Paris, France | AFP | Nearly 47 million French voters go to the polls on Sunday in the first round of the country’s presidential election. – Why is it important? – France is the EU’s second-biggest economy and also one of the world’s biggest military and diplomatic powers. With two …
Read More »ANALYSIS: Spate of attacks masks a weakening Islamic State
Paris, France | AFP | The steady drip of jihadist attacks in Europe, including the slaying of a policeman on Paris’s world-famous Champs Elysees Thursday, might give the impression the Islamic State group is thriving — but experts say that’s wrong. Under the pressure of the international coalition in Iraq …
Read More »South Sudan war strains Uganda’s generous refugee policy
Yumbe, Uganda | AFP | Michael O’Hagan Ugandan motorbike taxi driver Sadiq Agotre grumbles as he waits for a rare client among thousands of South Sudanese refugees hoping to receive food rations in the outskirts of his town. “Business is not good. These people don’t have money,” he says, gazing out …
Read More »ANALYSIS: Five key issues as Britain heads to general election
London, United Kingdom | AFP | British Prime Minister Theresa May’s surprise call for a snap general election comes with the country facing a host of challenges — all closely bound up with the country’s exit from the European Union. Here are some of the major issues May or her …
Read More »HEALTH: Tackling HIV
New approach makes cells resistant to HIV Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have found a way to tether HIV-fighting antibodies to immune cells, creating a cell population resistant to the virus. Their experiments under lab conditions show that these resistant cells can quickly replace diseased cells, potentially curing …
Read More »ANALYSIS: Besigye-Museveni talks
European Union joins religious leaders to pile pressure on Museveni Ever since the last general elections to date, a host of organisations and individuals, including two former presidential candidates, have called for a national dialogue over Uganda’s political trajectory. They argue that it is the best way to secure the …
Read More »FDC retreat: Muntu brutal, Besigye warm and cold
News coming out the most recent regional meeting in Soroti indicates more bad news for Uganda’s largest opposition party, the Forum for Democratic Change. Part of the problem according to experts, is the refusal of the leaders, Dr Kizza Besigye and party President Mugisha Muntu to square with their …
Read More »ANALYSIS: What happened to PAC?
Dormancy of once vibrant parliament watchdog committee shines light on leadership and funding Budadiri County MP Nandala Mafabi has not been on the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of parliament since 2011 but the chartered accountant and lawyer remains the most recognisable name to have led it. His adeptness with numbers, …
Read More »Leaders say bureaucracy frustrating OWC
ANALYSIS: ‘You’re to blame’. District bosses grill government officials, minister The trucks rolled up suddenly, without warning. But soon enough, the district Chief Accounting Officer (CAO), Esau Ekachelau, was informed of their mission: They had brought 800 bags of cassava cutting for distribution to farmers in the district. It was a …
Read More »Stella Nyanzi’s obscenity war
Museveni runs to defend wife in pile of blunders President Yoweri Museveni has throughout his 31 year reign over Uganda boasted about how he is “a fighter” who has defeated many opponents. But his latest foe is proving tougher, even insiders admit. In the past, Museveni’s major opponents have either …
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