Paris, France | AFP | France braced for a fresh round of “yellow vest” protests across the country on Saturday, with the authorities vowing zero tolerance for violence after weekly scenes of rioting and vandalism in Paris and other cities over the past two months. Officials have warned they expect …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Makerere Community Church Pastor Martin Ssempa is petitioning the Electoral Commission to stop politicians from what he says is “adulterating religious melodies for political gain”. Ssempa has lately come out as a critic of Tulyambala Engule, a new song which has become a signature tune …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Members of Parliament have today directed Bank of Uganda (BOU) to withdraw the vehicle and security they have been providing to their former Director Bank Supervision, Justine Bagyenda. For some months now Bagyenda who retired in July 2018 has been appearing before the Parliamentary Committee …

New York, United States | AFP | A former Catholic priest who had admitted to sexually abusing children in the US state of Pennsylvania was sentenced Friday to up to 14 years in prison — the second clergyman to be jailed in the wake of a damning statewide grand jury …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Young and aging Ugandans can hardly envisage a police band without Josephine Kakooza. She was the face of the band and the band was her life. Many called her Maama Police, a name she won on the basis of a service that spanned five decades …

Washington, United States | AFP | An Iraq war veteran canceled his plan to crowdsource $1 billion to help President Donald Trump build a wall on the Mexico border Friday after raising only $20 million and drawing questions about his online activities. Triple-amputee veteran Brian Kolfage launched a GoFundMe account …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Parliament leaders are engaged in a series of meetings to resolve the leadership impasse for the committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE). The COSASE standoff started after a suggestion that the current committee, headed by Bugweri County MP Abdul Katuntu should complete …

Washington, United States | AFP | The US government shutdown that has left 800,000 federal employees without salaries as a result of President Donald Trump’s row with Democrats over building a Mexico border wall was set to enter a record 22nd day Saturday. The Democrats’ refusal to approve $5.7 billion …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | A South Sudanese singer, Samuel Taban Wajaras faces deportation for illegal entry into Uganda and killing wild animals in a conservation area. Wajaras, alias Rom Okeny Grace, was arrested, by Uganda Peoples Defense Forces-UPDF soldiers, from Palabek Kal Sub-County in Lamwo district while in possession …

United Nations, United States | AFP | Morocco has accused Polisario Front fighters in Western Sahara of violating a ceasefire agreement, just weeks before an expected new round of talks on ending the decades-old conflict. In a letter seen by AFP on Friday, Morocco’s UN Ambassador Omar Hilale cited three …