Brasília, Brazil | AFP | Brazil’s new government under far-right President Jair Bolsonaro includes a star anti-corruption judge as justice minister and a free-market economy minister with broad powers, and sees a third of the slots going to ex-military men. The foreign ministry is to come under a mid-level public …
Read More »Mali to send reinforcements to Timbuktu
Bamako, Mali | AFP | Mali on Sunday announced it will be sending reinforcements to the northern city of Timbuktu amid growing concerns about security in the region. Another 350 police officers, paramilitary gendarmes and soldiers will be deployed, Prime Minister Soumeylou Boubeye Maiga told reporters in Bamako Saturday on …
Read More »Uganda’s painful truths
Why the always-blame-government-for-every problem mantra is popular but destructive THE LAST WORD | ANDREW MWENDA | Many Ugandans are angry feeling the country is not going in the right direction. This is especially so among those who feel they can do better, which is understandable. However, they always attribute their frustrations …
Read More »Former Colombian president Belisario Betancur dies at 95
Bogota, Colombia | AFP | Former Colombian president Belisario Betancur, who steered his country through one of its most turbulent periods in the 1980s, died Friday aged 95, doctors announced. President Ivan Duque led tributes for the former conservative leader, who was president of the South American country from 1982 …
Read More »Brazil’s Bolsonaro names seventh military man to cabinet
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | AFP | President-elect Jair Bolsonaro named Admiral Bento Costa Lima Leite his minister of mines and energy Friday, continuing his militarization of Brazil’s incoming government. Seven of ex-army captain Bolsonaro’s 20 ministers announced so far are from the armed forces. “I’m not appointing military people …
Read More »Government to tackle food challenges using new global policy
Kampala, Uganda | JULIUS BUSINGE | The government of Uganda through the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) has promised to use the newly launched policy brief No.12 entitled ‘preventing nutrient loss and waste across the food system’ to improve food security and welfare of the people. The policy written by …
Read More »Parliament starts probe into exorbitant fees in Gov’t schools
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Education and Sports committee of Parliament has started hearing a petition challenging the exorbitant fees charged in government schools. In February 2017, the Initiative for Social and Economic Rights (ISER), a Civil Society Organisation – CSO petitioned Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga protesting …
Read More »Broad day torture sign of failing government
Kampala, Uganda | AGNES E NANTABA | Dr Livingstone Ssewanyana is the Executive Director of Foundation for Human Rights Initiative. He spoke to the Independent’s Agnes E Nantaba about implications of the vivid torture incidents in the country. Comment on the recent torture incidences of torture including DP’s Yusuf Kawooya. The …
Read More »EU ambassadors applaud government on oil progress
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Ugandan government has been applauded for the pace at which it is undertaking projects in the Oil and Gas Sector. The Nod came during a tour of key projects in the Albertine Graben by a team of Ambassadors from the European Union currently in …
Read More »THIS WEEK: e-passports for January
THIS WEEK: e-passports for January Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The government has said Ugandan citizens will start receiving electronic (biometric) passports beginning January 2019. “Uganda is ready to migrate from the current machine readable passports to e-passports in January 2019,” Dr Benon Mutambi, the Internal Affairs ministry’s Permanent Secretary, …
Read More »