MITCH Evans fulfilled his racing dream as he crossed the finish line to take his (and Jaguar’s) first win at the Monaco E-Prix after only making the podium in four previous races.  The eighth round of the Formula E championship in the Principality featured a number of plot twists and damaged front wings collected by the track circuit barriers. “FINALLY!! Amazing work by everyone. Honestly, I have been waiting so long for this, way before Formula E. Great teamwork with Nick,” Evans said on a team radio post-race. Evans came from third to take his first chequered flag in the stree ..read more

THE Supreme Court’s conservative justices signaled support for U.S. presidents having some level of protection from criminal charges for certain acts taken in office as it tackled Donald Trump’s claim of immunity from prosecution for trying to undo his 2020 election loss. During about 2-1/2 hours of arguments in the case, most of the justices seemed unlikely to embrace Trump’s most far-reaching argument that presidents have “absolute immunity” for official acts – an assertion that appeared to wilt under hypothetical questions involving selling nuclear secrets, taking a bribe or order ..read more

NEOM McLaren driver Sam Bird has been ruled out of the Monaco E-prix this weekend, hampering his challenge for the Formula E (FE) championship.  The British driver crashed into the wall at turn two (known as the Saint-Devote corner) during the first free practice session ahead of the main race.  BIRD OUT OF #FormulaE's #MonacoEPrix McLaren calls up its 19-year-old reserve Taylor Barnard after Sam Bird injures his hand in FP1 crash (Emma Ridgeway). Bird's off for x-rays, F2 driver Barnard gets a sudden FE race debut. pic.twitter.com/HDM6IX8veF — The Race (@wearetherace) April 27 ..read more

THE Senegalese authorities have delayed the Dakar Biennale devoted to African contemporary art, pushing back the start of the capital’s prestigious month-long event to November from May, organisers said on Thursday. The 15th edition of the biennale was due to kick off on May 16, but the Youth, Sports, and Culture Ministry said the postponement was necessary due to the determination of newly elected authorities to wait for optimum conditions. The event will now run from November 7 to December 7, it said. In a statement shared on the biennale’s official social media channels, the ministry also c ..read more

SOMALIA’S government said it had suspended and detained several members of an elite, U.S.-trained commando unit for stealing rations donated by the United States, adding that it was taking over responsibility for provisioning the force. The Danab unit has been a key pillar of U.S.-backed efforts to combat the al Qaeda-linked militant group al Shabaab. The United States agreed in February to spend more than $100 million to build up to five military bases for Danab. Somalia’s defence ministry said in a statement late on Thursday that it had notified international partners of the theft and would ..read more

WHEN Isaac Anthony Lumori launched South Sudan’s first weekly comedy show at the height of a civil war in 2014, his performers’ quips about different ethnic groups were not always well received. “They had … (a) few attacks because of some of the jokes they made,” said Lumori, better known by his stage name MC Lumoex, citing one comedian’s remarks about the bowel habits of a particular tribe. A decade on, with South Sudan officially at peace and audiences accustomed to the comedians’ equal-opportunity digs, the reception has grown considerably warmer. The 25 comedians from the troupe Kilkilu An ..read more

KENYA Airways accused authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) of harassment over the continued detention of two of the airline’s staff for alleged customs violations despite a court ordering their release. A senior Kenyan government official said Kenya had also objected to what he said was their arrest and detention. Officers from Congo’s military intelligence detained the pair on April 19 for allegedly failing to complete customs documentation related to valuable cargo that was meant to be transported a week earlier, the airline said in a statement. The airline workers have ..read more

BURKINA Faso has suspended the radio broadcasts of BBC Africa and the U.S-funded Voice of America (VOA) for two weeks over their coverage of a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report accusing the army of extrajudicial killings, authorities said late. In the report based on its own investigation, the rights watchdog said the West African country’s military summarily executed about 223 villagers, including at least 56 children, in February as part of a campaign against civilians accused of collaborating with jihadist militants. HRW said the Burkinabe army has repeatedly committed mass atrociti ..read more

ADFIFT on the Atlantic Ocean, the migrants from West Africa resorted to drinking seawater to quench their unbearable thirst. Then they started dying one by one. Disposing of the bodies became a daily trial for those still alive on the brightly painted wooden fishing boat. “I thought I would be next, that one morning, I too would be dead and in the sea,” said Birane Mbaye, one of 101 men and boys who set off from a fishing village on a wild stretch of Senegal’s coastline last July hoping to reach Europe. They never made it. Back home in Fass Boye, a huddle of low-rise concrete buildings he ..read more

LGBTQ+ rights groups are concerned that gay, bisexual, and transgender refugees could face discrimination and abuse if they are sent to Rwanda under Britain’s policy to deport asylum seekers to the East African nation. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak promised to start sending asylum seekers to Rwanda within 10 to 12 weeks as the upper house of parliament finally passed the required legislation, delayed for weeks by attempts to alter the contentious plan. As LGBTQ+ rights groups criticise the plan, Illegal Migration Minister Michael Tomlinson said on Tuesday that “openly ..read more