Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Protests have been rocking Sudan for nearly four months, culminating in the toppling of president Omar al-Bashir last week after three decades of iron-fisted rule. But thousands of demonstrators have maintained their sit-in outside the army headquarters in Khartoum since April 6. At first they …
Read More »Inside the ransom business
Why kidnapping rarely pays | ANJA SHORTLAND | A kidnapper’s phone call announcing that a family member or employee has been abducted is the stuff of nightmares – as is the eye-watering ransom demand that often accompanies this news. How should you respond? Most kidnappings take place in countries where …
Read More »Five reasons why Sh40 trillion budget is bad
Experts expose how Museveni is destroying economy Kampala, Uganda | HAGGAI MATSIKO | The budget this year is proving to be a headache. After years of borrowing to finance huge road and electricity projects, Ministry of Finance has a new pain – how to finance new huge defense and security …
Read More »Kidnap in the park
American tourist rescued; experts call for Crisis Management Unit Kampala, Uganda | RONALD MUSOKE | The kidnap of an American tourist and a guide in the Queen Elizabeth National Park in early April spread jitters across Uganda’s tourism industry. Kimberley Sue Endecott, was one of three guests on an evening …
Read More »Britain’s shame, and still not sorry: The 1919 Amritsar massacre
Amritsar, India | AFP | The Amritsar massacre, 100 years ago this Saturday in which British troops opened fire on thousands of unarmed protestors, remains one of the darkest hours of British colonial rule in India. Known in India as the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, it is still an emotive subject …
Read More »European football wrestles with racism
Paris, France | AFP | The interruption of the Dijon-Amiens Ligue 1 match on Friday after visiting captain Prince Gouano was the target of monkey chants adds to a string of recent racist incidents across Europe. It comes after rising Italy star Moise Kean was targeted by racist abuse …
Read More »Sudan: From protests to new military ruler’s pledges
Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Sudan’s new military ruler vowed on Saturday to “uproot” the regime of Omar al-Bashir, ousted this week after four months of protests. His successor, military council chief General Awad Ibn Ouf, then resigned a day later. Here is a timeline of the upheaval in the …
Read More »Ariana Grande, reigning teen pop idol with a defiant edge
Palm Springs, United States | AFP | Bubblegum pop coquette on the outside, saucy master of celebrity on the inside, there is perhaps no current star better at re-fashioning her own trials into larger-than-life success than Ariana Grande. While suffering a highly publicized burst of personal and professional upheaval — …
Read More »Cows come home to haunt India’s Modi
Pilani, India | AFP | One of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s signature policies has been protecting cows, but for Raghuvir Singh Meena — a Hindu farmer struggling to protect his crop of chickpeas from roaming cattle — it has gone too far. Farmers overwhelmingly supported Modi’s nationalist party when …
Read More »Assange: a decade of stunning leaks of US secrets
Washington, United States | AFP | The US government has regarded WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange as a dangerous national security threat ever since he and his organization opened a decade-long effort to expose US secrets — from military files to embarrassing Democratic Party emails during the 2016 election. But Assange’s …
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