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Ugandan mothers beg President Yoweri Museveni to drop plans to sign anti-gay law

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A group of women in Uganda who call themselves “Ugandan Mothers”, have pleaded with President Yoweri Museveni not to sign into law an Anti-Homosexuality Bill already passed by the parliament.

The women who claimed their children are members of the LGBT community, in a letter to Museveni on Tuesday, urged him not to sign the new drafted law under which people who are revealed as being gay could be jailed for life.

In the letter published in local media, the parents said “they had watched in trepidation as religious fundamentalists, elected officials and anti-gay lobbyists” had demeaned and dehumanised their children.

They also pleaded with Museveni to call on the legislators to recall the draft as it would endanger the lives of their homosexual children.

The Ugandan parliament on March 21, passed the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, 2023, which effectively criminalized the act of homosexuality in the country after years of debate amid international condemnation.

While confirming the passage of the bill to journalists, the Parliament Communications Director, Chris Obore, had said the whole debate has been put to rest.

“Yes, it was passed overwhelmingly. The vote represents the national mood against homosexuality, especially its deliberate and provocative promotion,” Obore had said.

According to him, the initiator of the bill had framed it well, with a focus on the protection of family and children.

“It persuaded many legislators who believed that there will be no human rights to talk about when family is distorted,” he added.

Obore had also said that once the bill was signed into law by President Yuweri Museveni, it would prohibit same-sex sexual relationships and the promotion of homosexuality, penalize homosexual practices, and provide compensation to victims of homosexuality.

Metro

Nigerians plunged into darkness as national grid collapses again

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The hopes of many Nigerians celebrating the Easter period in the comfort of their homes may be truncated after the national electricity grid collapsed again on Thursday.

The national grid’s collapse was the fourth time
in the first three months of the year, despite assurances from the Minister of Power, Adelabu Adebayo, that everything had been put in place to curb the incessant collapse of the grid.

This recent blackout occured when the national electricity grid centrally managed from Osogbo, Osun State, suffered a collapse at 4:30 pm on Thursday, leaving millions of homes and businesses without power.

According to a statement from several distribution companies (DisCos) across the country, the collapse caused their feeders to become inactive resulting in widespread blackouts across the country.

Data from the Transmission Company of Nigeria’s (TCN’s) further showed that the grid collapse had left to power dropping from 2,984 megawatts (MW) to zero in an hour, with all 21 plants connected to the grid ceasing operations by 5 pm.

The Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC), in a statement on the situation, said the power outage was due to a system failure from the national grid.

“The system collapsed at about 16:28 hours today 28 March 2024, causing the outage currently being experienced across our franchise area,” the AEDC said in a statement.

“We appeal for your understanding as all stakeholders are working hard to restore normal supply,” it added.

In a notice to its customers, the management of Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) said the system collapse resulted in a loss of power supply across its network.

“We are currently working with our partners as we hope for speedy restoration of the grid. We will keep you updated as soon as the power supply is restored. Kindly bear with us,” EKEDC said.

Major power generation plants which were affected by the grid collapse included th Egbin, Afam, Geregu, Ibom Power, Jebba, Kainji, Odukpani, and Olorunsogo, among others, which remained dormant, further exacerbating the electricity deficit nationwide.

Over the past 10 years since the privatisation of the electricity industry, the grid has experienced collapses a staggering 141 times, underscoring the magnitude of the systemic challenges facing the sector.

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Metro

Egypt’s population growth declines by 1.4%

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Egypt’s planning ministry has announced that the country’s population went down to its lowest rate of population increase in decades in 2023, at 1.4%.

 

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of Egypt frequently emphasizes the need to control population growth, saying the country’s budget and services are being overburdened by the country’s high birth rate.

 

 

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of Egypt frequently emphasizes the need to control population growth, blaming the country’s budget and services for being overburdened by the country’s recent high birth rate. The population is currently estimated by Egypt’s official statistics office to be just over 106 million.

 

It is believed that 60% of the population lives below or near the poverty line in a nation plagued by a shortage of water, a dearth of employment possibilities, and congested hospitals and schools.

 

World Bank data from 1961 indicates that Egypt’s population growth peaked in 1984–85 at 2.8%, declined to 1.9% in 2006, and then increased to 2.3% in 2014. It has progressively decreased since then, reaching 1.6% in 2022.

 

Sisi has started many massive projects that critics claim waste money and add to Egypt’s debt load, but he claims will create jobs and infrastructure for the country’s expanding population.

 

Egypt started a family-planning campaign called “Two Is Enough” in 2019 intending to question the customs of large families in rural areas.

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