KAHUZI-BIEGA NATIONAL PARK, DR Congo | AFP | Aged almost 17 years, Bonane is an eastern lowland gorilla, a survivor in a critically endangered species reduced to about 250 members in DR Congo’s Kahuzi-Biega National Park. For an hour each day, the gorilla and his dozen-strong family host a handful of …

Hoima, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT |  Police in Kikuube are investigating circumstances under which an employee of Hoima Sugar Limited was hacked to death. Gideon Odaga 37 a casual labourer at Hoima sugar Limited and a resident of Ajinjera village in Zombo district was hacked to death on Friday night by …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT |  Makerere University School of Public Health (MakSPH) have unveiled a fundraising drive to construct an eight-storied facility worth 30 billion shillings. This is in an effort to strengthen its scientific research, teaching and learning for the growing student population, currently at more than 800, with …

Bamako, Mali | AFP | Seydou Seck’s Vespa is 41 years old, but he sits upright and proud on the ancient grey scooter when he heads down Bamako’s Independence Avenue. In a city flooded with cheap, Indonesian-made two-wheelers, the classic Italian-made Vespa has a passionate following. Enthusiasts like Seck reckon several …

Paris, France | AFP |  Belgium became the first team to qualify for the 2020 European Championship finals as Romelu Lukaku scored twice in a 9-0 thrashing of San Marino in Brussels on Thursday, while the Netherlands needed a late comeback to beat Northern Ireland. Lukaku took his record Belgium international …

Brussels, Belgium | AFP |  Britain and Europe’s top Brexit negotiators sit down together Friday to test what British and Irish leaders say might be a “pathway” to a deal. Technical talks on an agreement to govern Britain’s EU divorce are stalled, just days before what had been billed as a …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | “When I started, there was poop in bags everywhere,” said Ricky Ojwang, skillfully navigating a rubbish-strewn canal in Mukuru, a Nairobi slum where he’s worked to improve sanitation since 2012. “People would use bags because there were no toilets, and they would throw them out the …

Oslo, Norway | AFP | Bookies have Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg as the name to beat ahead of Friday’s Nobel Peace Prize announcement, although experts say Ethiopian PM Abiy Ahmed or a representative of the free press are more likely. Speculation in Norwegian media on the eve of the announcement …

Kasangati, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT |  A row has erupted between residents of Lusanja and their lawyers over the intended move to appeal against a judgement on the ownership of the appeal from which they are being evicted.   The High Court Land Division in Kampala last Friday ruled in favour of …

Kigezi, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Leaders in Kigezi sub-region have expressed doubt on the success of the Industrial park project.  The project was launched by President Museveni in April with an aim of eradicating poverty and unemployment among the youth and women.  Early this month, the government allocated 130 billion …