Kano, Nigeria | AFP | A group of community elders in northeast Nigeria where Boko Haram has waged a bloody eight-year insurgency are urging the Islamists to enter peace talks, a move some see as motivated by ethnic self-interest. The Borno Elders Forum of retired military and civilian officials, all ethnic …
Read More »Boxed in: S.Korea child law sees more babies abandoned
Seoul, South Korea | AFP | The young woman laboured up the steps, past brightly decorated walls akin to a child’s nursery, her daughter in her arms. Opening a hatch in the wall, she put her inside, turned around and walked away. She ran her hands over her head but did …
Read More »547 boys were abused at German Catholic choir school: investigator
Munich, Germany | AFP | At least 547 boys at a German Catholic choir school suffered sexual or physical abuse in what victims have likened to “prison, hell or a concentration camp”, said an investigator releasing a final report Tuesday on one of the country’s worst such scandals. The Regensburger …
Read More »After six chaotic months, can Trump save his presidency?
Washington, United States | AFP | Donald Trump’s first six months in the White House have been a riot of scandal, chaos and outrage that — absent a major course correction — could spell doom for his entire administration. All US presidents face crises that seem to sweep the White …
Read More »Trump fumes as US health care reform bid collapses
Washington, United States | AFP | An angry President Donald Trump railed Tuesday against dissenters in his party who dashed his months-long effort to dismantle his predecessor’s landmark health care law, insisting it was finally time to “let Obamacare fail.” With four Republicans now lined up against Senate Majority Leader …
Read More »Jerusalem holy site closure ‘crime against humanity’: Turkey
Istanbul, Turkey | AFP | Turkey on Monday blasted Israel’s two-day closure of a Jerusalem holy site, following a deadly attack, as a “crime against humanity.” The Haram al-Sharif compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, includes the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa mosque. It is venerated …
Read More »VP Pence walks high wire over Trump scandals
Washington, United States | AFP | Mike Pence is the loyal wingman, the ever-discreet figure who rises above the Washington fray. But as the Russia scandal encroaches ever further on Donald Trump’s White House, the vice president is also walking a political tightrope. The 58-year-old former governor of Indiana is currently …
Read More »Bamugemereire: The scorecard
What has land inquiry achieved after 60 days? Kampala, Uganda | JULIUS BUSINGE & RONALD MUSOKE | On May 9, a renowned advocate became the first witness to testify before the seven-member Land Inquiry 2017 Commission headed by Lady Justice Catherine Bamugemereire. On July 6, Bamugemereire informed the media that …
Read More »FDC elders advise Muntu to leave FDC for Besigye
FDC elders advise Muntu to leave FDC for Besigye, explain alternative plans for him for 2021 Kampala, Uganda | AGATHER ATUHAIRE | In a radical proposal, some supporters of FDC Party President Mugisha Muntu say he should withdraw from contesting for re-election as party president. They argue that freeing himself …
Read More »OIL: Uganda is mineral rich and has a lot of potential
Delays and shattered hopes: Uganda still waiting for oil riches BULIISA, Uganda | AFP | It was the promise of oil — billions of barrels of black gold, discovered locked beneath Lake Albert — and the riches to follow that brought electricity to Buliisa. Roads, piped water, and other …
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The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price