BURKINA FASO SUSPENDS FRENCH MEDIA OVER INSURGENCY REPORT.

The military government of Burkina Faso has suspended a French television news channel, citing lack of objectivity and credibility in its reporting on the jihadist insurgency in the country.

This move represents an escalation in the government’s crackdown on foreign media, as tensions between Burkina Faso and its former colonizer, France, have intensified due to growing concerns over security.

La Chaine Info (LCI), a French TV channel owned by private broadcaster TF1, has been suspended for a period of three months starting from June 23.

The decision was announced by Burkina Faso’s national media regulator in a statement released on Thursday.

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Ivory Coast ex-president rejected from electoral roll

An appeal by Ivory Coast’s former president Laurent Gbagbo to be reinstated on the election roll has been rejected by the country’s electoral commission.

Gbagbo filed his appeal on June 8 after being struck from the roll, his African People’s Party Ivory Coast (PPA-CI) party.

Gbagbo returned to Ivory Coast in June 2021 after being acquitted by the International Criminal Court on human rights charges linked to post-electoral violence in 2011.

But he still faces a 20-year prison sentence in Ivory Coast for an alleged “robbery” of the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) in 2011.

This conviction handed down in 2018, while he was imprisoned in The Hague, resulted in the loss of his civic and political rights and therefore his removal from the electoral roll.

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UNITED STATES APPROVES OVER FOUR HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS ARMS SALES TO TAIWAN.

The administration of United States President Joe Biden has approved two potential arms sales totaling $440 million to Taiwan in an effort to support the island’s defense capabilities amid tensions with China.

This is according to an announcement by the State Department which says the first sale, valued at approximately $332 million, includes 30mm ammunition and related equipment.

It says the second sale, amounting to $108 million, consists of spare and repair parts for vehicles and weapons to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office, Taiwan’s diplomatic outpost in the United States.

The State Department stated that the proposed sales serve US national, economic, and security interests by assisting Taiwan in modernizing its armed forces and maintaining a credible defensive capability.

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FORMER UNITED STATES LAWMAKER BAGS TWENTY YEARS IN PRISON FOR BRIBERY.

Former Ohio House of Representatives Speaker, Larry Householder, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for his involvement in a $60 million bribery scheme, according to prosecutors.

Householder and former Ohio Republican Party chair Mathew Borges were convicted by a federal jury in March.

The bribery case originated from a bill passed in 2019 aimed at bailing out Ohio’s nuclear power plants. Householder and Borges were accused of receiving industry funds to lobby for the legislation.

Federal prosecutors deemed it the largest corruption case in Ohio’s history, although the bill was later revoked by the legislature in 2021.

Following his arrest in 2020, Householder was removed from his position as Speaker by the Ohio House of Representatives.

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MEXICO HEAT WAVE CLAIMS OVER ONE HUNDRED LIVES.

At least one hundred people have died in the past two weeks due to heat-related causes in Mexico.

This is as the country experienced scorching temperatures reaching close to fifty degrees Celsius in certain areas.

According to its Health Ministry, a three-week-long heat wave strained the energy grid, leading to record demand and prompting authorities to suspend classes in some regions.

The extreme heat has caused considerable discomfort for many Mexicans.

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PROSECUTION DESCRIBES KEVIN SPACEY AS “SEXUAL BULLY” IN COURT.

The trial of American actor, Kevin Spacey began at London’s Southwark Crown Court, where he faced a dozen allegations of historic sex offenses.

The 63-year-old Oscar-winning actor pleaded not guilty to the charges, while his lawyer vehemently denied the claims, referring to them as “damned lies.”

During the prosecution’s opening statement, lawyer Christine Agnew portrayed Spacey as an aggressive “sexual bully” who derived pleasure from assaulting men and was turned on by their angry reactions.

Agnew described him as a man who lacked respect for personal boundaries, frequently making others feel powerless and uncomfortable.

She further alleged that Spacey’s preferred method of assault involved grabbing other men aggressively in the crotch.

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