Features

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | As 2018 comes to an end, extreme poverty is at the lowest level in recorded history but is expected to become increasingly concentrated in one region. A record number of people have been forcibly displaced from their homes, and an influential new report confirms we’re …

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | AFP | From its hillside overlooking the Ethiopian capital, Berhanu Mengistu’s century-old, gabled family home has seen emperors and governments rise and fall. It has withstood economic stagnation and the rapid population growth that replaced its once-patrician neighbours with a rabble of shacks. But it now …

Tarhuna, Libya | AFP | Stretching as far as the eye can see, groves of gnarled olive trees in northwest Libya have proudly withstood the country’s devastating conflicts. But the industry of extracting olive oil, often dubbed “green gold”, is now under threat after Libyan authorities halted exports in a …

Cornberg, Germany | AFP | For years after the last doctor left the small German village of Weissenborn, 79-year-old former mayor Arno Maeurer had to rely on his car to reach the nearest clinic, as a chronic shortage of practitioners gripped his rural region. But this year a clinic started …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | Faced with spiralling youth violence and knife crime, authorities in London have decided to treat the issues as a public health problem, deploying similar tactics from the fight against disease epidemics. The strategy follows pioneering projects credited with bringing down murder rates in Chicago …

Kasese, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | It was a time of great celebration in Lhuhwahwa II village in Kasese district and in Rukomero village in Kyenjojo district in Western Uganda last week as community members came together to celebrate adoption of nutrition sensitive agricultural practices, improved dietary diversity and good …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The year 2018 has undoubtedly been very active and exciting. The Kampala Contemporary Art scene has witnessed two important festivals happening this year: Kampala Art Biennale 2018 (KAB18) and Kampala Contemporary Art festival (KLA ART 018). These two art events have contributed another character to …

How where you’re born influences the person you become Kampala, Uganda | SAMUEL PUTNAM & MASHA A. GARTEIN | As early as the fifth century, the Greek historian Thucydides contrasted the self-control and stoicism of Spartans with the more indulgent and free-thinking citizens of Athens. Today, unique behaviors and characteristics seem …

A radical new approach to treating disease Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | When your only tool is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. This saying is particularly apt in medicine where doctors treat nearly every condition–from depression to hypertension–with a pill. If your doctor prescribed you anything other …

Why cute, heart-shaped button isn’t so harmless Kampala, Uganda | A. TREVOR SUTTON | Jack Dorsey, Twitter’s founder and CEO, was recently reported to have questioned how the site “incentivises people to want (the number of likes on their posts) to go up.” He also said that “he was not a …