TOP 10 FACTS ABOUT VALENTINE

 BY ADMIN

Top 10 Facts About Valentines Day!

Do you want to learn about Valentines Day? Well you've come to the right place! Check out these 10 facts about Valentines Day...

Valentines Day is a special day to celebrate love all around the world. Every 14th February, couples celebrate their love for each other and show their appreciation for one another. Although there is much mystery surrounding the origin of this special day, there is no denying that it is an important day for those in love. To help you celebrate the occasion, here are ten interesting facts about Valentines Day. From the history of Valentines Day to the oldest love poem!

1. Valentines Day is on 14th February every year.

Valentines Day falls on 14th February every year. It is also known as Saint Valentine’s Day!

It is thought that Valentines Day is on this day because a priest called Valentine was performing secret marriages behind the back of Emperor Claudius II of Rome.

He banned marriage because he thought that unmarried soldiers fought much better.

2. It’s a day to show your love!

Valentines Day is a day to show your love.

This can be to a girlfriend, boyfriend, husband or wife.

Or why not show your love to the people who are important to you? Such as your family and friends!

3. Valentines Day comes from Saint Valentine.

As you learnt above, Valentines Day comes from the man Valentine from the Roman times.

He was a priest and was actually made a Saint after his death!

4. The first ever Valentines Day was in 496!

Previously there was a Roman festival called Lupercalia which was in the middle of February.

During this festival, the boys would select a girls name out of a box. They would stay with whoever they picked during the festival.

Sometimes they would even get married.

Later on, it was decided by the church that they wanted to change this festival into a Christian celebration.

This was the start of Valentines Day.

5. Cupid is often on Valentines Cards and gifts.

Cupid is always seen on lots of Valentines cards and presents… but who is he?

Cupid, who was also known as Eros, was actually a Roman God.

He was the God of Love.

Legend has it that Cupid would shoot his arrow into people’s hearts… which would make them fall in love!

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6. Around 85% of Valentines Day cards are bought by women.

Women seem to prefer buying a card for their loved ones.

Around 85% of cards are bought by women on Valentines Day.

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7. Around 73% of flowers are bought by men!

Flowers are one of the main gifts given by men on Valentines Day.

Around 73% of flowers are bought by them!

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8. The oldest love poem was said to have been 4,000 years ago!

The oldest love poem was written around 4,000 years ago.

It is called ‘The Love Song for Shu-Sin’ and was written by a Sumerian.

Sumerians came up with one of the first writing forms.

They lived where Iraq is today.

The poem was carved into a clay tablet.

9. Valentines Day is said to be the second most popular day to send cards, after Christmas!

Christmas keeps Royal Mail busy.. but so does Valentines Day.

Valentines Day is said to be the second most popular day to send a card, after Christmas.

Will you be receiving one?

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10. The red rose symbolises love.

The red rose is linked to the Goddess of Love, Aphrodite.

It was believed that Aphrodite’s tears and her love Adonis’ blood watered the ground where red roses were grown.

It now symbolises love until death.

Special Needs children post better UCE results

By Admin

Uganda is a signatory to the international agreements/commitments that provide for learners with special needs. One example of such instruments that bind those agreements is the Salamanca Statement and Framework for Action on Special Needs 1994.

The UCE results for 2022 released today reveal that in the category of Low Vision, 41 of the 154 candidates who sat for the exams passed in division one, 38 in division two, 35 in division three and 39 in division four. Only one student got division nine. 

The physically handicapped category had 179 students and 22 of them passed in division one,  32 in division two,  41 in division three,  65 in division four, while 19 failed.

The deaf category had 120 students; five passed in division one , 10 in division two, 10 in division three, 74 in division four and  21 got division in nine.

In the Dyslexic category, four of the 66 candidates passed in division one, six in division two, 18 in division three,  30 in division four and eight in division nine.

In the blind category, 13 out of 46 students passed in division two, 11 in division three, 16 in division four, and four in division nine.

Veteran radio presenter Alex Ndawula dies at 59

 By:Admin

Veteran radio presenter and disc jockey, Alex Ndawula has died.
Ndawula who graced the airwaves of private FM stations in Uganda- starting with Sanyu FM before moving to Capital FM- which swept in by the early 90s liberalization is said to have died Monday evening at Nsambya hospital in Kampala at the age of 59.

Capital FM's producer and news anchor, Patricia Osman, confirmed Ndawula's death Monday evening.

"A  legend has gone to sleep. Rest in Peace Radio Legend. Sleep well. We shall forever celebrate you  Alexander Ndawula," she wrote on social media.

He retired from Capital FM in May 2017 after over 20 years of service.

Legend eulogised 

He’s been eulogized by his former work colleagues, friends and other Ugandans who grew up listening to his shows as a true legend.

“A true legend has signed out. He set the FM waves on fire in the morning and even more, during his Dance Force mixes. At the peak of FM radio, the dance weekend space belonged to Alex Ndawula. Fare thee well Alex Ndawula,” Allan Ssenyonga tweeted.
“Rest in Peace Radio Legendary Alex Ndawula. You paved a way for many. Rest in Power” tweeted TV presenter, Douglas Lwanga.

To Allan Tashobya, Ndawula was "A unique voice, legend, and one of the larger-than-life Media Personalities on Capital FM Uganda who made us fall in love with this whole thing we now call a career."

Court of Appeal Kicks out two NRM MPs

The Court of Appeal has thrown out two Members of Parliament subscribing to the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM), thus ordering fresh elections.

The two legislators are; Eddie Kwizeera Wagahungu (Bukimbiri County) in Kisoro District and Derrick Orone (Gogonyo County) in Paliisa District.

Justices Frederick Egonda-Ntende and Eva Luswata have ruled that the ballot papers that were used in the elections for Bukimbiri County MP were defective.

"The use of defective ballot papers in the elections amounted to non-compliance with the constitution and electoral laws that govern a free and fair election," the justices ruled.

"The judgment and orders of the learned judge from which this appeal arose are hereby set aside. The election of Kwizera Eddie the first respondent as MP for Bukimbiri is nullified and accordingly set aside," they added.

Court also condemned the EC for failing to take an essential step to detect an anomaly on the ballot papers used in Bukimbiri County when candidates’ names were substituted with unknown names.

The justices further explained that such a mistake is inexcusable yet it would be rectified during the preparation of the ballot papers as a candidate's name goes to the root of his or her identity.

China brands US democracy 'weapon of mass destruction'

BY:ADMIN China branded US democracy a "weapon of mass destruction" on Saturday, following the US-organised Summit for Democracy which aimed to shore up like-minded allies in the face of autocratic regimes. China was left out of the two-day virtual summit -- along with countries including Russia and Hungary -- and responded by angrily accusing US President Joe Biden of stoking Cold War-era ideological divides. "'Democracy' has long become a 'weapon of mass destruction' used by the US to interfere in other countries," a foreign ministry spokesperson said in an online statement, which also accused the US of having "instigated 'colour revolutions'" overseas. The ministry also claimed the summit was organised by the US to "draw lines of ideological prejudice, instrumentalise and weaponise democracy... (and) incite division and confrontation." Instead, Beijing vowed to "resolutely resist and oppose all kinds of pseudo-democracies". Ahead of the summit, China ramped up a propaganda blitz criticising US democracy as corrupt and a failure. Instead, it touted its own version of "whole-process people's democracy" in a white paper released last week that aimed to shore up legitimacy for the ruling Communist Party, which has become increasingly authoritarian under President Xi Jinping. While the US has repeatedly denied there will be another Cold War with China, tensions between the world's two largest economies have spiralled in recent years over issues including trade and technological competition, human rights, Xinjiang and Taiwan. The US Treasury on Friday sanctioned two high-level Chinese officials for human rights abuses in the Xinjiang region and placed Chinese AI surveillance firm SenseTime on a blacklist for its facial recognition technology targeting the Uyghur minority.

Uganda, DR Congo pledge transparency in war against ADF

BY:ADMIN Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo have responded to public concerns about the safety of the joint operations against terrorists with a pledge of transparency. They said, in fact, that they will elevate their cooperation to target all armed groups, not just the Allied Democratic Forces. The Ugandan and Congolese ministers of defence, after a two-day field tour of Bunia, in Ituri eastern DRC say they will coordinate operations to ensure they are within the law. The Ministers, Vincent Ssempijja (Uganda) and Gilbert Kabanda Kurhenga (DRC) were accompanied by senior officers from both countries as well as parliamentarians from the Defence Committee of the National Assembly and MPs from North Kivu and Ituri. Although the two armies have assured of legal operations, they have not yet made a human toll of the operations. Earlier, and accompanied by the lawmakers of Ituri and North Kivu, Gilbert Kabanda had organised a series of consultations with the local authorities. At the end of these consultations, the president of the customary chiefs of Ituri, Innocent Matukadala, on behalf of his peers, gave his "unwavering support to the joint DRC-Uganda military operation".

Govt should probe Lokech's death -Acholi leaders

DIGP-LOKECH

  By:Admin

  ACHOLI

Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo yesterday joined the chorus of voices to task government to undertake a wider and deeper inquiry into the sudden death of the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Lt Gen Paul Lokech.

The calls come a week after pathologists concluded that Lt Gen Lokech had succumbed to blood clots in his lungs.

Justice Owiny-Dollo said the government owed it to the people to exhaustively answer their doubts about what had led to the sudden death of the general.

The Chief Justice said the inquiry should look into all possible causes of death, including at his place of work, where he could have had some conflict with interested parties in the line of his duty.

But Justice Owiny-Dollo also quickly counselled that the community should respect the privacy and wishes of the family and leave it to them to decide the best course of action in the matter.

Several local leaders, one after another, have raised questions as to what could have caused the death of the fearless and ever combat-ready general, who had fought fierce battles in and outside Uganda, including in South Sudan, DR Congo, and the restive Somalia, where he battled militant Islamists, the al-Shabaab.

But Maj Gen Kahinda Otafiire, the Internal Affairs minister, who represented President Museveni at the funeral, said it was disastrous to make the matter political as Acholi leaders portrayed it.

“Countrymen, much as we are entitled to be inquisitive about unknown phenomenon, let’s be philosophical about our approach to life. Uganda was here without us, Uganda was here with us and Uganda will be here long after we are gone,” Gen Otaffire said.

Despite the demands of the Acholi leaders, in his speech, Gen Otafiire said government would not wish to delve much into the circumstances surrounding the death of Gen Lokech since it is a private matter.

“I want to put to you that a postmortem was done and a postmortem report was handed over to the family, and I am not at liberty to disclose that report unless I have the permission of his family and the police,” he said.

Gen Otafiire asked the police to consult with the family and make public the report of the fallen general’s postmortem.

“I would like the police together with the family to put this report at the disposal of the public because people want to know what the legitimate cause of Gen Lokech’s death is and the case is put to rest,” he added.

Gen Otafiire expressed disappointment in the utterances of Acholi leaders, saying their demands were political and meant to cause panic in the public.

“Why did we invest in them, why did we invest in getting many Acholi sons and daughters into powerful positions in government and at the end kill them? Who do you think will protect me when tomorrow, I am no longer the minister of Internal Affairs? The people I don’t know or the people I have raised?”

“I can’t say there might not be people or a group of people who want to replace them and, therefore, would be interested in destroying them, but I’m saying those of us who raised them would not be the same people to destroy them,” he said.

President Museveni, in his speech, said: “Given Lt Gen Lokech’s exemplary contribution for the last 30 years in the armed forces, I hereby...promote Major General Paul Lokech, posthumously, to the rank of Lieutenant General.”

Postmortem

Police statement on postmortem

“…..We want to further inform the public that a postmortem examination was carried out on the body of the deceased, by a team of four pathologists.

Also present were Brig Gen Dr Stephen Kusasira, the Director of Medical Services in the UPDF, the personal doctor of the late, Dr Ben Khiingi, and two family representatives.

The team of pathologists established that the victim got a fracture of the right ankle joint, around the end of July.

It was a simple fracture which was being managed at Ruby Medical Centre, by an orthopedic surgeon. They put a POP cast at the victim’s leg and managed him as an outpatient, with regular reviews. They further encouraged him to do mild exercises while at home.

During the autopsy, the pathologists opened the right lower leg, which got injured, and found a very big blood clot that had formed in one of the big blood vessels. They further opened his chest and found part of the blood clot had been carried into the lungs.

As a result, both vessels in the lungs were blocked, thus leading to the shortage in breath and subsequent death. It was thus concluded as death due to natural causes.”