China denies claims of spying on the African Union headquarters

African Union Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

China has denied claims that it spied on the African Union headquarters which it helped build in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa in 2012.

Chinese ambassador to the African Union, Kuang Weilin, described the claims reported by French media Le Monde Afrique as “absurd” and “preposterous”.

He told the media in Addis Ababa that “it is very difficult to understand the claims” and it was entirely untrue, the BBC reports.

“I really question its intention. I think it will undermine and send a very negative message to people. I think it is not good for the image of the newspaper itself. Certainly, it will create problems for China-Africa relations,” he added.

An investigation conducted by French media Le Monde Afrique and published on Saturday revealed that in the past five years, data from the AU servers in Ethiopia were transferred to servers in Shanghai at odd hours.

“In January 2017, the AU’s technical staff discovered that its servers were strangely active with a peak in data transfer between midnight and 2 am when it’s offices were empty. A computer scientist found that there was a massive transfer of internal data of the AU,” the report said.

Every night, the secrets of the institution were stored more than 8,000 km away from Addis Ababa on mysterious servers hosted somewhere in Shanghai, the report added citing unnamed internal sources.

It said the discovery resulted in the change of servers and security experts from Algeria who checked the entire building found microphones installed in desks.

Another anonymous official told the newspaper that the Chinese are not the only ones spying on the AU. The report said documents received in collaboration with The Intercept indicate that the US National Security Agency (NSA) and the British intelligence agencies (GCHQ) have also spied on the AU building.

This article by Ismail Akwei was first published on face2faceafrica.com

Egypt hosts the world’s tallest man and the world’s shortest woman [Photos]

World’s tallest woman and world’s shortest woman in Egypt — Photo: Experience Egypt

Egypt’s tourism authority has invited the world’s tallest man and the world’s shortest woman to tour historic sites in the country in an effort to promote its tourism sector.

31-year-old Sultan Kosen from Turkey stands at 8 feet and 9 inches tall while 25-year-old Jyoti Amge from India stands at 2 feet and 6 inches tall. They had a photoshoot at the pyramids of Giza last Friday where they struck poses for awestruck tourists.

Egyptian Culture and Tourism Ministry said in a statement that the two will be in the country for four days and they will visit other sites including the Cairo Tower, Tahrir Square, and the Egyptian Museum.

Sultan Kosen, who is a farmer, is suffering from a condition known as pituitary gigantism which is nearly always caused by an adenoma, a tumor of the pituitary gland that secretes too many growth hormones.

In 2009, he measured 7 feet and 9 inches. He broke his own record in 2011 when he grew taller. Kosen remains one of the only 10 people in history to reach 8 feet in height or more.

Jyoti Amge is also suffering from a form of dwarfism called achondroplasia. She is an actor and has appeared in TV shows like Bigg Boss, American Horror Story, and other Bollywood movies.

Below are a video and some images of the two world-record holders in Egypt. Photos provided by Experience Egypt (Egypt’s official tourism account on Twitter).

This article by Ismail Akwei was first published on face2faceafrica.com

At 100 years old, expect a stamp in your honor if you are from Barbados

Stamps of centenarians in Barbados

Only a few live to be 100 years old in the 21st century as life expectancy keeps reducing due to many factors including healthcare quality, lifestyle choices, diseases, and wars among others.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that the average life expectancy at birth of the global population in 2015 is 71.4 years (68 years and 4 months for males and 72 years and 8 months for females).

However, Barbados was hit by a conundrum after its 2016 census when they counted 114 centenarians alive. They include only 11 men. This was good news, but a big problem for Barbados where they honor centenarians with postal stamps.

The country’s National Committee on Ageing (NCOA) found that the number will further increase in 2017 as 48 more centenarians will join the club. This prompted the change in rules.

Barbados decided to honor only individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to the country. Therefore, 27 stamps priced at 65 Barbados Cents (US $32.5) were released last year featuring 27 outstanding centenarians.

Below are the stamps of the 27 lucky centenarians of Barbados.

This article by Ismail Akwei was first published on face2faceafrica.com

Checking in on Damian Marley’s cannabis farm in a California jail

Damian Marley, son of reggae legend Bob Marley, is reaping some cash from his multimillion-dollar investment in an old prison in California which he converted into a cannabis farm.

The cannabis advocate and partnering company, Ocean Grown Extracts, purchased the 77,000 square foot Claremont Custody Center – which was shut down in 2011 – from the City of Coalinga in 2016 for $4.1 million dollars.

They are cultivating medical marijuana for state dispensaries as well as cannabis oils. The business is expected to bring 100 new jobs and annual tax revenue of over $1 million to the city which is struggling financially.

In January 2017, Coalinga City Manager Marissa Trejo told local news media Valley Public Radio that the prison had been rehabilitated and they were yet to start cultivation, manufacturing, and delivery.

“They have done a wonderful job rehabbing the facility. It no longer looks like a prison from the inside and of course, it’s very secure. It’s decorated a lot nicer than it was when it was a prison,” she said.

The city allowed commercial marijuana operations to clear their debts and develop their facilities. Last year, the residents voted to allow a single cannabis retail facility that will dispense the herb.

Medical marijuana and recreational marijuana are legal in California, but for Damian Marley, growing cannabis is a part of his culture as a Rasta.

“Of course herb is a big part of our culture for Rastas and Jamaicans and all of that, and we’ve always advocated for it to be legal … If this [venture] helps people and it’s used for medicinal purposes and inspires people, it’s a success,” 39-year-old Marley told Vice in a 2016 interview.

Damian Marley also launched a 3,000-square-foot dispensary in Denver, in partnership with Colorado-based TruCannabis. The facility which is just across from Mile High Stadium has a 30,000-square-foot grow space complete with radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags for each plant.   

Here’s Damian Marley’s music video for his song Medication featuring his brother Stephen Marley. It was shot at the prison cannabis farm.

This article by Ismail Akwei was first published on face2faceafrica.com

China caught ‘spying’ on the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa

African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

China has been accused of spying on the African Union (AU) headquarters, in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, which they built in 2012 to house and host continental meetings and the biannual heads of state summit.

An investigation conducted by French media Le Monde Afrique and published on Saturday revealed that in the past five years, data from the AU servers in Ethiopia were transferred to servers in Shanghai at odd hours.

“In January 2017, the AU’s technical staff discovered that its servers were strangely active with a peak in data transfer between midnight and 2 am when it’s offices were empty. A computer scientist found that there was a massive transfer of internal data of the AU,” the report said.

Every night, the secrets of the institution were stored more than 8,000 km away from Addis Ababa on mysterious servers hosted somewhere in Shanghai, the report added citing unnamed internal sources.

It also accused the Chinese of opening a window in the computer system of the $200 million facilities which they installed. The breach is suspected to be “intentional” to allow intelligence agencies and hackers to have illegal access to information.

An unnamed AU official told the French media that they have strengthened the building’s cybersecurity by inspecting the entire facility and changing the servers, microphones, and other technologies installed by the Chinese.

“The Chinese have nothing to listen to. They have never colonized us. They have supported the struggles of independence on the continent and help us economically today,” the official told the newspaper calling for calm.

Another official said the Chinese are not the only ones spying as documents intercepted by Le Monde in collaboration with The Intercept indicate that the US National Security Agency (NSA) and the British intelligence agencies (GCHQ) have also spied on the AU building.

China has not yet responded to the espionage allegations.

Meanwhile, African heads of state and governments are gathered in Addis Ababa for the 30th AU Summit under the theme: “Winning the Fight against Corruption: A Sustainable Path to Africa’s Transformation”.

Among the guests present are UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, President of the State of Palestine and Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Mahmoud Abbas, and Secretary-General of the League of Arab States; Ahmed Aboul-Gheit.

This article by Ismail Akwei was first published on face2faceafrica.com