English football giants Liverpool made one of the greatest comebacks in football history after beating Spanish giants Barcelona 4-0 at Anfield winning 4-3 on aggregate to Champions League final for a second consecutive season.

Liverpool came into the game with pressure to overturn a 3-goal deficit against Barcelona and the absence of key players like Mohammad Salah and Roberto Fermino made the much-needed comeback almost look impossible.

But the story started to change early in the game when Belgian striker Divock Origi gave Liverpool an early lead after tapping in the ball when the Barcelona goalkeeper failed to deal with Jordan Henderson’s shot.

The first half ended when Liverpool were still leading 1-0 thanks to the collective teamwork of Liverpool players that denied Lionel Messi and his teammates penetration into their defence to find an equalizer.

Liverpool started the second half on high with substitute Giorginio Wijnaldum who replaced the injured Andrew Roberson at half time converting Trent Alexander Arnold’s cross to put Liverpool 2-0 up.

Liverpool scored their second and third goal in a space of 122 seconds to go level on goal aggregate after Wijnaldum jumped high to head home Xherdan Shaqiri’s cross scoring his second goal of the night and a very crucial one for Liverpool.

Liverpool’s comeback story was completed 11 minutes from time following some intelligent action from Alexander Arnold caught Barcelona defenders off guard to pass a cheeky corner to Divock Origi to tap home the fourth goal which but all sealed the Reds place in the final.

Amazing stats

The incredible comeback saw Liverpool becoming the fourth team in the history of the competition to overturn a 3+ goal deficit from the first leg to progress in knockouts.

Tuesday progress means that Liverpool will be playing in a second consecutive champions league final and this time they will be hoping to triumph having lost last year 3-1 to Real Madrid. Liverpool will face either Ajax or Tottenham in the final that will be played on June 1st in Madrid.

Liverpool will be playing their ninth European Cup/Champions League final with only Real Madrid (16) and Bayern Munich (10) playing more.

Barcelona frustration?

Tuesday’s loss to Liverpool saw Barcelona repeat the same fate like last year when they were knocked out by AS Roma beating them 3-0 having led the first leg 4-1 from Nou Camp.

Since 2015, when the Catalan giants last reached the final, they have been knocked out 3 times out of four semifinal ties.

Tuesday’s loss saw Barcelona suffer their heaviest defeat against an English side in all European competitions.

No Salah no problem

Very few people gave Liverpool a chance to advance past Barcelona given their heavy defeat in the first leg in Spain. The injuries that ruled out Mohammad Salah and Roberto Fermino in this return leg just erased even the little hope of any progress in people’s minds.

However, the impressive teamwork and the charisma shown by the Liverpool players that coach Jurgen Klopp fielded for the mission made many forget the pair’s absentia in the game.

What next?

After Tuesday’s historic victory at Anfield, Liverpool will return to action this Sunday to play their final game of the season at home against Wolves. Liverpool will be hoping that the results in this match and the one between Manchester City and Burnley go in their favor in order to clinch the title ahead of Manchester City who are a point ahead of the Reds.

On Wednesday Liverpool will learn their opponents in the Champions League final after the second leg of the other semifinal between Ajax and Tottenham. Ajax won the first leg in London 1-0.

Uganda Airlines has announced that they have already acquired seven planned regional routes two weeks after the acquisition of two new Bombardier planes by the carrier.

The seven new regional routes include Nairobi and Mombasa in Kenya, Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, Bujumbura in Burundi, Khartoum in Sudan, Juba in South Sudan, and Mogadishu in Somalia.

Further routes like Johannesburg (South Africa) will start at a later time as announced by the Airline.

According to Uganda Airlines, the first flights are expected to kick off by at least July and the business is expected to be profitable with estimations of between 1.6 million to 2 million passengers per year.

Background

Two weeks back Uganda received two Bombardier planes from Canada as part of the six aircrafts the government ordered for last year in July. The acquisition of the new planes is an effort by the government of Uganda to revive Uganda Airlines, a national carrier that had collapsed in 2001.

The revival of the Uganda Airlines will allow the national carrier to share in the region’s aviation business that has been largely dominated by Kenya Airways, Ethiopian Airlines, and RwandAir.

History

Uganda Airlines was founded by former President Idi Amin in 1976 and was in operation until 2001 when it was liquidated by President Museveni as part of his plan to privatize the economy by privatizing troubled state enterprises.

Need for revival?

Earlier last year, the government started pursuing plans to revive the airline after noticing the growth in the region’s aviation business.

The government paid up to Ushs280 billion ($74.8 million) for the two planes acquired so far through a supplementary budget that was approved by parliament shortly before the final purchase.

Uganda Airlines is also planning to launch direct long-haul routes to destinations like China and other Asian countries in a bid to attract more tourists from there.

President Museveni said that the national carrier would help Uganda retain the $400 million spent by Ugandans on international travel each year.
“By starting an airline we are going to reduce on the foreign exchange expenditure. Ugandans will be spending money but spending it on our airline,” said the president.

There have been complaints from Ugandan travelers about high ticket costs attributed to the limited competition in the aviation market dominated majorly by Kenya Airways and Ethiopian Airlines.

Journalists in Uganda have joined their counterparts worldwide to celebrate the World Press Freedom Day which is marked on 3rd May each year.

The celebration will include matching of journalists along the streets in the capital Kampala together with other programs. several programs have been arranged by journalist groups in different parts of the country including donation to the needy, community cleaning and sensitization.

The president of UJA, Mr. Kazibwe Bashir Mbazira said that the journalists will use this day to call upon the government to respect press freedom and allow journalists to do their work without interference.

The World Press Freedom Day comes just days after the Uganda Communication Commission (UCC), a body that regulates the operations of all media houses in Uganda had instructed several media houses to suspend some of their workers over alleged breach of minimum broadcasting standards.

A statement published by the Commission on Wednesday this week directed media houses to suspend some producers, head of news and head of programs.

“The Uganda Communications Commission (The Commission) has directed the suspension of Producers, Head of News and Head of Programmes in the following broadcasting stations; Akaboozi FM, BBS TV, Beat FM, Bukedde TV, Capital FM, CBS FM, Kingdom TV, NBS TV, NTV, Pearl FM, Salt FM, Sapientia FM and FM”. Read part of the statement.

It added, “This follows concerns over the nature of content aired on these broadcast stations particularly during live programmes, breaking news, and main news bulletins which do not comply with the minimum broadcasting standards.”

The press freedom in Uganda has for long been a matter of debate with several cases of journalists being beaten, arrested and tortured by security personnel as they try to do their job. Other cases involve the government ordering the closure of several media houses while others have been on several occasions switched off air.

Journalists also view the introduction of the Over The Counter tax (OTT) on all social media users in Uganda as another way the government has suppressed press freedom because it prevents free movement of information.

The 2019 World Press Freedom Index that was compiled by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) recently shows that Uganda has declined in terms of press freedom since last year. Uganda was ranked number 125 out of 180 countries with an index of 39.42. the report ranks countries in terms of observing press freedom in descending order. Last year Uganda was ranked 117 by the same report.

According to the report, “RSF shows how hatred of journalists as degenerated into violence contributing to an increase in fear. The number of countries recorded as safe, where journalists can work in complete security, continues to decline, while authoritarian regimes continue to tighten their grip on the media”.

The new report ranks Norway in the first position for a third consecutive year with Finland, Sweden, Netherlands and Denmark occupying the first five position in that order. The worst performing countries include Vietnam, China, Eritrea, North Korea, and Turkmenistan ranked as the last five.

The ranked Namibia as the top country in Africa to respect press freedom and number 23 worldwide followed by Ghana and South Africa ranked 27th and 31st worldwide respectively. The worst performing countries in Africa include Eritrea, Sudan, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, and Somalia.

Kyadondo East Member of Parliament, Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu alias Bobi Wine has been granted bail after spending four days at Luzira Prison.

Mr. Kyagulanyi was ordered to pay a cash bail of Shs1 million as one of the bail conditions. Buganda Road Court One Magistrate, Ms. Esther Nahirya was in charge of the case. Following the bail, court fixed May 23rd as the hearing date of Kyagulanyi’s case.

In addition to the cash bail, the three sureties of Bobi Wine were each charged a non-cash bond of Shs10 million. The three included former ethics Minister, Ms. Miria Matembe, Kasanda North MP, Patrick Nsamba and Kasanda County MP, Gafa Mbwatekamwa.

Unlike the previous cases where Kyagulanyi had appearing in court for hearing, Thursday’s case was conducted under video conferencing. Bobi Wine was placed in the virtue court at Luzira that was connected to the Buganda Road Court via video conferencing. Proceedings were followed on the large flat screens installed in court.

The technology of using video conferencing in courts was launched last week to allow suspects attend court proceedings while in prison.

A number of people including several members of parliament had assembled in the court at Buganda Road early this morning waiting for the case to kickoff.

Bobi Wine was arrested on Monday as he was heading to Kibuli police where he had been summoned for interrogation. Although the initial cause of Monday’s interrogation was believed to be concerning the MP’s clash with police on Easter Monday, he was rather charged with offenses he committed in July 2018.

After his arrest on Monday, Bobi Wine was sent to Luzira prison until today (Thursday)

According to prosecution, Bobi Wine together with several others still at large including his brother Mr. Fred Nyanzi Ssentamu held an illegal protest contrary to section 116 of the Penal Code Act. The said protests were organized to challenge the Mobile Money and Social media taxes that had been introduced by the government.

Earlier on Thursday, security was heightened in Kampala as the MP was expected to be brought from Luzira to Buganda Road Magistrate Court to face charges.

President Museveni has today received two Bombardier CRJ900 jets at Entebbe International Airport.

The two aircraft first went through the common tradition of water canoeing that is performed when a country or company receives new planes.

There were ululations from guest present and those in the company of the president as they celebrated the revival of Uganda’s national carrier that has been grounded for over 18 years.

Both planes are labeled Uganda Airlines on their sides, which confirms that finally, Uganda has got herself a national carrier once again. The two aircraft have registration number 5X-KOB and 5X-EQU.

Among the dignitaries that attended the event included Works and Transport Minister, Monica Azuba Ntege, Uganda National Roads Authority boss Allen Kagina, among others.

Before the bombardiers were finally sent to Uganda, they were first tested at Montreal Mirabel International Airport in Canada. The 8-minute video clip showing the test flight caused excitement among Ugandans as they watched it on YouTube.

On their way to Entebbe, the two bombardiers flew out of Canada on Friday heading to Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland. From here they headed to the Netherlands in the Southern city of Maastricht before connecting to Cairo in Egypt and then straight to Entebbe.

As part of the plan to revive the Uganda Airlines, Uganda ordered four CRJ900 regional jets last year with today’s two arrivals part of that package. According to the manufacture’s, Uganda’s revived airline will be the first carrier to use the new CJR-series atmosphere cabin in Africa. The new model atmosphere cabin sets new standards of passenger experience in the regional jet market segment.

This new atmosphere cabin design enables passengers to carry and store an oversized roller bag within the aircraft cabin bins, which reduces the need for checking of bags at entry points.

The arrival of the first two planes comes after the government has spent Shs280 billion through a supplementary budget that was approved by parliament recently. The CJR900 will be managed by the Uganda National Airline Company on a dual-class configuration with their 88 seating capacity divided as 76 for economy class and 12 for business class.

Some of the key features of the CRJ900 new interior include larger passenger living space, more spacious lavatory, wheel-first roller bag capability and increases cabin connectivity options.

There have been divided opinions on the revival of the national carrier with opposition from some of government departments like the Central Bank. However, the government insisted that there was need for a national carrier to promote tourism and build the national image.

What is Good Friday?

Good Friday is Christian-celebrated day commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, his death and the redemption of Christians. It is the Friday that precedes the resurrection Sunday and falls within the holy week in Christianity. Some Christian Communities refer to Good Friday as Holy Friday or Great Friday. Christians celebrate Good Friday to remember the pain and persecution that Jesus went through in order to redeem them from their sins. It is used as a day for Christians to renew their faith in Jesus and follow Him as a way of showing gratefulness for what He did.

What happened on Good Friday?

Good Friday is hugely earmarked as the day that Jesus was crucified on the cross for the redemption of Christians from their sins. However, before the crucifixion, several events happened on the same day that include the betrayal and handing over of Jesus to the soldiers by Judas Iscariot, the persecution of Jesus, denial of Jesus by His disciple Simon Peter, the trial of Jesus by the governor and chief priests, among others.

Who observes/celebrates Good Friday?

Good Friday is celebrated by many members of several Christian denominations. These include Catholic, Anglican, Pentecostals, Protestants, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Lutheran, Methodist, and Reformed traditions.

How is Good Friday Celebrated?

The various Christian denominations that observe Good Friday celebrate it with fasting and Church services. The Catholic also perform the “way of the cross”, in addition to the Church service by selecting some members to carry the cross to different points in the demarcated journey as a way of imitating how Jesus carried His cross. During the Church service, holy communion is shared by eating the bread and drinking wine, which represent the body of Christ that was bruised and His blood that was shed for people respectively. Priests and Pastors also use the Good Friday Church service to call and encourage people (altar call) who have not yet confessed Jesus Christ as their Lord and savior to do so.

When is Good Friday celebrated?

The date of Good Friday changes each year on both the Gregorian and Julian calendars. The variation in the dates is a result of the disagreement between Eastern and Western Christianity over the computation of the date of Easter.

What about Easter Sunday?

Easter Sunday, also called Resurrection Sunday among Christian communities is a day that commemorates the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. According to the Bible in the New Testament, the resurrection happened on the third day after the crucifixion, death, and burial of Jesus. Easter Sunday is the climax of the 40-day fasting period (Lent) among Christians which is coupled with prayer and penance. Christians believe that the resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday marked the final event of their redemption from their sins and acquiring of eternal freedom and peace from God. This explains why the day is heavily celebrated with joy and feasting coupled with praising and worshipping in Churches worldwide among the Christian communities.

What happened on Easter Sunday?

According to the Bible, early in the morning of the third day after the burial of Jesus, Mary the mother of Jesus went to the tomb where he had been buried to take there some fragrance and other items of honor. However, upon reaching, Mary found the tomb open and the stone rolled away. She saw an Angel sitting on one of the stones in the tomb who told her that Jesus whom she was looking had resurrected from the dead. She ran and told Jesus’ disciple who also ran to the tomb to confirm the news. Later on, Jesus appeared to them and confirmed His resurrection from the dead and the news started spreading everywhere.

What about Easter Monday?

Easter Monday is the following day after Easter Sunday. Christians observe Easter Monday as a continuation of the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus.

How is Easter celebrated in Uganda?

Uganda, being largely dominated by Christianity (85%), all the Easter events starting from the beginning of the Lent period, Good Friday, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday are widely observed. All the three days are observed as public holidays in Uganda. There are Church services on Good Friday and Easter Sunday all Church across the country to commemorate the death and resurrection of Jesus respectively. There are several entertainment events including music concerts, sport competitions, and festivals organized across the country to celebrate Easter Sunday and Easter Monday.

Uganda’s Supreme Court has upheld the removal of the 75-year age limit allowing President Museveni to run for presidency in 2021.

President Museveni, currently at 74 years can now seek re-election 1n 2021 following the decision of the Supreme Court to uphold the ruling given by the constitutional court on the amendment of the constitution.

With the panel of 7 judges, 4 judges ruled in favor of upholding the amendment while 3 ruled against.

The decision from the Supreme Court ruling dismissed the challenge from the petitioners who had appealed against the ruling from the constitutional court to remove the age cap of 75 years for presidential aspirants.

In 2017, Article 102(b) of the Ugandan Constitution that barred anyone below 35 years and above 75 years to stand for presidency was amended by the Parliament amidst stiff challenge from the opposition MPs and moderates from the ruling NRM party. The Members of Parliament from the two opposing sides were involved in brawls on the floor of Parliament as the amendment was achieved having been backed by 317 MPS that satisfied the three quarters required.

President Museveni, who has ruled Uganda since seizing power as a rebel leader in 1986, is now free to seek re-election in 2021 presidential elections and as many times as he wants thereafter following the Thursday ruling.

Deputy Attorney General Mwesigwa Rukutana described the ruling as “a big win for Uganda”.

“On behalf of myself and all the people of Uganda, I am highly indebted. This was the most reasoned judgment, well balanced. Their Lordships expressed their views and we respect all the views and at the end of the day, we are extremely happy that justice has been done. I want to congratulate the people of Uganda and I want to congratulate the members of the NRM,” he said. “We are elated. This is a sign of how democracy has taken root in the country,” he added.

Kampala Mayor, and a lawyer for the petitioners, Erias Lukwago while commenting on the ruling said: “it is democracy that suffers”.
“It is a disappointment, but in Africa, it is a miracle to win against a sitting government,” he said.

Many observers had expected the ruling to in Museveni’s favor but they were surprised by the narrow margin of the decision as described by Kasen Male Mabirizi, who was one of the petitioners and an activist from Uganda Law Society. “The ruling was so close. Museveni will take a lesson from it,” he said.

Museveni’s Life Presidency?

In 2005, the constitution was amended and a two-term limit was scrapped to allow president Museveni to stand for re-election and he went on to claim the third term. This was followed by the recent removal of the age-limit that could prevent Museveni from running once he reaches 75 years. All these moves have been described by his critics as a way of opening up the possibility for him to rule for life.

Contradiction?

President Museveni was quoted to have once said that leaders who “overstayed” were the root of Africa’s problems. However, in 2016, while contesting for the fifth term, the president said it was not the right time for him to leave since he still had work to do.

Overstay?

There has been growing discontent among Ugandans especially the youth of which majority Museveni is the only Ugandan president they have seen in their lifetime. This has been evident as these young Ugandans have rallied behind the pop star-turned-politician Bobi Wine who has taken the front in challenging Museveni’s government recently.

Bobi Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu and the MP for Kyadondo East, speared headed recent protests in Uganda including against the age-limit amendment, mobile money and social media tax, among others. He recently told CNN in an interview that he was “seriously considering” challenging

Uganda has spent nearly two decades without a national flag carrier but the handover ceremony on Tuesday in which Uganda received a pair of CRJ900 Bombardier aircraft is a confirmation that the Pearl of Africa has now put an end to that embarrassing trend.

The new planes are expected to land at Entebbe International Airport for the first time on Tuesday next week, opening a new chapter in the country’s aviation industry. The handover ceremony took place at Bombardier’s Mirabel, Quebec facility on Tuesday.

Transport Minister Eng. Monica Azuba Ntege said that to get here past mistakes had to be avoided. “There was a careful evaluation of several elements such as the aircraft fleet mix”, she said during the handover ceremony.

The ceremony was attended by officials from Uganda Airlines and Bombardier Commercial Aircraft together with the company workers who build the CRJ900 aircraft.

Last month the Parliament of Uganda approved the request by the government for a supplementary budget of Shs280 billion to buy the new planes.

The Uganda government through the Uganda National Airline Company ordered for four planes in July last year and the two aircraft, part of the package are regional jets that were designed for “excellent cost efficiency and network flexibility”, according to the Bombardier president Fred Cromer.

While speaking during the colorful handover ceremony, Mr. Cramer said, “Since its launch, the CRJ series family of regional jets has led to the development of regional markets around the world. The CRJ has revolutionized aviation with proven efficiency, reliability and profitability. Our latest enhancement is the new Atmosphere cabin, which sets new standards for customer comfort and experience in the regional jet market”.

The new aircraft have got two-class configuration, that is Business Class and Economy Class with a seating capacity of 12 and 64 people respectively. The two planes have already been registered with the Civil Aviation Authority with registration numbers 5Xkob and 5Xequ

The Ugandan team led by Transport Minister Ms. Azuba were received in Quebec by Uganda’s high commissioner to Canada Joy Ruth Acheng.

The CEO of Uganda Airlines Ephraim Bagenda and the Permanent Secretary of Works and Transport Waiswa Bageya were also part of the delegation that traveled to North America with a special task of checking the conformity of the aircraft according to the contractual specifications.

In part of his remarks, the Bombardier president said, “deeply appreciative that the Ugandan government chose our aircraft for the revival of its national flag carrier”. He assured Uganda that the CRJ900 will “contribute to Uganda Airline’s growth and success”.

The Sudanese army says it will make “important announcement” as the president is believed to have stepped down and consultations underway to set up a transitional council, according to government sources.

Sources from the military and the government say that the embattled president has been relieved of his duties. President’s Bashir’s fate become very uncertain as army tanks rolled onto the streets of Khartoum early today.

This morning the state media said the Sudanese army is expected to make “an important announcement”, following several months of protests against the president.

Without giving further details, a television anchor on state media said “The Sudanese army will issue an important statement soon. Wait for it”.

Immediately after this communication from the state media, tens of thousands of Sudanese ran to the streets of Khartoum as they waited for the announcement from the army. Some jubilant demonstrators could be seen on top of two army tanks moving through the capital.

There was reported heavy gunfire near the military headquarters which also house the president’s official residence and the ministry of defense. Protesters have been having a defiant sit-in at these headquarters since Saturday last week. They have been singing and dancing to revolutionary songs while in the sit-in.

The unrest which seems to oust president Bashir started in December last year sparked by the rise in bread prices. However, the protests grew stronger over the following months to become the biggest challenge to Bashir’s 30-year rule in Sudan.

Reports coming from Khartoum indicate that there is a heavy security presence on the main streets of the city. A lot of military trucks can be seen around the capital while several other roads have been blocked especially those leading to the army headquarters leaving a few roads for protesters.

Thousands of people in a jubilant mood have been seen pouring into the sin-in area. The Sudanese Professionals Association, a group spearheading the nationwide protests urged the residents of Khartoum to come in large numbers at the army headquarters.

“We call on our people from across the Khartoum capital and the region around to immediately go the sit-in area and not leave from there until our next statement is issued”, said the group. They also added that they are not ready to accept a military government to succeed president Omar al-Bashir.