Libreville, Gabon | AFP | Since independence in 1960, Gabon has had only three presidents including a father and son from the Bongo family who between them have held power for more than five decades. Here are highlights in the history of the small central African country. – Leon M’Ba to Omar Bongo – Gabon …
Read More »National security under scrutiny at Nigeria vote
Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | In Nigeria, where religious and ethnic identity often determines support for a candidate, Mudi Bawa might well have been expected to vote for Muhammadu Buhari in 2015. Both are northern Muslims. But the fisherman had another reason to choose Buhari: the hope he could help him return to the home …
Read More »COMMENT: Carrot and stick, as Uganda govt grapples with youth challenge
COMMENT | Kristof Titeca | Uganda is a very different country today than it was when President Yoweri Museveni came to power in 1986, not only in terms of development but also in terms of population. Uganda has the world’s second youngest population, seventy-eight percent of whom are under 30 years old. …
Read More »US car buyers swerve away from compact cars, sedans
Detroit, United States | AFP | A persistent question shadowed all of the shiny new vehicles and highly-produced, glitzy debuts at the Detroit auto show this week: Where are the sedans? Volkswagen was among the few to trumpet a new sedan — those compact and mid-sized cars that shuttled generations …
Read More »Fixing the environment: when solutions become problems
Paris, France | AFP | In a world where climate change, air and water pollution, biodiversity loss, water scarcity, ozone depletion, and other environmental problems overlap, a fix in one arena can cause trouble in another. Here are a few examples of what might be called Earth’s “zero-sum” dilemma in …
Read More »Trump and Russia: what drives the suspicions?
Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump faced new heat Monday after news reports that he has hid from aides the details of discussions with Vladimir Putin and that the FBI investigated him as a potential national security risk who might be acting on behalf of Russia. Trump …
Read More »Antarctica ice loss increases six fold since 1979
Tampa, United States | AFP | Global warming is melting ice in Antarctica faster than ever before — about six times more per year now than 40 years ago — leading to increasingly high sea levels worldwide, scientists warned on Monday. Already, Antarctic melting has raised global sea levels …
Read More »Black boxes: crucial to air crash probes
Jakarta, Indonesia | AFP | One of the first priorities for air crash investigators is to locate a plane’s two black boxes, which hold vital clues on what caused it to go down. On Monday, Indonesian authorities found the cockpit voice recorder from a Lion Air Boeing 737 MAX that …
Read More »Makerere’s demigods
How Prof. Nawangwe is creating a class of untouchables at Uganda’s top varsity Kampala, Uganda | FLAVIA NASSAKA | Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe, the 63- year old vice chancellor of Makerere University Kampala has a tough job. The university is rarely without a fire he must put out. Squeezed by a …
Read More »FDC, Kadaga face-off exposes Among, Katuntu
Legal fight over COSASE looms Kampala, Uganda | HAGGAI MATSIKO | Jan. 14 could see sparks in parliament in a dispute between Speaker Rebecca Kadaga and leaders of the opposition over the tenure of the committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE). Led by Bugweri County MP Abdul Katuntu …
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