million people.
"We have a plan that we know will work," Ardern, herself wearing a mask said on Monday.
"We just need everyone's compliance and help. If everyone sticks to those guidelines and rules, coupled together with all the public health measures that we have, we can make this work."
The lockdown began on August 12 after four cases were detected in the city of 1.5 million, and brought to an end 102 days without community transmission. The origin of the outbreak has still not been found.
Students in Auckland returned to school after many weeks of disruptions.

Colombia lifts lockdown after five months, reopens airports

 

 Colombia on Tuesday lifted one of Latin America's longest lockdowns, scrapping most restrictions after being under quarantine for over five months. Several airports reopened, buses started travelling between cities nationwide, while restaurants, gyms and hotels welcomed or were preparing to welcome clients.
President Ivan Duque's government had already been gradually reactivating the economy in the country which has confirmed more than 615,000 infections, the third-largest number in Latin America.
But unemployment was 20 per cent in July, and the economy shrank by 15.7 percent in the second quarter year-on-year, mounting pressure on the government to fully reopen the economy.

Will Smith and "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" cast will reunite for 30th anniversary special on HBO Max

 

 Will Smith and other cast members from "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" will reunite this fall for a special to mark the 30th anniversary of the beloved series. The unscripted special is set to tape on September 10th, the date the show first premiered in 1990, and will air on HBO Max around Thanksgiving, according to a press release. The reunion will offer a look "back at the series and the cultural impact the series has had since its debut," according to the release.
Many members of the iconic Banks family will come together for the special. Smith's on-screen cousins, Alfonso Ribeiro (Carlton Banks), Tatyana Ali (Ashley Banks) and Karyn Parsons (Hilary Banks) have signed on. Daphne Maxwell Reid, who portrayed Smith's aunt, Vivian Banks, for part of the show's run and Joseph Marcell, who starred as the family's butler, Geoffrey Butler, will also appear.

Saudi king sacks commander of Yemen forces over corruption claims

 

Saudi Arabia's King Salman has sacked two royals over corruption allegations and referred them to the anti-graft watchdog for an investigation, according to state media. In a royal decree issued early on Tuesday, King Salman removed Prince Fahd bin Turki bin Abdulaziz Al Saud as commander of joint forces in the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen, and relieved his son Prince Abdulaziz bin Fahd of his post as deputy governor of al-Jouf region.
The decision was based on a missive from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) to Nazaha, the anti-corruption committee, to investigate "suspicious financial transactions at the defence ministry".
Four other military officers were also placed under investigation.

UAE reports over 500 new cases for second consecutive day

 

 The United Arab Emirates recorded over 500 new COVID-19 infections for the second successive day on Tuesday after a rise in cases in the Middle East financial hub.
The government’s communications office said on Twitter there had been 574 new infections but no deaths in the previous 24 hours, following 541 new infections and two deaths reported a day earlier.
Schools in the UAE reopened this week, though some will continue with only remote learning after suspected cases among employees, state news agency WAM reported, citing the education ministry.

Photos of Vietnamese man, who has gone 80 years without cutting his hair

 

 Vietnam's Nguyen Van Chien has gone almost 80 years without cutting his hair. The 92-year-old from the southern Mekong Delta region is the proud owner of five-metre long dreadlocks, owing to his belief in a faith that prescribes leaving untouched what a person is born with.
"I believe if I cut my hair I will die. I dare not to change anything, not even combing it," Chien said.
"I only nurture it, cover it in a scarf to keep it dry and clean and looking nice."
Chien, who worships nine powers and seven gods, believes it was his calling to grow his hair, which he bundles up under an orange turban.

Boeing finds flaws in fuselage of some Dreamliners; eight aircraft affected

Boeing Co (BA.N) said on Friday that some airlines operating its 787 Dreamliners have removed eight jets from service after the planemaker identified two distinct manufacturing issues in the fuselage section. The planemaker said it was conducting a review to find the root cause and has notified the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration.
“We immediately contacted the airlines that operate the eight affected airplanes to notify them of the situation and the airplanes have been temporarily removed from service until they can be repaired,” Boeing spokesman Peter Pedraza said.

Horrifying moment a 4ft Snake is pulled from a woman's throat after it crawled into her mouth while she slept (Video)

 

This is the horrifying moment a 4ft snake was pulled out from a Russian woman's mouth. According to reports, the reptile crawled inside her as she slept in the yard of her home in Levashi village in Dagestan. When she started feeling unwell, she was rushed to a hospital where she was put under general anaesthetic.
During her operation, a doctor was filmed removing the snake after inserting a tube down her throat.
 The female patient was not identified and her current condition is unknown.
 Locals in the Levashi village say such incidents happen infrequently and they have advised people not to sleep outside because of the risk of snakes slithering inside their mouths.

Watch the video after the cut

'Hitman' accuses Bafana Bafana captain, Senzo Meyiwa's babymama of plotting his murder

 

 One of the suspects linked to the murder of former Bafana Bafana goalkeeper and Orlando Pirates captain Senzo Meyiwa,  has allegedly implicated his baby mama and singer Kelly Khumalo in the murder. City Press reported that the hitman in a confession made before a magistrate in June, six years after Senzo Meyiwa’s death, alleged that the plot was hatched in a mall in Johannesburg.
 Though no arrest has been made so far, it was however learnt that investigators have submitted the docket to prosecutors to obtain warrants of arrests for all implicated in the murder.
Insiders told the publication that a crack team of investigators appointed by Police Minister Bheki Cele, took eight months to wrap up investigations that had been stalled for years.

Zimbabwe says white farmers can apply for seized land

 

 The Zimbabwean government has said that white farmers whose tracts of land were seized between 2000 and 2001 under a government programme of land reform can apply to get them back. Where the land cannot be given back, the farmers will be offered land elsewhere, according to a joint statement by Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube and Lands and Agriculture Minister Anxious Masuka.
The ministers said the government would revoke offer letters to black farmers who were resettled in the land.
They said the white farmers whose land was to be seized by government but is yet to be taken can apply to lease the land for 99 years.
Some 3,500 white farmers were evicted from their farms during the controversial land reforms.
Zimbabwe's government agreed in May to pay $3.5bn (£2.6bn) in compensation to white farmers whose land was taken during the land reforms.