COVER STORY MPs catch Shs500bn ‘mistakenly’ given to defense budget: Museveni was planning to use money to buy spying equipment, say MPs NEWS ANALYSIS Why Kenya lost fight for AU top job: And why East Africa lost more over outdated voting habits at continental body THE LAST WORD Why …

  Friday Champions League KCCA (UGA) v Primeiro Agosto (ANG) 4pm , Phillip Omondi Stadium Saturday CAF Cup Vipers (UGA) v Volcan (COM) 4.pm, Mandela stadium Namboole Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | Up to 18 players at the just-completed Africa Cup of Nations could be involved in the new-look …

Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump reaffirmed Washington’s ‘One China’ policy on Thursday in his first conversation with Xi Jinping, an apparent effort to ease tensions after angering Beijing by questioning a major plank of Sino-US relations. During a phone call with China’s leader, the US president …

Banjul, Gambia | AFP | The European Union announced aid worth 225 million euros ($240 million) for The Gambia on Thursday as President Adama Barrow warned that the nation was “virtually bankrupt” due to economic mismanagement by the former regime. The EU froze assistance to The Gambia in December 2014 …

Cape Town, South Africa | AFP | A brawl broke out in South Africa’s parliament Thursday as guards exchanged punches with opposition lawmakers who shouted down President Jacob Zuma as he tried to deliver his state of the nation address. In chaotic scenes, guards in white shirts forcibly ejected about …

Los Angeles, United States | AFP | A US court on Thursday unanimously refused to reinstate Donald Trump’s ban on refugees and nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries, dealing the new president and his controversial law-and-order agenda a major defeat. The ruling from the federal appeals court in San Francisco on …

The International Crimes Division Court has barred the media and members of the public from attending proceedings in the case where 14 people are accused of plotting the murder of Muslim clerics across the country. This after lead judge Ezekiel Muhanguzi granted prosecution’s request to have its four next witnesses testify …

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, money transfer service WorldRemit has released statistics showing Ugandans living in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are the most romantic, sending on average $116 (sh415,000) more than usual to their loved ones . According to new WorldRemit data revealing the most romantic Ugandans living abroad, …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP |  Kenya’s High Court on Thursday blocked the government’s decision to close the Dadaab refugee camp — the world’s largest — and to send Somali refugees home. Judge John Mativo ruled that the plan to shut down the camp was unconstitutional and amounted to persecution of …

Total confident despite volatile oil prices Paris, France | AFP |  French oil major Total said Thursday it planned to increase its dividend to shareholders as it expressed confidence earnings could withstand the current volatility in oil prices. Total said in a statement that its headline net profit soared 22 …