Johannesburg, South Africa | THE INDEPENDENT |  Anti-apartheid icon Archbishop Desmond Tutu has died at 90. The Nobel Peace Prize laureate  died in Cape Town, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced in a statement on Sunday. Alongside late Nelson Mandela, Tutu was a leading voice against white minority rule …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Makerere University has re-advertised over forty undergraduate courses after failing to get the targeted number of applicants. This comes a week after the university published admission lists for the 2021/2022 academic year. The university with the capacity for over 4000 students, has specific targets …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | As schools prepare to receive learners on January 10th, 2022 as announced by the government, some parents are reluctant on paying tuition given their experience following the first and second lockdowns. The first lockdown announced in March 2019 occurred almost a month into the …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Uganda Red Cross Society -URCS has so far recorded eight deaths and 55 severe injuries countrywide since 18th December when their emergency response started operations this festive season. This is more that one death per day. Documents from the URCS, indicate that these deaths …

NEWS ANALYSIS | BAKER BATTE | By the end of his current term in 2026, President Yoweri Kaguta Tibuhaburwa Museveni will have ruled Uganda for 40 years. By that time, he will be 81-years old. Twenty years ago, not very many people would have anticipated that by 2026, the country …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Hoteliers in Kampala have registered improved guest booking this festive season compared to 2020, the worst year ever for the hospitality sector due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to the outbreak of the pandemic in March 2020, the hoteliers say holiday seekers and tourists, …

Luwero, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Butchers and food vendors in Luwero town have decried low sales this Christmas. At least 70 head of cattle were slaughtered in Luwero town council central market on Friday morning for the Christmas festivities. Currently, a kilogram of beef costs between Shillings 14,000 and …

Bethlehem, West Bank  | Xinhua |  Palestinian tourists and pilgrims on Friday gathered at the square near the Church of Nativity in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, marking the start of Christmas celebrations in an atmosphere of joy and bliss. Hundreds of local merrymakers, including tourists and pilgrims, flocked …

Arusha, Tanzania | THE INDEPENDENT | East African leaders met for just the second time this year today and agreed to fast track the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) request for membership to their regional body EAC. The 18th Extra-ordinary Summit of the East African Community heads of state received and …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Thirty per cent of the top accolades at this year’s Uganda National Journalism Awards were earned for coverage of the most pressing issue of the past two years – the COVID-19 pandemic. Education was one area most impacted by the pandemic, and an analysis “COVID-19 …