Telecom Giant Pulls Ads From Uganda Anti-Gay Paper

An activist group says the global telecom company Orange has withdrawn advertising from a Ugandan tabloid newspaper that printed the names of 200 suspected homosexuals after a severe anti-gay law was enacted last month.

All Out said in a statement Monday that Orange, a subsidiary of France Telecom, made the decision after more than 77,000 of its members petitioned the company to "remove the advertisements" with the newspaper Red Pepper.

The statement said that Red Pepper's contract with Orange expired on March 6 and will not be extended.

It was not clear how much Red Pepper earned from the Orange ads.

Arinaitwe Rugyendo, a Red Pepper senior executive who acts as its spokesman, said he had no immediate comment.