NEWS ANALYSIS

How pressure on oil refinery, pipeline pushed Uganda to agree to end secret deals Kampala, Uganda | RONALD MUSOKE | For ten years, civil society has been trying and failing to push the government to join the Extractives Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), a global mechanism that requires governments and companies …

Washington, United States | AFP | A major French study published Monday has found for the first time a link between the consumption of ultra-processed foods and a higher risk of death, but researchers warned more work was needed to determine which mechanisms were at play. The study, which involved …

Paris, France | AFP | An artificial intelligence (AI) programme developed in China that combs through test results, health records and even handwritten notes diagnosed childhood diseases as accurately as doctors, researchers said Monday. From the flu and asthma to life-threatening pneumonia and meningitis, the system consistently matched or out-performed primary …

New York, United States | AFP | Over the weekend, from Los Angeles to London, the showbiz A-list strutted their stuff on red carpets for the Grammys and Britain’s Bafta film awards. Halfway between in New York, the style glitterati lined catwalks to preview the trends for next autumn and …

Paris, France | AFP | Nearly half of all insect species worldwide are in rapid decline and a third could disappear altogether, according to a study warning of dire consequences for crop pollination and natural food chains. “Unless we change our way of producing food, insects as a whole will …

  Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump on Monday ordered the US administration to give greater priority to artificial intelligence, a move seen as firing up a battle for leadership with China. The American AI Initiative executive order calls for the administration to “devote the full resources of …

As young people, we need to avoid being duped into forgetting or ignoring our history and say never again to chaos Kampala, Uganda | NATASHA MARIAM | On February 6 Ugandans joined the UPDF to celebrate Tarehe-Sita, a day which marks the attack on Kabamba barracks by 27 armed and …

  Islamabad, Pakistan | AFP | Thirty years after Iran called for the killing of Salman Rushdie, the British novelist remains a figure of hate for extremists across the Muslim world, and though the level of outrage has dropped, the issue of blasphemy is as incendiary as ever. Rushdie’s novel “The …

Focus moves to raising quality of learning Kampala, Uganda | The Independent | In 2018, schools under the Universal Primary Education (UPE) sat more students for Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) than non-UPE schools; 476,130 (or 70.9%) out of 671,923 candidates. It was another sign that it was as right to …

Manchester, United Kingdom | AFP | When Manchester United were paired with Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League last-16 draw in December there seemed likely to be only one winner. United were stuck in a rut under the management of Jose Mourinho, while the French champions topped the toughest section …