NEWS ANALYSIS

Beijing, China | AFP |  President Xi Jinping declared China has embarked on a “new era” of challenges and opportunities on Wednesday as he opened a Communist Party congress expected to enhance his already formidable power. Xi told some 2,300 delegates at the imposing Great Hall of the People that …

Paris, France | AFP | A massive truck bomb in the Somali capital of Mogadishu on Saturday killed at least 276 people and left 300 injured. Following are five questions about the attack, the bloodiest in the country’s long history of violence and instability. – What was the target? – The …

Jerusalem, Undefined | AFP | Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli police faced off in a rare public dispute Sunday over an intensifying graft probe that has led to speculation over whether he will eventually be forced from office. Netanyahu late Saturday lashed out at the police on his Facebook …

Caracas, Venezuela | AFP | Venezuelans headed to the polls Sunday in regional elections seen as a crucial test for President Nicolas Maduro and the opposition alike after months of deadly street protests failed to unseat him. Public opinion surveys predicted that the opposition would win a majority of state …

Washington, United States | AFP | Brick by brick, the demolition job has begun: since taking office less than a year ago, Donald Trump has launched an all-out assault on the legacy of Barack Obama. Climate, free trade, health care, immigration, foreign policy — the 45th US president has set …

Monrovia, Liberia | AFP |  President Ellen Sirleaf’s vice president since 2005, Joseph Boakai has campaigned as a natural transition candidate after helping to ensure peace has prevailed in Liberia since back-to-back civil wars. Boakai will face former footballer George Weah in a runoff for the presidency on November 7, …

  Experts reveal sectors suffering because of President  Kampala, Uganda | HAGGAI MATSIKO | Once celebrated at home and abroad as one of a new breed of African leaders, President Yoweri Museveni now finds himself the subject of intense criticism. Observers say he faces challenges created by lack of new …

‘We are seeing MPs in traditionally Movement strongholds coming out to oppose this Bill, the momentum is unstoppable,’ he told The Independent Kampala, Uganda | IAN KATUSIIME | “The opposition is weak” is a refrain in Uganda’s political discourse. President Yoweri Museveni’s ability to thwart opposition protests, NRM’s super majority …

CHARCOAL: Scarcity and 30% price hike cause burning problem for experts Kampala, Uganda | RONALD MUSOKE | Steven Byamukama has been vending charcoal for 20 years. His stall in Kisenyi, a low income section of Kampala city, is one of many on a charcoal dust covered and darkened patch almost …

Monrovia, Liberia | AFP |  George Weah, 51, emerged from Liberia’s slums to become a superstar footballer in the 1990s, and has leveraged his status as a revered figure among young people in his second run for the presidency. Now Weah has a confirmed place in the runoff round against …