Washington, USA | Xinhua | Colin Powell, a former U.S. secretary of state and former joint chiefs of staff, on Monday died of COVID-19 complications at the age of 84. He had been fully vaccinated, his family said. The American politician, diplomat and retired four-star general served as the …

  Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT |  Ugandan socialite Zari Hassan has dismissed photographs circulating on social media, saying they are from a Gospel Music shoot she had recently and not an introduction (kukyala) ceremony. The photographs are being shared as having been taken at a ‘secret introduction ceremony.” Zari, 41, …

Mbarara, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Mbarara City Council has started the process renaming and naming of 400 old and new roads and buildings within the city. Mbarara City has 330.19 kilometres of roads. Current roads have a diversity of names include Marknsighn, High-street, Mbaguta road, Independence road, Victor Bwana, …

Santiago, Chile | Xinhua |  Chile will ban sales of most internal combustion vehicles in support of electric vehicles starting in 2035, the Chilean government announced Friday as part of its National Electromobility Strategy. All sales of light and medium vehicles, public transit and large machinery, will be zero-emission vehicles …

London, UK  | Xinhua | Experts are worried that it might be difficult to get the shots in those young arms as the authorization of COVID-19 vaccines for U.S. children aged 5 to 11 is approaching, The Guardian has reported. Only one third of U.S. parents showed their willingness to …

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | Xinhua |  The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Africa reached 8,420,043 as of Saturday afternoon, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said. The Africa CDC, the specialized healthcare agency of the African Union (AU), said the death toll from the pandemic …

Mogadishu, Somalia | THE INDEPENDENT | The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) has awarded medals and certificates to Ugandan soldiers for their contribution to the ongoing peace and stabilisation effort in Somalia. The soldiers, from Battle Group 30, were awarded medals at a ceremony in Mogadishu, Somalia, presided over by …

Kasese, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The fisheries directorate, Uganda People’s Defence Forces Fisheries Protection Unit-FPU and Uganda Revenue Authority-URA on Wednesday impounded  close to 20 tons of immature fish in  four trucks at Mpondwe border. The value of the impounded fish is yet to be determined. The trucks, destined for the …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Science teachers say they are finding it hard not to blame UNATU for the interference with the salary increment process for the scientists in the teaching profession. Under their umbrella body, Uganda professional science teachers Union -UPSTU, they are convinced that the Uganda National …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | These are the top stories in this week’s THE INDEPENDENT. COVER STORY Behind MTN share offer: Assessing the opportunity and the risk THE LAST WORD Inside Besigye’s pipedream: Why Besigye’s struggles are not about democratising Uganda but about making Besigye president COMMENTS Land acquisition for …