Figures from the 2014 National Population and Housing Census show that, in the last 10 years, the percentage of Ugandan identifying as Catholics has declined from 41.6% in 2002 to 39.3% of the general population. In the 1991 census, however, the number identifying as Catholic was estimated to be between …
Read More »North Korea: ‘Trump administration is spouting a load of rubbish’
US supercarrier due in Sea of Japan ‘in days’: Pence Seoul, South Korea | AFP | The US supercarrier Carl Vinson will arrive in the Sea of Japan in days, Vice President Mike Pence said Saturday, after days of mixed messages from Washington over the warship’s whereabouts. The strike group was …
Read More »Polythene bags: The menace of East Africa
Why a Rwanda-inspired bill to broaden ban on polythene bags across East Africa might drag on forever Plastic carrier bags could remain in use for the foreseeable future within the East African Community as debate on the East African Community Polythene Materials Control Bill, 2016 drags on in the East …
Read More »French election: what you need to know
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 …
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