Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | When Cyril Ramaphosa took office as South African president two years ago, the media coined the term “Ramaphoria” to describe the giddy expectations he had stoked. Those heady days now seem firmly in the past. Ramaphosa, 67, has been praised for turning the page …

San Francisco, United States | AFP |  The Facebook-owned messaging service WhatsApp said Wednesday it now has more than two billion users around the world, as it reaffirmed its stand on the need for strong encryption to protect privacy. WhatsApp, acquired by Facebook in 2014, has grown into one of …

S.Sudan’s Kiir returns home as diplomats call for urgent compromise Juba, South Sudan | AFP |  President Salva Kiir returned Wednesday from talks on South Sudan’s future to organised crowds calling him a hero, as diplomats warned time was short to strike a deal for peace. Kiir and his long-term …

Dubai, United Arab Emirates | AFP | The coronavirus crisis, which has already battered oil prices, threatens to further undercut Gulf economies battling a downturn and struggling to wean themselves from a decades-old energy addiction. The six Gulf states — Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates …

  Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Former Presidential candidate Maj Gen Benon Biraaro is dead.  He breathed his last at Kampala Hospital this afternoon. General Biraaro graduated from Makerere University in 1982 with a Bachelor of Arts in political science and later joined the National Resistance Army-NRA Bush War. He …

  Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Education and Sports Ministry will struggle to implement the planned national roll out of the lower secondary curriculum unless required funding is secured. Only Shillings 10.3 billion out of the required Shillings 40 billion for the curriculum implementation has been released by …

Nairobi, Kenya | THE INDEPENDENT | Former Kenyan President Daniel Toroitich Arap Moi was a patriot, loved the East African Community and was a conciliatory figure, President Museveni has said. The three qualities are what President Museveni pointed out about Moi, at a state funeral at Nyayo Stadium in Nairobi, …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Minister of State for Energy, Eng. Simon D’Ujanga says that government will consider conducting the feasibility study on Uhuru Hydro-power project. D’Ujanga made the statement on Tuesday when he appeared before the Natural Resources committee that is currently inquiring into the construction of …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Parliament on Tuesday afternoon voted to approve a government request to borrow sh2.43 trillion to finance a budget shortfall realized a few months into the current financial year 2019/2020. This followed a heated debate on the report by Parliament’s National Economy Committee that recommended …

Khartoum, Sudan | AFP |  Sudan has agreed to hand ousted autocrat Omar al-Bashir and others to the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes in Darfur, a member of Khartoum’s ruling body said Tuesday. The Hague-based ICC has charged Bashir and three of his former aides with genocide, crimes …