Malabo, Equatorial Guinea | AFP | Equatorial Guinea is awash in oil, although little of the wealth has trickled down to the poor. Yet one of the most glaring inequalities here is access to the internet. Other parts of the world are pushing ahead with plans for fast, free — …
Read More »UAE shielding reputation with drawdown from Yemen ‘quagmire’: experts
Dubai, United Arab Emirates | AFP | A surprise UAE troop drawdown in war-torn Yemen aims to restore the Gulf country’s reputation, but may strain ties with key ally Saudi Arabia at a time of heightened tensions with Iran, experts say. “The political, reputational and operational risks Abu Dhabi incurred in …
Read More »Starved, tortured, bombed: the fate of refugees trapped in Libya
Paris, France | AFP | Acute malnutrition, forced labour, torture: NGOs have sharpened their tone against the shocking conditions endured by refugees and migrants in Libya, where over 40 people were killed in an air strike on a detention centre. Tuesday night’s strike on the centre at Tajoura near the capital …
Read More »Migrant remittances to hit US$550bn
Money sent home by migrant workers from abroad across the globe is projected to record a 4% growth this year, hitting the US$550bn mark compared with US$529bn recorded in 2018, according to the latest statistics from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). Kampala, Uganda | RONALD MUSOKE | Remittances …
Read More »Government of Uganda, UN move to boost implementation of SDGs
Kampala, Uganda | Julius Businge | The government of Uganda has welcomed the new form of financing – blended finance – to Uganda with the hope of improving livelihoods of communities and businesses. Blended finance is the use of development finance and charitable funds to mobilise private capital flows to emerging markets …
Read More »World health experts meet
Assembly discusses cost of medicine, environment, climate change Member States at the World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland have agreed a new global strategy on health, environment and climate change: the transformation needed to improve lives and well-being sustainably through healthy environments. The annual gathering organised by the UN’s World …
Read More »Uganda House in New York gets mural on youth employment
New York, US | THE INDEPENDENT | As part of its 100th anniversary, the International Labour Organization (ILO) has painted a mural at the Uganda Embassy in New York in recognition of efforts by government to solve youth unemployment. The painting depicts a young woman draped in a headscarf in …
Read More »Behind the Good Country Index
Simon Anholt the co-founder of the Good Country Index has since 2014 been challenging governments around the world to harmonize their domestic with international responsibilities by cooperating and collaborating more without necessarily losing their competitive edge. He shared his views with The Independent’s Ronald Musoke in an email interview What …
Read More »UN: 1 million of Earth’s 8 million species face extinction
UN biodiversity meet wraps up, report due Monday Paris, France | AFP | Diplomats and scientists from 132 nations wrapped up six days of negotiations in Paris Saturday over the wording of a landmark report on the dire state of Nature and its impact on humanity, a UN official told …
Read More »How to fix Nature and avoid human misery
Paris, France | AFP | Revamping global food production, retooling the financial sector, moving beyond GDP as a measure of progress and other “transformative changes” are needed to save Nature and ourselves, a major UN biodiversity report is set to conclude. Delegates from 130 nations wrap up week-long negotiations in …
Read More »