Washington, United States | AFP | Congress is currently debating long-awaited legislation endorsed by US President Donald Trump that replaces his predecessor’s health care reforms with what supporters hail as a more free-market, patient-centered system. How would it work? Trump insisted Friday it was time to “act now to save …
Read More »ANALYSIS: What is ‘multi-speed’ Europe Union?
Brussels, Belgium | AFP | The idea of a so-called multi-speed European Union is not new, and some might argue that it already describes the bloc in its current form. But as 27 EU leaders without Britain discuss their post-Brexit future, the concept has come to dominate debate on what …
Read More »ANALYSIS: Trump takes risk in targeting critical Republican
Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump took aim at a fellow Republican who opposes his healthcare reform plan Wednesday, in a bid to squash dissent that presents a major test to his presidential punch. After years of Republican efforts to rip up Barack Obama’s emblematic healthcare law, …
Read More »CIA says WikiLeaks disclosures help US adversaries
Washington, United States | AFP | The Central Intelligence Agency on Wednesday accused WikiLeaks of endangering Americans, helping US rivals and hampering Washington’s fight against terror threats by releasing what the anti-secrecy site claimed was a trove of CIA hacking tools. A CIA spokeswoman would not confirm the authenticity of the …
Read More »Decried as Muslim ban, will Trump decree pass legal muster?
Washington, United States | AFP | States’ attorneys general, civil liberties groups and others are already lining up to challenge President Donald Trump’s revised ban on refugees and travelers from six mainly Muslim countries. But can they succeed in overturning a measure that was deliberately crafted to remove the red flags …
Read More »President Trump’s new travel ban: key points
Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump’s administration issued a revised immigration ban Monday that temporarily freezes US visa issuance to anyone from six mostly-Muslim countries and halts for 120 days all refugee arrivals. Here are the key points: – What’s new in the revised order? – Iraq, …
Read More »Trump’s slurs – and praise – of Obama go back years
Washington, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump’s love-hate attitude towards predecessor Barack Obama goes back a decade, a volatile mixture of admiration and scurrilous disrespect that helped launch the provocative billionaire’s own political career. Trump was a main purveyor of the “birther” conspiracy theory that the nation’s …
Read More »BUSINESS: Refinery offers golden opportunity
New $20mn firm welcomed but analysts say government must strengthen legal and monitoring framework of minerals sector President Yoweri Museveni’s launch of a $20 million African Gold Refinery Ltd (AGR) – the first in East and Central Africa – in Entebbe on Feb.20 was a bold step welcomed by …
Read More »Key points on China’s annual parliamentary meeting
Beijing, China | AFP | Thousands of politicians from across China have converged on Beijing for the country’s annual legislative meetings known as the “lianghui” or “two sessions”. The gathering provides a glimpse into the country’s politics and priorities, and this year’s event is being monitored particularly closely for hints …
Read More »ANALYSIS: Fast tracking Uganda’s oil
Government, oil companies finally appear to be chasing some useful deadlines Uganda’s oil sector might look dull and inactive to the uninformed eye but in reality it is now a bee-hive of activities with tight deadlines to be met. At least six major oil-related engineering projects are rolling concurrently at …
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