Kioo17 Journal

Kampala, UGANDA: You no longer need to prick your finger or draw blood from your body to test for HIV. Uganda has endorsed a new self-test kit that will enable one test for HIV anywhere outside a health facility. All you need to do is press the flat pad of a test stick/device firmly against your gum. Thereafter, you will move the test stick along the lower and upper gums once. Then, you will place the test device in a tube and wait for 20 minutes. The gums are rich in antibodies produced by people living with HIV. The gums of people living with HIV, according to health experts, are rich in antibodies produced by the virus. Antibodies are proteins made by one’s body to attack foreign substances such as viruses and bacteria. The HIV antibodies are not available in saliva and it is not required for the test, the acting director-general of health services, Dr. Henry Mwebesa, said. This was during an event to endorse the tool at Hotel Protea in Kampala yesterday. If r...

A  Lamborghini Veneno roadster fetched $8.4 million on Sunday in Geneva. Geneva, SWITZERLAND: A fleet of supercars said to have been seized by the Swiss authorities in a money-laundering investigation involving the son of the leader of Equatorial Guinea was auctioned on Sunday in Switzerland.  The vehicles were among 25 luxury cars sold for more than $ 27 million at Bonhams auction house, according to The Associated Press, in what Bonhams called a “very special sale.” Beforehand, the cars had been estimated to bring in more than 12 million euros  , or $ 13 million.  “The cars represent an international roll call of prestige and performance marques,” with models from Aston Martin, Bentley, Bugatti, Ferrari and Lamborghini, Bonhams said in a statement.  Many of the cars once belonged to Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, according to news reports, vice president of Equatorial Guinea and a son of its longtime leader. Supercars from a collecti...

After his recent letter to Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi, South African politician and Zulu tribal leader about the demerits of xenophobia, former Nigerian leader Olusegun Obasanjo also visited South Africa’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa in Pretoria. Lagos, NIGERIA: Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has advised Nigerians who were evacuated from South Africa to be ready to go back to the country if a bilateral commission meeting scheduled between President Muhammadu Buhari and South African President , Cyril Ramaphosa yielded a positive outcome . The former President also enjoined the leadership of South Africa and Nigeria to be ready to compromise and make the right statements that would encourage evacuated Nigerians to go back to South Africa . Obasanjo said this on Saturday , at his residence within the Olusegun Obasanjo President Library , Abeokuta while speaking with journalists on the outcome of his visit to the South African President . Nigeria has recently eva...

Kanye West's explosive and very public embrace of Christianity has finally come to a head with anticipation building around his upcoming gospel album, 'Jesus is King.' But not all Christians believe 'Yeezus' is sincerely practicing what he preaches.  This album is his most vocal proclamation of his faith yet, but it's conception has been foreshadowed for years. In 2004, West's debut album 'College Dropout' featured a song titled 'Jesus Walks' that showed him asking for guidance.  'God show me the way because the Devil's tryna break me down And I don't think there's nothin' I can do now to right my wrongs.  I wanna talk to God but I'm afraid 'cause we ain't spoke in so long' Two years later he outraged some fans when he posed for a Rolling Stone's cover named 'The Passion of Kanye.' The photo showed him dressed as Jesus, complete with a crown of thorns, and drew compl...

Member of Russia’s State Duma Natalya Poklonskaya. Image: TASS. Moscow, RUSSIA: A member of Russia’s lower house of parliament, the State Duma, and former Prosecutor of Crimea Natalya Poklonskaya suggested on Thursday relocating the United Nations’ headquarters to Yalta. Image: CIS. The Crimean city of Yalta hosted the conference between Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin in February 1945. There the foundations of the United Nations were laid. "In order to end all speculations and outdated and very annoying fairy tales from overseas about the annexation of Crimea, it would be good to consider the opportunity of relocating the UN headquarters to Crimea, for example to Yalta,"  Poklonskaya said in her Telegram channel. According to her, "a beautiful place could be found on the peninsula, which will encourage peace and constructive dialogue." Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov noted that after the US ...

Said Bouteflika, brother of Algerian president, attends the funeral of late Algerian singer Warda Al-Jazairia, one of the most famous singers in the Arab world, at the El-Alia cemetery in Algiers, in this May 19, 2012. Image: AFP. Algers, ALGERIA: An Algerian military court on Wednesday sentenced the brother of deposed President Abdelaziz Bouteflika and three co-defendants to 15 years in prison in a swift verdict delivered out of sight of the media. Said Bouteflika, widely seen as the real power behind the presidency after his brother suffered a debilitating stroke in 2013, went on trial on Monday alongside two former intelligence chiefs and a political party head. Their convictions are the most high-profile in a string of prosecutions of prominent politicians and businessmen over alleged graft launched since Bouteflika was pushed out in April after two decades in power. All four defendants were convicted of "undermining the authority of the army" and "conspiring...

Paris, FRANCE: The former French president Jacques Chirac , a self-styled affable rogue who had one of the longest political careers in Europe, has died aged 86. For several years he had suffered from memory loss said to be linked to a form of Alzheimer’s disease or to the minor stroke that he had while in office. Chirac, who was head of state from 1995 to 2007, boasted one of the longest continuous political careers in Europe – twice president, twice prime minister and 18 years as mayor of Paris. Although his time as president was marked by inaction and political stagnation, and despite having left France just as divided and struggling with mounting debt, inequalities and unemployment as he had found it, his debonair persona meant that in retirement he was embraced as one of France’s favourite politicians. Chirac will be remembered internationally for leading France’s strong opposition to the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 , when approval ratings for his anti-...

London, ENGLAND: Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger says it would a "dream" to manage Manchester United. The 69-year-old, who left The Emirates in 2018 after 22 years in charge, has "confidence" and "courage" to take on the job - even suggesting he has "ideas" on how to coach the current team. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side could only scrape past League One side Rochdale in the EFL Cup on Wednesday night. In fact, they have picked up just eight points in their opening six Premier League games. But a passionate and confident Wenger made his intentions clear in a fascinating interview. Speaking to beIN Sports on punditry duty, the Frenchman said: "Manchester United is a dream job for any manager. At least, any manager with courage and confidence. "Yes, they need - in my opinion - four first team players. But around those players, I see a squad that is capable of challenging. "They aren't as far aw...

Adis Ababa, ETHIOPIA: Pupils at state-run junior schools in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, are to receive free school meals from the start of the new academic year in October. Zelalem Mulatu, deputy of the Addis Ababa City Education Bureau speaking to BBC said‘‘We are planning to feed more than 300,000 students.” He said the city administration was expanding a scheme that had been feeding 70,000 pupils. It is part of efforts to stop students at state-run schools from dropping out of education. In July it was announced that all primary school pupils in Addis Ababa would be getting free uniforms and free exercise books from October. Many students at publicly funded primary schools come from low income families. “This scheme will enhance student’s active learning,” Mr Zelalem said. “It will also be an incentive for children to come to school as well as an incentive for the parents to send their children to school.” He said the initiative would al...

Image: AP /  Ramon Espinosa. Havana, CUBA: Certain basic items are in perpetual short supply in Cuba, but the country’s public health policies guarantee that condoms are always abundant. Naturally, the contraceptive has been repurposed to satisfy all kinds of needs in daily life: From rubber bands, to fishing, to wine. In a country where the average person makes about $25 per month, a bottle of imported wine can cost up to half a paycheck. Some Cubans make their own, adding extra flavor from other fruits and employing condom “corks” to show when the grape juice is ready for bottling, the AP reports. Winemaker Orestes Esteve, prepares a jug of wine at his house in Havana, Cuba.  Image: AP /Ramon Espinosa. In Orestes Estevez’s home winery, hundreds of condoms cap over 500 jugs, each containing about five gallons of wine. As the fruit ferments, the wine releases gas, which gets trapped in the condoms and makes them stand erect. Once the condoms become f...

Johannesburg,S.AFRICA: The rising crime rate and the increase in life sentences for serious crimes in South Africa is so bad that local prisons are running out of beds to house convicts. Earlier this year Minister of Justice and Correctional Services Ronald Lamola revealed that there are 162,875 inmates in South African prisons. There are, however, only beds for 118,572 people in local jails which means that there is a 37% level of overcrowding. The situation is getting worse with the growing levels of crime in South Africa, especially serious crimes with long sentences. TimesLive reported that the Department of Correctional Services is so concerned about overcrowding in South African prisons that it is considering drastic measures. As a first measure the department wants the judiciary to look at alternative forms of punishment to make more space in jails for serious crime. For less serious crimes, for example, the department wants judges to consider sentence...