Maiduguri, Nigeria | AFP | In 2013, thousands of young men formed a rag-tag militia and rounded up Boko Haram members in Maiduguri, northeast Nigeria, then handed them over to the military. The Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF), as it later became known, was instrumental in driving the Islamist militants …
Read More »German veteran leader, EU visionary Kohl dies
Berlin, Germany | AFP | Germany’s longest serving post-war leader Helmut Kohl, the father of national reunification and an architect of European integration, died Friday at the age of 87. Kohl helped a Germany that was split during the Cold War between a capitalist west and a communist east make …
Read More »ANALYSIS: Dlamini would likely continue Zuma’s foreign policy
Pretoria, South Africa| BY PETER FABRICIUS| ISS TODAY| Later this month South Africa’s ruling party begins its five-yearly policy conference to determine the direction to be taken by the new African National Congress (ANC) president who will be elected in December. This is assuming that that person also becomes South Africa’s …
Read More »Why do opposition coalitions in Africa succeed or fail?
For the past two decades, the phenomenon of the opposition coalition has gained growing traction and interest across Africa. Johannesburg, South Africa| AFRICAN ARGUMENTS| BY NICOLE BEARDSWORTH | For the past two decades, the phenomenon of the opposition coalition has gained growing traction and interest across Africa. In 2000, a group of …
Read More »List of deadly attacks in Mogadishu
Mogadishu, Somalia | AFP | The Somali capital Mogadishu, where at least 18 people died Wednesday in attacks on two restaurants, has suffered repeated attacks since Islamist fighters were driven out of the city in August 2011. Here is a recap of the biggest assaults since 2015: – 2017 – …
Read More »Full stalls, empty markets as South Sudan’s economy crumbles
Aweil, South Sudan | AFP | “I sell the small bottle of cooking oil for 140 SSP. Six months ago, it was 70. The customers complain,” said James Deng, an 18-year-old stallholder in Aweil, South Sudan. In this regional market in the country’s northwest — just as at the main …
Read More »Trump finally makes call for unity after lawmaker shot
Washington, United States | AFP | A grave Donald Trump called on Americans to unify after the shooting of a Republican lawmaker and three other people Wednesday at a baseball field, striking a notably less partisan tone in response to his first major domestic crisis. From the Diplomatic Room of …
Read More »Attack on US lawmakers: what we know
Washington, United States | AFP | A rifle-toting US man opened fire Wednesday at about two dozen Republican lawmakers and staff holding a baseball practice ahead of a charity game, wounding a top congressman and at least three others. The shooter — identified as 66-year-old James Hodgkinson, an apparent supporter …
Read More »ANALYSIS: The real challenge is how to implement the Shs 29 trillion budget
Debate about effective budget implementation has continued since June 08 when Finance Minister Matia Kasaija read the budget speech at Kampala Serena Conference Centre. Kasaija, who presented his budget for the third time, hinted on corruption and laziness amongst civil servants as one of the main obstacles that would interfere with …
Read More »BUSINESS: Tax hike in Kampala
Traders say increase in taxes, fees, will increase the cost of doing business The cost of living in Kampala is set to rise if the City Authority Council passes the new proposal seeking to slap new taxes and hike the existing ones on various services in a bid to raise …
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