NEWS ANALYSIS

Paris, France | AFP | It was fear of being dominated by a Chinese behemoth that sparked an attempt by large French and German rail companies to join forces to create an European industrial champion. The merger by Alstom and Siemens was vetoed by the EU on Thursday, but concerns about …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | This week, the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) held a series of events to mark 38 years since the start of the war that brought President Yoweri Museveni to power in January 1986. The events to celebrate Tarehe Sita climaxed on Wednesday in Kitgum district. …

Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Nearly six years after the African Union shut it out in the cold, Egypt will take the organisation’s helm  — and strengthening multilateral powers is unlikely to be on the agenda. Cairo’s tenure “will probably concentrate on security and peacekeeping”, said Ashraf Swelam, who heads …

Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari was elected in 2015 on a wave of hope that he could defeat Boko Haram Islamists and turn around a country blighted by decades of corruption and poor governance. But while he will go down in history as Nigeria’s first opposition candidate to defeat an incumbent, …

Washington, United States | AFP | Twitter shares took a pounding Thursday as an unsettling update on its global user base offset upbeat figures on revenues and profits in the past quarter. Shares skidded 9.8 percent to close at $30.80 following Twitter’s fourth quarter update, which showed a consistent profit trend …

Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump is proposing a congressional ban on late-term abortions as he seeks to expand his conservative support ahead of the 2020 election. In a State of the Union speech that had been billed as promoting unity, Trump seized upon one of the most …

San Francisco, United States | AFP | Facebook on Thursday announced it had restructured its team devoted to products or features designed to increase the social network’s appeal to younger generations. Nascent projects such as a “LOL” platform for funny memes were taken off the board at the “youth team,” which …

  Nantes, France | AFP | He was born in Argentina, made his name in France but lost his life over the English Channel on his way to play for a Welsh club. On Thursday, it was confirmed that a body recovered by British investigators from the submerged wreckage of …

Seoul, South Korea | AFP | The second summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has raised hopes for the longest ceasefire in history to be replaced by a peace treaty. Seoul and Pyongyang remain technically at war after the 1950-53 Korean War ended with …

  Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Nigeria’s upcoming presidential elections are the sixth to be held since civilian rule was restored in 1999 and the first to involve voters with no experience of military government. AFP spoke to some first-time voters in Africa’s most populous country to find out what …