Bangui, Central African Republic | AFP | Two teams confronted each other on the dusty sports field, wielding roughly cut sticks to whack a homemade puck at high speed. For the middle-aged and beyond, the sight of this rugged game triggered distant memories, of happier times. The sport, known as ngbaba, …
Read More »UPDF’s uncertain future in Somalia
Despite opposition from troop-contributing countries, UN cuts down numbers again Kampala, Uganda | IAN KATUSIIME | July 13. Overnight assault on hotel in Kismayo port city. 26 people killed including a Briton, three Kenyans, three Tanzanians, two Americans and one Canadian. Some Chinese are injured. July 22. Car bomb explodes …
Read More »Why is China’s currency falling?
Shanghai, China | AFP | China’s yuan has sunk by around four percent in August to its lowest point in more than 11 years on Monday, a decline likely to further exacerbate trade tensions with Washington. Here are five things to know about the yuan’s slide: – Why has the …
Read More »ANALYSIS: The Family’s man
David Bahati links to secret American group revealed Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | David Bahati, the MP for Ndorwa West constituency who is also the Minister of State of Finance for Planning is among the leading subjects of a new Netflix docu-series called `The Family’ which examines a mysterious …
Read More »Silva is ‘One of the best I’ve seen’
Bournemouth, United Kingdom | AFP | Pep Guardiola hailed David Silva as “one of the best players” he has ever seen after the Spanish midfielder inspired Manchester City’s 3-1 win at Bournemouth on Sunday. City captain Silva was involved in all three goals as the champions clinched their second …
Read More »Sudan’s persecuted Christians eye long-sought freedom
Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Sudan’s Christians suffered decades of persecution under the regime of Islamist general Omar al-Bashir. Now they hope his downfall will give the religious freedom they have long prayed for. Deep within the maze of dusty alleys that honeycomb Omdurman, Khartoum’s sprawling twin city, Yousef Zamgila’s …
Read More »How former ICT Director Kitumba fell out with MAK
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Last week, Eng Frank Kitumba, the former Director Directorate for Information and Communication Technology Support at Makerere University, was evicted from the university house. He was evicted by a team from the University Estates, Works Directorate, security guards and police officers in what his …
Read More »Austria’s love of cash in poll campaign spotlight
Vienna, Austria | AFP | It may sound like a strange thing to enshrine in a country’s constitution: the right to pay cash. But a debate on whether to do just that has entered Austria’s election campaign, shining a light on the country’s love of cold, hard currency. The Austrian …
Read More »Ivory Coast’s ‘Floating Island’ points to greener tourism
Abidjan, Ivory Coast | AFP | The seaside resort offers visitors a cool drink or tasty meal, a dip in a pool, a karaoke session or an overnight stay, all with a view. Nothing much new there, you may say — creature comforts like this are pretty much standard in tropical …
Read More »S.Africa rare earths mine hopes for boost from US-China feud
South Africa | AFP | It’s old, doesn’t look like much and is located well out the way in an arid part of western South Africa. But the Steenkampskraal Mine may be about to become piping hot mining property thanks to some of the world’s highest-grade deposits of rare earth metals. …
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