The Hague, Netherlands | AFP | International investigators looking into the downing of flight MH17 over Ukraine released intercepted phone calls on Thursday showing close links between “high-ranking” Russian officials and rebel suspects facing trial over the crash. The probe said the recordings raised questions about the possible involvement of key …

Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Two years ago, Linos Mutepera was among hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans who celebrated the toppling of long-time ruler Robert Mugabe with tears of joy. Today, he looks back at that time with bitterness, his hope of a better life dashed on the rocks of poverty …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT  |  Members of Parliament have expressed disappointment over the failure to resolve the Uganda-Rwanda tensions. During plenary on Thursday, Maganda Julius Wandera, the Minister of State for East African Community Affairs who was presenting a statement on the 20 years of East African Integration was overruled …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT  |  International Joint Venture Partners operating in Uganda’s Oil and Gas Sector have cautioned the Country’s Small and Medium Enterprises to expect no compromise in procurement in the industry.     They say they are committed to maintaining a high standard in the industry while sub-contracting to …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT  | Non-traditional donors, especially China are negotiating with government for funding informally and less transparently, leaving room for manoeuvring and corruption, a research paper has said. The paper, published by the Southern Voice, a network of think tanks from Africa, Asia and Latin America, says this …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT  |  A man who dragged Lubaga South Member of Parliament Kato Lubwama to court has protested the delayed justice in an application where the MP is seeking to block an election petition. In 2017 High Court Civil Division Judge Margaret Oumo Oguli allowed Habib Buwembo the …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT  |  National Information Platforms on Nutrition-NIPN has called for door to door nutrition training for maids and parents in order to reduce stunted growth in urban areas. Nutritionists say several children in well to do families have stunted growth and retarded brains due to lack of …

San Francisco, United States | AFP |  Amazon on Thursday challenged the awarding of a $10 billion Pentagon cloud computing contract to Microsoft, alleging “unmistakable bias” in the process. The 10-year contract for the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure program, better known as JEDI, ultimately will see all military branches sharing information …

Birao, Central African Republic | AFP | A heavy silence hangs in the dusty alleys of Birao, in the extreme northeast of Central African Republic, where figures only rarely wander between the empty houses and reed hedges. Since September, Birao has been hit hard by fighting between armed groups despite a …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT  |  The second meeting between Uganda and Rwanda to address border closure issue has been called off.  According to the Uganda government spokesperson Ofwono Opondo, the meeting was called off at the request of Kigali.  He said via his twitter handle that “the media is hereby …