Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Julius Kateregga, a 2nd-year student of Bachelor of Arts with Education is the new guild president of Makerere University. He replaces Papa Salim Were. Kateregga garnered 3,922 votes beating other 10 candidates in the race. His closest rival Joshua William Mukisa obtained 3,365 votes while …

Beirut, Lebanon | AFP |  The Syrian conflict, which entered its ninth year on Friday, has ravaged the lives of millions of people since it started in 2011 with the brutal repression of anti-government protests. Here are some figures: – Victims – The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which …

Gaza City, Palestinian Territories | AFP | Seated with other students on the steps at the Islamic University of Gaza with his backpack, the young Italian doctor-to-be draws looks from passersby. Riccardo Corradini is the first exchange student in the Gaza Strip under a popular European programme known as Erasmus …

Paris, France | AFP |  Attacks on two mosques in New Zealand which left at least 49 people dead on Friday have sparked horror, revulsion and dismay around the world. One of the gunmen – believed to be an Australian extremist — apparently livestreamed the deadly assault. “It is clear …

  Berlin, Germany | AFP |  Germany has agreed to speed up the return of human remains and artwork from former African colonies where the country carried out brutal massacres and pillaged indigenous heritage. The German culture and foreign ministries as well as regional and local cultural authorities signed a …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | With the world’s forests increasingly under threat from climate change and logging, leaders and top bank chiefs pledged billions on Thursday to help reverse the steep decline in Africa’s woodland areas. So far this century East Africa alone has lost around 6 million hectares of …

Tulu Fara, Ethiopia | AFP | From a quiet farmland at the base of rolling hills outside Ethiopia’s capital, the sound of wailing rang through the air. Devastated mourners flung themselves onto a ground littered with business cards, seat covers and shards of aluminium. They cried the names of loved …

AMISOM announces three days of mourning in honour of the late Acting Police Commissioner Mogadishu, Somalia | THE INDEPENDENT | The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), is observing three days of mourning in honour of the late Acting Police Commissioner Christine Alalo, who perished in the ill-fated Ethiopian Airlines flight …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Athletics Kenya (AK) on Thursday lambasted a decision by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) to scrap the 5,000 metres from the Diamond League programme as “illegitimate”. Their protest was quickly followed by another from the Ethiopian athletics federation, that asked the IAAF to reconsider …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | In voting against Prime Minister Theresa May’s divorce deal this week, hardline supporters of Brexit risked helping those who want to undermine the whole process. The so-called Brexiteers declared victory on Tuesday when the House of Commons rejected May’s EU withdrawal agreement for a …