A Ugandan military court has found two officers guilty of cowardice as Islamist fighters stormed an African Union base in Somalia in May.

Colonel Deo Akiki and Major John Oluka ran away after they came under attack by al-Shabab in Bulo Marer, south of the capital Mogadishu.

At least 50 Ugandan soldiers were killed, officials say.Uganda is part of the African Union force helping Somalia’s government fight al-Shabab, an al-Qaeda affiliate.

The attack on Bulo Marer was one of the deadliest for the African Union force, Atmis, since it launched a new offensive against al-Shabab last year.Uganda’s president, Yoweri Museveni, criticised his military for its response.

The Ugandan military court sitting in Mogadishu heard that the officers had been given warning of an impending attack but failed to act to deter it.

As al-Shabab gunmen stormed the base, they failed to rally their troops and instead ran away to another base.

Both officers have been dismissed from the army.Four non-commissioned officers were also found guilty of failing to protect military equipment.

The 19,000-strong African Union force was sent to Somalia in 2007 and helped force al-Shabab out of many cities.

It is scheduled to transfer security responsibilities to Somalia’s government forces and leave the country next year.

However, the offensive against al-Shabab has stalled and the group still controls many rural parts of the country.

Nigerian wig artisan Helen Williams has etched her name into the prestigious Guinness Book of World Records by creating the longest handmade wig ever recorded, as announced on the GWR site.

The longest handmade wig is 351.28 m (1,152 ft 5 in) and was wigged in Agba Ebule, Nigeria, on July 7 at Lagos Abeokuta Expressway, Lagos, after getting approval from GWR.

The wigmaker announced on Instagram that she had been documented as making the longest handmade wig in the world.

After that, she posted a video on Friday receiving the award delivered to her.

From devouring Guinness World Record books as a kid to making headlines herself, Helen’s journey has come full circle. As a pro wigmaker, she set her sights on a record she knew she could nail, driven by a dream of one day making it into those pages she used to flip through.

As an entrepreneur, wigmaker, wig instructor, and the CEO of Hair Rita 9ja, Helen started her hair business in 2019.

Helen recounted on her Instagram page that it was not a walk in the park because, even when the coffers were running low, she “made it a point not to dip into her initial capital.”

Driven by the passion to make every woman feel beautiful without breaking the bank, Helen said, “No matter the budget, every woman deserves to look good.”

With this ethos in mind, she made thousands of wigs, contributing her creations to various e-commerce platforms in Nigeria.

An MP for the ruling Likud party, Danny Danon, also said the journalists would be added to a list of people marked for assassination because of their participation in the attacks.

Journalists are protected under international law which says they must be treated as civilians and protected as such during conflicts.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) says at least 39 journalists and media workers have been killed since the current war began, including 34 Palestinians, four Israelis and one Lebanese.

“Journalists in Gaza face particularly high risks as they try to cover the conflict in the face of an Israeli ground assault on Gaza City, devastating Israeli airstrikes, disrupted communications, and extensive power outages,” it said.

Microsoft customers across the UK and Europe have reported problems with accessing the firm’s software.

More than 1,500 people in the UK have issues with Teams, the workplace app, according to Downdetector, which tracks problems with online services.

A similar number have also reported problems accessing gaming platform Xbox Live.On X, formerly Twitter, Microsoft said it had “identified some anomalies within our network infrastructure”.

It said it was working to figure out the cause of the problem.

Microsoft previously said the problem was unique to customers in the UK and Germany, but on social media, people in Sweden and Poland have stated they are unable to access services.

There are reports from both of these countries on DownDetector, as well as other European countries including Finland and Switzerland.

Microsoft last faced outages in January when tens of thousands of customers reported problems.

The problem has emerged at a bad time for Microsoft, which today released the latest game in its Call of Duty series.

It means some people who paid £69.99 for a digital copy of Modern Warfare 3 are now struggling to sign in to download the game.

Microsoft paid $69bn (£56bn) in October to purchase Call of Duty maker-Activision Blizzard in the gaming industry’s biggest ever deal.

While some Xbox users are now saying their access has been restored, others state that it remains inaccessible.

Reports on DownDetector highlight issues with login details and server connections as potential problems affecting the platform.

“Can’t access any games. Being told ‘the person who bought this needs to sign in’ and nothing is working,” one UK user complained to Xbox’s support account on X, shortly before 10am on Friday.

Google Trends data indicated that other users had been receiving this message on their accounts.

Many users have specified they are having the issue with Vodafone’s broadband services, while others have reported the problem with other internet providers including Hyperoptic.

The exact details of the cause of the outage are unclear as yet, or how widespread it is.The BBC has approached Microsoft for comment.

The former head of the organisation behind the Grammy Awards on Wednesday was sued by a musician who accused him of drugging and raping her in 2018.

The New York Times, which first reported the story, says the state suit filed in Manhattan accuses Neil Portnow — who stepped down as head of the Recording Academy in 2019 over his disparaging comments toward women — of sexual battery. It also accuses the Academy of negligence.

In a statement to AFP, the Recording Academy vowed to “vigorously defend the Academy in this lawsuit.”

“We continue to believe the claims to be without merit,” it said.The suit does not name the woman to maintain her privacy.

A representative for Portnow did not immediately reply to AFP, but in the Times story, he flatly denied the allegations.

The suit revives criticism of both Portnow and the Academy that led to the powerful executive leaving in 2019 after 17 years, following his controversial comments that women should “step up” to gain more recognition for their work in an industry dominated by white men.

The new court documents, according to the Times, say the female artist met Portnow at a Grammy-related event in New York, which hosted the awards in 2018.

She alleges he invited her to his hotel room and offered her wine, which she drank before beginning “to feel woozy.” Portnow did not drink, the suit says.The woman said she wanted to leave but Portnow said there were no taxis.

She then lost consciousness shortly after the former executive told her: “I have been thinking about you for a very long time.”

According to the suit, the woman awoke throughout the night experiencing Portnow raping her, and was still woozy the next morning.

The paper says she was concerned over his power in the industry, but that months later, she gave her account to Academy officials and was ignored.

The suit also says the woman filed a police report against Portnow, but that law enforcement authorities at the time declined to prosecute.

The accusation was first described in 2020, when Portnow’s replacement as the head of the Recording Academy, Deborah Dugan, filed an explosive discrimination complaint against the institution.

Her 44-page filing claimed she was suspended after raising concerns of sexual harassment, voting irregularities and other misconduct within one of music’s most powerful organizations.

In her complaint, Dugan included the rape allegation, which Portnow also denied at the time.

Portnow’s 2018 comments that women should “step up” — delivered as the #MeToo movement was exploding — was the cherry on top of a mountain of criticism alleging the Academy overwhelmingly favored white male artists.

The US Congress has voted to censure its only Palestinian-American member over comments she made on the Israel-Gaza war.

Michigan Democrat Rahida Tlaib was rebuked for her defence of the chant “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”.

The resolution formally condemned her for “calling for the destruction of the state of Israel”.

The measure passed by 234 to 188 votes. Twenty-two Democrats voted to censure.

Ms Tlaib posted a video to Twitter on Friday that included a clip of protestors using the chant, which critics say calls for Palestinian control of all land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, including Israel.

The video also accused President Joe Biden of supporting genocide in Gaza and called for a ceasefire.

The Anti-Defamation League and Jewish groups say the slogan, used at protests around the world, is a call for the destruction of Israel.

Pro-Palestinian activists argue that most people using it are calling for an end to Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and blockade of Gaza, not the elimination of Israel itself.

Ms Tlaib later defended her use of the slogan, calling it “an aspirational call for freedom, human rights and peaceful coexistence, not death, destruction, or hate.

“The comment stirred up cross-party condemnation and criticism from allies in her own state, prompting two separate measures seeking to censure her.

Republican Representative Rich McCormick, who represents Georgia, introduced a resolution on Monday, accusing Ms Tlaib of “calling for the destruction of the state of Israel and dangerously promoting false narratives” about Hamas’s attack on Israel.

Twenty-two Democrats joined the vast majority of Republicans voting for Ms Tlaib’s censure.

After the vote, Ms Tlaib told the house that her comments were directed at the Israeli government.

“I can’t believe I have to say this, but Palestinian people are not disposable. We are human beings, just like anyone else,” she said.

More than 1,400 Israelis were killed in the 7 October attack by Hamas.

The Hamas-run health ministry says that more than 10,300 Palestinians have since been killed in Israeli attacks.

The Biden administration has dismissed calls for a ceasefire in favour of a humanitarian pause to allow aid, food and water into Gaza.

An Australian farmer says he is lucky to be alive after repelling a crocodile attack by biting back at the animal.

Cattle producer Colin Deveraux has spent a month in hospital after being bitten by the 3.2m (10ft) saltwater crocodile in the Northern Territory.

He told ABC News he bit the crocodile’s eyelid in his struggle to survive.

Mr Deveraux said his ordeal began after he stopped at a billabong (lake) while he was travelling to build fencing near the Finniss River last month.

He paused by the lake after noticing fish swimming in the middle of its retreating waters. After he stepped away again, the crocodile “latched” onto his right foot, shaking him like a “rag doll” and pulling him into the water.

Mr Deveraux told ABC he first tried kicking the crocodile in the ribs with his other foot – before biting the reptile back.

“I was in such an awkward position… but by accident my teeth caught his eyelid. It was pretty thick, like holding onto leather, but I jerked back on his eyelid and he let go.

“I leapt away and took off with great steps up to where my car was. He chased me for a bit, maybe four metres, but then stopped.

“Mr Deveraux said he used a towel and some rope to stop the bleeding in his leg, before his brother drove him 130km (80 miles) north to the Royal Darwin Hospital.

“If he [the crocodile] had bitten me somewhere else it would have been different,” he said.

“It means I’ve got to change what I do. I’ve been walking around that swamp country too long fixing fences and living life, but it’s opened my eyes.

“According to the local government, crocodiles are the basis for an important industry in the Northern Territory and are protected by law.

They are considered to be of huge scientific and human interest as well as a valuable tourist attraction.

The last fatal crocodile attack happened in April this year on the Kennedy River in Cape York Peninsula, Queensland.

A United States of America politician, Justin Hurst, is to face criminal charges for allegedly paying $10 to solicit votes from the electorate in Tuesday’s municipal election.

Mr Hurst, who is the Springfield mayoral candidate, was linked to a man in video footage – handling cash to people outside City Hall, last week Saturday.

Although the American politician was not captured handing out the money he was seen in the footage driving his personal car in a row of vehicles dropping off – then also picking up – voters who collected $10 bills minutes later.

Mr Hurst is a long-time city councillor and an attorney. City officials claimed in a sworn affidavit that the “distribution of the $10 bills” clearly visible in the building in the surveillance footage represented fraud.

The Republican independently reviewed the video footage obtained through a public records request. The high-definition video shows a man identified as Gilfrey T. Gregory, peeling off bills for voters outside City Hall.

The Republican also interviewed a man who confirmed that he was paid $10 to vote for Hurst.In a sworn statement, the officials noted that voters were required to present “I Voted Early” stickers to get the money.

The City solicitor, John Payne, has called for a criminal investigation into the alleged fraud case.

Mr Payne has asked the Hampden District Attorney’s office to launch the investigation. The solicitor said he was made aware of the weekend incident when an official from the city elections office was asked for payments by a series of previously unregistered voters.

“It is extremely troubling. This is a fraud upon the elections process,” Mr Payne, a retired District Court judge, said during an interview Tuesday.

“Before I became a judge, I was active in elections for 30 years, and I’ve never heard of anyone being paid for a vote. It is very serious.”Mr Hurst faces incumbent Mayor Domenic J. Sarno in an election on Tuesday.

He was the first runner-up in a five-way preliminary election in September. Election officials could not comment beyond their affidavit. Mr Hurst has flatly denied that anyone in his campaign paid for votes, accusing Mr Sarno’s administration of dirty politics in the waning days of the election season.

“Is this the best they got? Any accusations that my team paid residents in exchange for their votes are unequivocally false and nothing more than an attempt by Mayor Sarno to spread fake news to influence the election.

“Mayor Sarno is trying to steal the election and is using the same paper that endorsed his candidacy to do it,” Mr Hurst said.He, however, could not explain why cash was exchanged outside City Hall at the weekend.

“We don’t pay for votes. We don’t need to. Period. And any suggestion that we have is an insult to this campaign and an insult to the voters,” Mr Hurst added.

The Federal Government has inaugurated additional enhanced e-passport facilities at selected Nigerian embassies in Italy, Greece, Austria and Switzerland.

The Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, inaugurated the facilities at the Nigerian embassy in Rome.

A statement by the service Public Relations Officer, Dr Adedotun Aridegbe, on Tuesday in Abuja, stated the new passport processing centres were part of efforts to streamline passport processing and acquisition for Nigerians residing in the diaspora.

Mr Tunji-Ojo emphasised the dedication of President Bola Tinubu’s government to citizens’ diplomacy and the enhancement of services to the diaspora community.

The interior minister, represented by the Acting Comptroller General of the Nigerian Immigration Service, Caroline Adepoju, announced the phased rollout of the enhanced e-passport in Europe.

According to him, the Federal Government is unveiling additional enhanced e-passport facilities at select Nigerian embassies in Europe.” Phase one, which includes Spain, Greece, Austria, Switzerland, and Italy is officially introduced in Rome while phase two is scheduled to be implemented by the end of the week, “he said.

Mr Tunji-Ojo said that the e-passport complied with the standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation.

This, he said, positioned Nigeria as the first country in Africa and the fifth worldwide to embrace the technological achievement.

“This accomplishment has garnered high regard from the international community,” he said.

Mr Tunji-Ojo highlighted that the enhanced e-passport would significantly reduce processing delays in Europe, provided applicants adhered strictly to application guidelines.

This, he said, includes utilising the online application and payment platform at passport.immigration.gov.ng and ensuring the synchronisation of their passport application data with their National Identification Number.

He added that the advanced travel document offers three categories; 32-page five-year validity category, 64-page five-year validity category and 64-page ten-year validity category (for adults only)The event witnessed the presence of senior officials of the High Commission, a diverse representation of Nigerians in Italy, and members of the diplomatic community.

Lawmaker representing Ethiope West/Ethiope East federal constituency of Delta State in the House of Representatives, Erhiatake Ibori-Suenu, has dedicated her victory at the Court of Appeal, in Lagos to the people in her constituency.

Ibori-Suenu, daughter of James Ibori, a former Delta State governor and chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party in the state, in a statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday, described the ruling as a victory to God and her constituents.

According to her, with the development, democracy has come to stay.

Ibori-Suenu won Mr Ben Rolands Igbakpa and Mr Halims Ahoda of the New Nigeria People’s Party and the All Progressives Congress respectively in the February 2023 general elections.

Justices Festus Ogbuinaya, Jumia Samchi and Waziri delivered the judgement on November 7 in Lagos.

The appellate court held that the appeal of the PDP candidate was meritorious and set aside the earlier ruling of the lower court which ruled against her.

She further urged her supporters to be law-abiding and be magnanimous in victory.

Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa abruptly resigned on Tuesday, hours after police raided his residence, government ministries, and other properties as part of a major corruption probe.

Mr Costa said in a brief televised address that he handed in his resignation to President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.

The socialist politician said his conscience was clear, but the allegations were too serious for him to continue holding office.

The investigation revolves around suspicions of bribery and favouritism in the allocation of concessions for lithium mining in the Montalegre area and the production of green hydrogen near the southern town of Sines, the state news agency Lusa, the state broadcaster RTP, and other Portuguese media reported.

Five people were reportedly detained, including Mr Costa’s cabinet chief, Vítor Escaría.

Entrepreneur Diogo Lacerda and the mayor of Sines, Nuno Mascarenhas, as well as two other businessmen, were also taken into custody, RTP and Lusa said.It was not initially known what exactly each was accused of.

The prosecutor’s office confirmed that searches had been conducted at dozens of residences and offices, including the ministries of infrastructure and environment, as well as Mr Costa’s residence.

But neither the prosecutors nor the police have provided further details.

The shock of the resignation came after opposition parties demanded Mr Costa, 62, step down and new elections be held. He has been prime minister since 2015.

The region of Montalegre in the far north of Portugal is believed to have the largest lithium deposits in Europe, set to be mined despite strong opposition from residents.

The metal is crucial for battery production.A decommissioned coal-fired power facility in Sines, near the capital, Lisbon, ceased operations in 2021, but it is now positioned to produce green hydrogen by harnessing sustainable energy sources.

Both projects are seen as essential components of Portugal’s transition away from the use of fossil fuels.

Chef Hilda Baci has congratulated  Irish Chef, Alan Fisher, who emerged the lastest Guinness World Records holder for the longest cooking marathon by an individual.

The Guinness World Records on Tuesday disclosed that Fisher from Ireland cooked for 119 hours and 57 minutes at his restaurant in Japan.

Reacting to Fisher’s success,  Baci who is the former record holder, congratulated Alan on her X account on Tuesday.

She wrote, “Huge congratulations to Alan Fisher! 119hrs 57mins is a huge achievement, and I wish him all the best as the new world record holder!”

Tennis legend Serena Williams has been named a fashion icon by the Council of Fashion Designers of America.

The organisation awarded Williams the title on Monday night at a ceremony in New York.

“I explored fashion and style as a way to distinguish myself,” Williams told the crowd.

“In many ways for me, the tennis courts became my runway.

“Williams is the first athlete to win the award. Previous award recipients include Beyoncé, Zendaya and Rihanna.

The 23-time Grand Slam singles champion rocked the red carpet at the American Museum of Natural History, wearing a bespoke black sequin dress designed by CFDA Chairman Thom Browne.

On the fashion industry’s equivalent of Oscar night, Williams was presented the 2023 CFDA fashion icon award by fashion mogul and television star Kim Kardashian.

In her acceptance speech, Williams spoke of her love for fashion and its role on the tennis court.

“I designed skirts out of denim and I wore purple tutus and bodysuits and put beads in my hair, and braids,” she said.

“It was really just a fun time for me.

“Williams studied fashion during her playing career – attending fashion school between Grand Slams – and in 2018, launched her S by Serena clothing line.

In 2019, Williams told Essence magazine that her clothes “represent women everywhere – indomitable mothers, daughters and sisters; resilient businesswomen and entrepreneurs; outsiders and underdogs; little girls with crazy dreams and unflinching women of colour”.

Williams, 42, ended her 27-year professional career in 2022 in New York at the US Open, though she has said “I am not retired”, and “the chances (of a return) are very high”.

She referred to her career’s end in a Vogue magazine article as “evolving away from tennis”.

At the awards ceremony, Williams thanked several people but saved the last one for her mother.

“Watching her sew created this creativity in me that I still have to this day,” Williams said.

Big Brother Naija reality star, Pere Egbi has revealed that he and his love interest, Mercy Eke have decided to keep their relationship out of the public eye.

The duo who fell in love at the twilight of the just concluded BBNaija All Stars season, have been maintaining a low profile as regards their relationship since coming out of the show.

Speaking in a recent interview with TVC, Pere said they are cool but have decided to go low-key with their relationship.

He said, “We [Mercy and I] are friends and we are just keeping everything out of the public. Let’s see where it goes.”

On the post-show drama going online, especially between female housemates, Pere said, “Women are full of drama. So, they are just doing them. And they’re just being women. Maybe we would all just sit down with some popcorn and watch the drama unfold.”

He said if he had the chance to change anything he did in the House, he would be “a lot more firmer. I took it easy on a lot of the housemates and they were lucky. Because if they were in my season ‘Shine Ya Eye’ 2019, dem for hear am.”

KAA Gent defender Jordan Torunarigha is determined to make Nigeria’s squad to the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.

The centre-back represented Germany at youth level but later switched international allegiance.

The 26-year-old was handed his maiden invitation for Nigeria’s 2023 AFCON qualifier against Sao Tome and Principe in September.

Torunarigha, however, waited until last month before making his debut in the friendly against Mozambique.

With the Super Eagles set to compete in Cote d’Ivoire in January, the player hopes to be selected by head coach Jose Peseiro.

“I’m just doing my best and hoping for a selection. It remains an honor to represent Nigeria,” he told Belgian news outlet, Het Nieuwsblad.

“Nine boys from our team can indeed be called up in January, which is quite a lot. But first we go to Iceland. I’ve never been there before, but I’m not afraid of the temperatures. I often take ice baths”.

Letters confiscated by Britain’s Royal Navy before they reached French sailors during the Seven Years’ War have been opened for the first time.

Written in 1757-8, they were sent by loved ones for crew onboard a French warship, but never reached them.

Prof Renaud Morieux, who discovered the letters, said they were about “universal human experiences”.

The Seven Years’ War was a battle mainly between Britain and France about control of North America and India.

It ended with the Treaty of Paris, which gave the UK considerable gains.Prof Morieux, a University of Cambridge academic, unearthed the collection of 104 letters from the National Archives in Kew, and said it was “agonising how close they got” to reaching their intended recipients onboard the Galatee.

The French postal administration took them to multiple ports in France to attempt delivery, but were unsuccessful.

The Galatee was captured by the British on its way from Bordeaux to Quebec in 1758.

Upon learning the ship was in British hands, French authorities forwarded the letters to England, where they were handed to the navy and ended up in storage.

British Admiralty officials deemed the letters had no military significance.Prof Morieux said he only asked to look at the box in the archives “out of curiosity” before discovering them.

“I realised I was the first person to read these very personal messages since they were written,” he said.

“Their intended recipients didn’t get that chance. It was very emotional,” said Prof Morieux, whose findings were published in the journal “Annales. Histoire, Sciences Sociales”.

Prof Morieux identified every member of the Galatee’s 181-strong crew, with letters addressed to a quarter of them – he also carried out genealogical research into the men and their correspondents.

They include a letter from Marie Dubosc to her husband, the ship’s first lieutenant, Louis Chambrelan.

She wrote: “I could spend the night writing to you… I am your forever faithful wife.

“Good night, my dear friend. It is midnight. I think it is time for me to rest.

“Researchers say she did not know where her husband was or that his ship had been captured by the British.

He did not receive her letter and they did not meet again, with Dubosc dying the next year in northern France.

Chambrelan returned to France and remarried in 1761.

In another letter, Anne Le Cerf told her husband Jean Topsent, a non-commissioned officer: “I cannot wait to possess you.”

“These letters are about universal human experiences, they’re not unique to France or the 18th century,” Prof Morieux said.

“They reveal how we all cope with major life challenges.”

“When we are separated from loved ones by events beyond our control, like the pandemic or wars, we have to work out how to stay in touch, how to reassure, care for people and keep the passion alive.

“Today we have Zoom and WhatsApp. In the 18th century, people only had letters but what they wrote about feels very familiar.”