Today marks 39 years since a combined force of Uganda exiles, with support from the Tanzanian armythe TPDF, overthrew Amin, the climax of a five-month brutal war that had started in October 1978 when Amin invaded Tanzania. Kampala, Uganda | URN | Dr Martin Aliker, a veteran dental surgeon, politician …
Read More »S.Africa bids emotional farewell to ‘Mama Winnie’ Mandela
Soweto, South Africa | AFP | Thousands of mourners flocked Wednesday to the heart of South Africa’s sprawling Soweto township, a centre of anti-apartheid resistance, to pay tribute to Nelson Mandela’s former wife and struggle hero Winnie Mandela. Her grandson Bambatha Mandela described Winnie, who died on April 2 after a …
Read More »ARTS: The politics of black hair
When girls’ hair was cut to reduce their desirability to men Kampala, Uganda | KATHOMI GATWIRI | When I was growing up in a village in Kenya, we kept our hair short. Sometimes my grandmother cut it with scissors, other times with a razor blade. “It’s manageable when it’s short,” my …
Read More »Trump praises Xi’s ‘kind words,’ predicts ‘great progress’ on trade
Washington, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump on Tuesday seized on seemingly conciliatory remarks from Chinese leader Xi Jinping, praising Beijing’s “kind words” as a breakthrough in the looming trade war between the two countries. “Very thankful for President Xi of China’s kind words on tarrifs [sic] and …
Read More »Sudan’s Bashir orders release of detainees after protests
Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir Tuesday ordered the release of political detainees, weeks after massive arrests in a crackdown on anti-government protests. Security agents arrested hundreds of opposition leaders, activists, protesters in January in an attempt to curb demonstrations over rising food prices, including bread. “President …
Read More »Mark Zuckerberg says Facebook is not a monopoly
Washington, United States | AFP | Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg told lawmakers Tuesday that he does not believe his company is a monopoly. Zuckerberg rejected the suggestion in a Senate hearing that the social media giant, with over two billion users worldwide, has exclusive control over its market. “It …
Read More »Now, White House says Trump has power to fire special counsel Mueller
Washington, United States | AFP | The White House on Tuesday said Donald Trump believes he has the power to fire Special Counsel Robert Mueller, a day after FBI agents raided the offices of the president’s private lawyer. “We have been been advised that the president certainly has the …
Read More »Macron sparks uproar with church-state remarks
Paris, France | AFP | Remarks by French President Emmanuel Macron that he wanted to repair church-state ties caused uproar Tuesday, sparking charges he was tampering with France’s longstanding secular tradition. The Catholic Church and the state were for centuries virtually indistinguishable in France but the 1789 Revolution and 19th …
Read More »With a handshake, Kenya leaves behind divisive poll
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | It was a handshake that drew a line under Kenya’s bruising election, left many people bewildered and swung open the starting gate for the 2022 presidential race. After months of insults during a deadly and divisive election, the two heirs of Kenya’s most powerful political …
Read More »Why FBI raided offices of Trump’s personal lawyer
Washington, United States | AFP | A furious Donald Trump blasted the investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller as a “disgrace” and a “witch hunt” Monday after FBI agents raided the New York offices of the president’s longtime personal lawyer Michael Cohen. Agents seized files relating to Cohen’s work, …
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