Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The top stories in this week’s THE INDEPENDENT. COVER STORY Fixing Bank of Uganda: Museveni meets Mutebile THE LAST WORD Bobi Wine’s Kyarenga concert: Why Uganda (like other African countries) keeps rotating around the same roundabout INVESTIGATION Behind the scenes efforts to save Kasekende, …
Read More »In Kenya, anti-poaching dogs are wildlife’s best friends
Maasai Mara, Kenya | AFP | Five-month-old bloodhound Shakaria gambols through the long savannah grasses of Kenya’s Maasai Mara reserve, her playful mood swiftly turning to keen determination as she is ordered to track a human scent. Straining at the leash, she pulls her handler along an invisible scent path …
Read More »Ivory Coast’s battle of the beers turns bitter
Abidjan, Ivory Coast | AFP | “In our house, the beer is Bock!” boasts the familiar slogan for the lager that is Ivory Coast’s market leader, brewed by Solibra. “Beer Ivoire, loved by Ivorians!” says a competing advert for Ivoire lager, brewed by newcomers Brassivoire. On posters and huge billboards …
Read More »The force is female: India’s women cops take a stand
The force is female: India’s women cops take a stand Jaipur, India | AFP | All-female police units are shaking up the male-dominated force in conservative northwest India, hitting the streets to combat sex crimes and a pervasive culture of silence around rape. One such squad in Jaipur has …
Read More »In Africa’s fashion capital, Lagos, ‘trad is swag’
Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Leggy dancers in tight shorts, bottles of Moet champagne and flashy cars feature in Nigerian pop icon Wizkid’s bling-bling music videos. But the singer himself has now swapped the Versace T-shirts and low-slung jeans that show his underwear for traditional African dress — a new …
Read More »Chinese skinny-dippers defy public morals on nudity
Fangshan, China | AFP | The water might be chilly but dozens of naked men happily relax in an outdoor pool in a Beijing suburb making the most of the sunshine. “This is a paradise for Chinese nudists,” says 18-year-old Zhen, displaying a tiger tattoo on his chest. The small …
Read More »Praise Allah! Islam goes evangelical in Nigeria’s south
Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Sunday morning is usually the preserve of Christian pastors in the Nigerian megacity of Lagos but a new form of worship is emerging to challenge the monopoly. “Praise Allah!” shouts the imam of the Nasrul-lahi-li Fathi Society of Nigeria (NASFAT) before thousands of his faithful, …
Read More »SPECIAL FEATURE: DR Congo, home to a tenth of the world’s languages
There are 450 languages spoken in the Democratic Republic of Congo Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | “I haven’t once spoken my mother tongue Kilokele in the 62 years I’ve lived in Kinshasa. None of my nine children speak it,” says Charles Tongohala. Tongohala’s native tongue is one of 450 spoken …
Read More »Covering Syria through hunger and fear
Aleppo, Syria | AFP | For Karam al-Masri, AFP’s reporter, photographer and videojournalist in rebel-held Aleppo, the past five years have been a series of tragedies: detention by the regime, and then the Islamic State group, the death of his parents in an air strike, the siege of his hometown, …
Read More »Uganda takes on the ‘world’s most dangerous road’
Witchcraft, poor roadwork and dangerous driving — all have been blamed for the killer highway whose users will often turn to prayer before taking the road. Mpigi, Uganda | AFP | Wearing pristine white with her woollen socks pulled high, Ugandan traffic police officer Edith Nanteza exudes natural authority at …
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