CHANGE MAKERS, BY SOFONIE DALA

 WE ARE FLIPPING THE SCRIPT AND RETHINKING HOW WE LIVE AND WHAT PROGRESS AND DEVELOPMENT LOOK LIKE.

WE CREATE TRANSFORMATIVE APPROACHES AND INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS THAT DRIVE SDG AND AU AGENDA 2063 ACTION FROM ACROSS THE WORLD.

Burundian world record holder given honorary role

Burundian President Évariste Ndayishimiye has made 2,000m world record holder Francine Niyonsaba an “extraordinary” ambassador for the East African country.

Last September Niyonsaba set the record of five minutes and 21.56 seconds at the Continental Tour Gold meeting in Zagreb.

The president did not spell out why he had conferred the honorary title on her, but the 29-year-old athlete is regarded as a hero in Burundi.

Niyonsaba has not yet commented on the announcement.

She is among several athletes banned from competing between 400m and 1,500m for having naturally high levels of testosterone – a law introduced in 2018.

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Nigeria separatists deny beheading wedding couple

A separatist group from south-eastern Nigeria has dismissed as “laughable” the accusation that it beheaded two soldiers – a couple – who were attacked on their way to their traditional wedding.

The army blamed the armed wing of the Indigenous People of Biafra (Ipob) for the killings which happened in Imo state over the weekend.

Ipob wants a group of states in the south-east, mainly populated by people from the Igbo ethnic group, to break away and form an independent nation called Biafra.

“Ipob has no hands in the said atrocity which is an abominable act in Igbo tradition,” a statement issued by the secessionists’ spokesperson Emma Powerful said.

“Before the army jumped into their jaundiced conclusion that such abominable act was masterminded by Ipob, what investigations did they carry out to substantiate their claims?

“The latest allegation is part of their propaganda to stain our global reputation.”

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Ukraine: UK cuts Russia off from management services

Russia has been banned from using British management consulting, accounting and PR services in new sanctions announced by the UK.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said the ban will cut off service exports “critical to the Russian economy”.

Ms Truss said the ban will “help ensure Putin fails in Ukraine”.

Other sanctions among the 63 introduced on Wednesday target Russian media organisations and those working for them.

The government said UK accountancy, management consultancy and PR services account for 10% of Russian imports in these sectors.

Ms Truss said: “Doing business with Putin’s regime is morally bankrupt and helps fund a war machine that is causing untold suffering across Ukraine.

“Cutting Russia’s access to British services will put more pressure on the Kremlin and ultimately help ensure Putin fails in Ukraine.”

Legislation is now in force requiring social media and internet services to block content from Russian state-controlled media RT and Sputnik.

Tech and Digital Economy Minister Chris Philp said: “For too long RT and Sputnik have churned out dangerous nonsense dressed up as serious news to justify Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

“These outlets have already been booted off the airwaves in Britain and we’ve barred anyone from doing business with them.

“Now we’ve moved to pull the plug on their websites, social media accounts and apps to further stop the spread of their lies.”

Last month RT disappeared from all broadcast platforms in the UK after UK access to the TV network was affected by a ban imposed by the European Union.

Others sanctioned include include those working for Channel One a major state-owned outlet in Russia and war correspondents embedded with Russian forces in Ukraine.

The UK has now sanctioned over 1,600 individuals and entities since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

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