Landfill Landslide in Uganda Kills Eight People: A landslide at a landfill in Uganda’s capital Kampala, known as Kiteezi, has killed eight people, according to reports from the city authorities yesterday. The deadly landslide occurred late of Friday after severe rainfall in the region. Entire sections of the main Landfill in Kampala collapsed crushing several houses close by. According to reports 14 people were rescued but it is unknown if more are still missing.
Morocco Journalists Released: Three journalists, Omar Radi, Soulaimane Raissouni and Taoufik Bouachrine were released from jail yesterday, made a statement calling on the Moroccan government, to free “all prisoners of conscience” and start “a new phase” for rights and liberties. Hundreds of prisoners were pardoned in late July on the occasion of King Mohammed VI’s 25th anniversary on the throne. The three journalists had been held for between four and six years on charges of sexual assault that they deny. Radi was also accused of espionage.
South African Sprinboks Beat Australia 33-7 in Brisbane: The Springboks, have had a torrid history playing Australia in Brisbane and prior to yesterday’s match had last beaten Australia there in 2013. The World Cup Champions however made certain of ending their pain and beat a young Australian squad with clinical precision. They meet again for the second test match in the Rugby Championships, next Saturday (17th August) in Perth.
iPhone Plus to be removed from the iPhone range: The iPhone 16 Plus may mark the end of Apple’s larger-sized standard model, according to industry analysts Ming-Chi Kuo and Jeff Pu.
Apple’s decision to discontinue the Plus model would align with its past strategies, where devices like the iPhone Mini were phased out due to limited consumer demand.
Blockchain Enhancement in Vehicle Tech: Japanese car manufacturer Toyota, has stated that it is considering incorporating Ethereum blockchain technology into its vehicles, according to a recent blog post written by Toyota Blockchain Lab. The car giant is conducting research on how to introduce mobility into public blockchains. The concept of mobility, which was originally announced back last April, aims to enhance the value of a car.
Olympic Wrap-Up:
Africa’s Top 3 contenders
With today being the final day of the Paris 2024 Olympics, Kenya (ranked overall at 17) is set to be Africa’s top Medal country once again after achieving 10 medals in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics with 4 gold. All the Kenyan medals are in the athletics category this year.
The final medal ranking for the top three African three nations, all came down to the result of the women’s marathon with Kenya and South Africa both losing out on a medal and Ethiopia missing out on Gold but getting a Silver medal, leaving the placing of all three African countries unchanged in an African context.
Current standings:
- Kenya – Total of 10 Medals in 17th position: 4 x Gold, 2x Silver and 4 x Bronze medals
- South Africa – Total of 6 Medals in 42nd position: 1 x Gold, 3x Silver and 2 x Bronze medals
- Ethiopia – Total of 4 Medals in 45th position: 1 x Gold, 3x Silver medals
The Kenyan total medal count for 2024, remained equal to their 2020 count at 10, with 4 x gold but fewer silver medals than in 2020. South Africa, currently ranked 42nd with one gold medal and 6 medals in total, has doubled its medal count from 2020 of only 3 x medals. Ethiopia, currently lies in 45th moving up from 49th position at the start of the day with a silver medal in the women’s marathon from Tigst Assefa, who won the Berlin Marathon in 2022 and broke the world record in 2023.
New PB time for Youngest Athlete to win Gold: Yesterday, the 18-year old Kenyan, Emmanuel Wanyonyi won gold in the men’s 800 metres final on Saturday, becoming the youngest athlete to win Gold in the 800m in Olympic history. Wanyonyi also hit a personal best time of 1:41.19 beating current world champion Marco Arop of Canada, with third spot going to Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati.
Ethiopia claims First Gold Medal in 2024:Tamirat Tola, became the first Ethiopian, to win the Olympic men’s marathon in 24-years, in a time of 2:06:26 to claim his countries first gold medal in 2024. Tola took an early lead, breaking away from the pack of frontrunners at the first steep ascent of an exceptionally hilly course. The former cross-country specialist seemed only to strengthen on the second hill as others faded behind him. Belgium’s Bashir Abdi took silver, with Kenya’s Benson Kipruto claiming bronze.
