NEWS ANALYSIS

Billionaires Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos enter space race | THE INDEPENDENT | The sky over the Spaceport America in Las Cruces, New Mexico, was afire with lightning on the night of July 10. The storm was sufficiently fierce to postpone Virgin Galactic’s planned rollout of its twin airships, mothership …

Increasing catches on Lake Edward show fruits of co-operation For almost half a century, fishing on Lake Edward in southwestern Uganda has been dangerous for Ugandan fishermen because of its proximity to the insecure eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. About 70% of Lake Edward’s 2,325 sq km surface area is inside …

Financial scandal rocks inner circle of Pope Francis | THE INDEPENDENT | The Vatican has set a July 27 trial date for 10 people, including a once-powerful cardinal and papal contender, on charges related to the Holy See’s 350 million-euro investment in a luxury London real estate venture. It is …

  Xining, China | Xinhua | After one year of operation, China’s first ultra high-voltage (UHV) power superhighway for transmitting clean energy delivered 13.1 billion kWh of power from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, abundant in energy resources, to densely populated Henan in central China, according to State Grid’s Qinghai branch. As …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Government officials have remained cagey about the exact disciplinary action weightlifter Julius Ssekitoleko faces following his failed attempt to stay in Japan, where he was part of Team Uganda at the ongoing Olympics. CID spokesperson Charles Twiine said the police were last night interviewing …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Experts believe Uganda could benefit from the East African Region “economic war” between the two local giants, Kenya and Tanzania. A fight for Uganda’s cargo has emerged in the past two years, with Kampala seeking to take advantage of the war, by tabling new conditions. Apart …

Why do we feel such a strong urge to share a juicy piece of gossip? | FRANK T. McANDREW | According to a Wall Street Journal article, some communities in the Philippines consider gossiping so horrible that they have outright banned it. But aside from the difficulty of enforcing this …

  Spontaneous outbreak or insurrection? South Africa | DAVID EVERATT | South Africans spent most of mid-July glued to their news outlets, from established media outlets to TikTok, from streaming news to old-fashioned printed words, to see just one thing: would Jacob Zuma blink? Would the country finally get some …

New accounting officers have to walk thin line between service and politics Kampala, Uganda | IAN KATUSIIME | Ramathan Ggoobi and Lucy Nakyobe who a month ago were rumoured to be joining cabinet have been rewarded with top posts in the civil service in the latest reshuffle of government by …

Now scientists plot new law after Museveni sat on old one Kampala, Uganda | ISAAC KHISA | For years Ugandan scientists have been trying to figure out how various crops can be made to respond to numerous challenges – drought, pests and diseases. Dr. Godfrey Asea is one of them. A …