NEWS ANALYSIS

Italian leaders irk Paris by backing the Yellow Jackets and denouncing French colonialism ANALYSIS | Hannah Roberts |  The 5Star Movement’s attempt to blame migrant deaths in the Mediterranean on Paris says more about the dire state of the Italian ruling coalition than the French colonial legacy in Africa. Paris was …

Brussels, Belgium | AFP | Britain and the EU agreed Thursday to hold more talks to try to avoid a no-deal Brexit, after a “robust” meeting between Prime Minister Theresa May and European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker. A joint statement issued after the talks in Brussels said Juncker had again warned that  November’s withdrawal agreement …

Washington, United States | AFP | Smartphone use has become the norm in most developed nations, while many emerging economies are showing sharp gains, a global survey showed Tuesday. The Pew Research Center report found strong majorities of adults using smartphones in the world’s wealthier countries, led by 95 percent …

Raub, Malaysia | AFP | Soaring demand for durians in China is being blamed for a new wave of deforestation in Malaysia with environmentalists warning vast amounts of jungle is being cleared to make way for massive plantations of the spiky, pungent fruit. Grown across tropical Southeast Asia, the durian is …

Bangui, Central African Republic | AFP | “When I decided to come back, my friends took me for a fool,” recounts Clement Ndotizo, who spent a decade in France before returning to settle in his native Central African Republic, one of the world’s least-developed and most dangerous countries. But a “fool”, …

Hanoi, Vietnam | AFP | Communist-run but with capitalist leanings, and a friend to both the United States and North Korea, Vietnam will host the next summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jung Un from February 27-28. Like North Korea, Vietnam was once locked in a bloody and bitter war with …

“Seoul, South Korea | AFP | Donald Trump’s much-trailed announcement of a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un later this month in Vietnam sets up another box-office summit between the two mercurial leaders who were once bitter verbal enemies. As Trump and Kim prepare for their second date, here …

Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump has indicated he could declare a national emergency in order to force the construction of hundreds of miles of border wall to prevent migrants from crossing into the United States illegally from Mexico. Trump is frustrated by the continuing high level of migrants, mostly from Central …

Crispin Kaheru is the Coordinator of the Citizens Coalition for Electoral Democracy (CCEDU) which recently wrote an open letter to President Museveni on electoral reforms. He spoke to Ian Katusiime about the issues raised. In your open letter to the President, you talk about monetisation of elections but this sounds …

Bill to align death penalty laws reawakens debate on punishment for capital offenses Kampala, Uganda | FLAVIA NASSAKA | On Jan.22 a man who confessed in the High Court in Kampala to have killed his wife in an acid attack was sentenced to 40 years in prison. The sentencing of …