Kenya's Hellen Obiri. Credit: POOL/AFP via Getty Images
World Cross country champion Hellen Obiri provided a masterclass in cross country running at Dundonald on Saturday while Portaferry’s Ciara Mageean set yet another Northern Ireland Indoor record over 3,000 metres in Manchester.
Obiri, from Kenya, was competing in the World Athletics international Cross Country meeting at the Billy Neill Country Park and the large appreciative crowd could not quite believe how easily the double World 5,000 metres champion dominated the opposition when treating the difficult, hilly but firm course as almost a minor inconvenience.
Obiri had opened a 50 metres lead after just one lap of the 8K race and was a huge 19 secodns ahead at the finish.
Behind 32-year-old Obiri aa battle royal had developed between NI’s Hanna Irwin, who had been inspired by her recent impressive fourth in the Cardiff Challenge and Mhari MacLennan, who had finished eighth in this event in 2019.
The diminutive Irwin eventually broke her Scottish opponent on the steep hills to take the runner up spot by just three seconds.
England’s Eleanor Bolton was fourth with NI’s Grace Carson an outstanding ninth. Fionnuala Ross finished 13th and team-mate Catherine Mullen 17th.
The Men’s 10,000 metres was a much closer affair, with England’s Zak Mahamed winning by seven seconds from late entry Iliass Aouani of Italy and Scotland’s Stuart McCallum a further seven seconds back. Best NI finisher was Finn McNally in ninth. By Brian Hill, Belfast Telegraph
Burkina Faso’s President Roch Marc Christian Kabore is being held by mutinous soldiers, two of the soldiers said by phone.
They did not say where Mr Kabore is being held, but said he is in a safe place.
Gunshots were heard late Sunday night near the president’s residence and in the early hours of Monday a battle took place at the presidential palace while a helicopter flew overhead.
The roads of the capital were empty on Sunday night except for checkpoints heavily guarded by mutinous soldiers.
State news station RTB was heavily guarded on Monday morning.
Fighting began on Sunday when soldiers took control of the Lamizana Sangoule military barracks in the capital, Ouagadougou.
Civilians drove into town in a show of support for the rebellion but were broken up by security forces firing tear gas.
The mutiny came a day after a public demonstration calling for Mr Kabore’s resignation, the latest in a series of anti-Kabore protests as anger has mounted over his government’s handling of the Islamic insurgency.
Protesters take to the streets of Burkina Faso’s capital Ouagadougou (Sophie Garcia/PA)
He denied, however, that the president had been detained by the mutineers, even though Mr Kabore’s whereabouts was unknown.
“Well, it’s a few barracks. There are not too many,” Mr Simpore said.
Mr Kabore had been leading Burkina Faso since being elected in 2015 after a popular uprising ousted longtime strongman President Blaise Compaore who was in power for nearly three decades.
Mr Kabore was reelected in November 2020 for another five-year term, however, frustration has been growing at his inability to stem the spread of jihadist violence across the country.
Attacks linked to al Qaida and the so-called Islamic State group are escalating, killing thousands and displacing more than an estimated 1.5 million people.
The military has suffered losses since the extremist violence began in 2016.
In December more than 50 security forces were killed in the Sahel region and nine security forces were killed in the Centre North region in November.
Angry mutinous soldiers told the AP that the government was disconnected from its forces in the field and that their colleagues were dying and they wanted military rule.
The soldiers put a man on the phone who said that they were seeking better working conditions for Burkina Faso’s military amid the escalating fight against Islamic militants.
Among their demands are increased manpower in the battle against extremists and better care for those wounded and the families of the dead. Jersey Evening Post
Nairobi — The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) now says the diaspora voting exercise has been delayed in the United Kingdom (UK), Canada and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
In a statement, the commission's chairman Wafula Chebukati stated the exercise which kicked off on Monday was delayed to the COVID-19 travel restrictions currently in place within the three countries.
"Upon commencement, the exercise will be extended by the number of days lost to ensure tat eligible voters are availed the set 15 days for registration," Chebukati stated.
He pointed out that IEBC was working closely with the relevant authorities to ensure it kicks off.
On January 14, the commission gazetted 18 registration centers in the diaspora to participate in the exercise for a period of 15 days.
"However, due to COVID -19 related travel restrictions and logistical challenges, the scheduled voter registration exercise will not commence as scheduled in the six centers," said Chebukati.
The affected countries include United Kingdom (Kenya High Commission in London), Canada (Kenya High Commission in Ottawa, Kenya Honorary Consulate in Toronto and Kenya Honorary Consulate in Vancouver) and United Arab Emirates (Kenya Embassy in United Arab Emirates and Kenya Consulate in Dubai).
However, the voter registration exercise was seamlessly carried out in United States of America, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, South Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and South Africa. By Irene Mwangi, Capital News
Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the powerful son of Uganda's president, arrived in Rwanda on Saturday to meet President Paul Kagame for a visit that marks warming relations between the neighbouring countries after years of tension.
Kainerugaba - a general who is rumoured to be a possible successor of his 77-year-old father, President Yoweri Museveni - was expected to meet Kagame in the afternoon during the one-day trip, the state-affiliated Rwanda Broadcasting Agency reported.
The border between the East African nations has been closed for nearly three years.
Uganda's government made no official comment, but a source close to Kainerugaba told AFP the general "will be meeting senior Rwandan officials and the President of Rwanda".
"The issues between the two countries are on the agenda," the source added.
The meeting comes less than a week after Kainerugaba tweeted two photos of Kagame, one of the president as a young man wearing military fatigues and a more recent image of him in a suit.
"This is my uncle, Paul Kagame. Those who fight him fight my family. They should all be careful," the tweet said.
Kainerugaba's father Museveni and Kagame were close allies over the 1980s and 90s during struggles for power in their respective country, before becoming bitter rivals.
Rwanda abruptly closed its border with Uganda in February 2019, cutting off an important trade link.
Rwanda accused Uganda of abducting its citizens and supporting rebels seeking to topple Kagame.
For its part, Uganda accused Rwanda of spying as well as killing two men during an incursion into Ugandan territory in 2019 - a claim Kigali denies.
Talks between Kagame and Museveni were hosted by Angolan President Joao Lourenco and Congolese leader Felix Tshisekedi, the last such meeting taking place in February 2020.
No meeting has been held since, partly due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Relations between the countries also soured after an investigation last year found that Rwanda used Israeli Pegasus spying software to hack into the phones of Uganda's prime minister and foreign minister, among others. - AFP/News24
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