S.African court slaps down bid to leave ICC Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | A South African court on Wednesday ordered the government to withdraw its “unconstitutional” bid to pull out of the International Criminal Court, in a boost to the embattled Hague-based institution. The decision was a blow to …
Read More »Russian and Libyan state oil giants sign deal
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Russia’s Rosneft oil giant has paved the way for investment in Libya’s oil sector by signing a Cooperation Framework Agreement with the National Oil Corporation of Libya, it was announced Tuesday. The agreement was signed Monday on the sidelines of London’s International Petroleum Week …
Read More »DPP closes its case in Muslim murder trial after 36 witnesses
Prosecution handling the terrorism trial against 14 people accused of being behind the killings of Muslim Clerics across the country, has closed its case with evidence from 36 witnesses. Lino Anguzu, the lead prosecutor closed the case with evidence from the Investigating Officer, Detective Inspector Byamugisha Fulgence attached to Kampala …
Read More »Le Pen in Lebanon controversy over headscarf refusal
Beirut, Lebanon | AFP | France’s far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen capped her visit to Lebanon with controversy on Tuesday when she refused to wear a headscarf to meet the country’s top Sunni Muslim cleric. On her last day in the Mediterranean country, Le Pen arrived at Sheikh Abdellatif …
Read More »Swedish town councillor proposes sex breaks on work time
Stockholm, Sweden | AFP | Swedes should take a one-hour paid break from work to go home and have sex with their partners, a local councillor suggested in a proposal Tuesday aimed at improving people’s personal relationships. “There are studies that show sex is healthy,” Per-Erik Muskos, a 42-year-old city …
Read More »EU profits as Trump turns away from trade
Frankfurt am Main, Germany | AFP | The United States’ new hostility to free trade deals under President Donald Trump is benefiting the European Union, the bloc’s top trade official said Tuesday. After Trump’s withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal in late January, “many countries are now turning to …
Read More »On collision course? Working out rules for drones
Paris, France | AFP | As drones increasingly crowd the skies, the risk of collision with other aircraft has come to the fore. Here’s an overview of international regulation aimed at limiting the dangers. – How many incidents? – The International Air Transport Association (IATA), which sets global standards for …
Read More »Armed guards at Kim morgue, Malaysia says body still not claimed
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | AFP | Armed men stood guard Tuesday at the morgue holding the body of the assassinated half-brother of North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-Un, with officials denying reports the dead man’s son had arrived to claim the remains. The corpse of Kim Jong-Nam — who was killed …
Read More »A tonne of ivory, hacked into pieces, seized in Uganda
Kampala, Uganda | AFP | Ugandan authorities have seized more than a tonne of ivory, chopped into small pieces and treated with a chemical intended to prevent it being detected, the national wildlife protection service said Monday. The haul was made in a Kampala suburb on Saturday, before it could …
Read More »US sets plan for sweeping crackdown on nearly all illegal immigrants
Washington, United States | AFP | The Department of Homeland Security issued tough new orders Tuesday to begin a sweeping crackdown on illegal immigrants, putting nearly all of the country’s 11 million undocumented foreigners in their cross-hairs. Two memos issued by DHS Secretary John Kelly order border patrol and immigration …
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The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price