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After winning the House, democrats shouldn’t focus on shared loathing of Trump to win the nation COMMENT | IAN BURUMA | At least it wasn’t a disaster. If the Democrats had failed to secure a majority in the US House of Representatives, President Donald Trump would have felt almighty, with all …

Far-right politicians like Trump and Bolsonaro have exploited frustration-fanned anger, tribalism COMMENT | KAUSHIK BASU | Jair Bolsonaro, the president-elect of Brazil, is a far-right, gun-loving, media-baiting hyper-nationalist. The fact that he would be right at home among many of today’s global leaders – including the leaders of some of the …

Trafficking humans and their organs, and forced labour and prostitution, are crimes against humanity COMMENT | MARCELO SANCHEZ SORONDO | The scourge of human trafficking is an issue that leaders of all faiths must take very seriously. One of the first things that Pope Francis did when he was elected in …

Reporters need be allowed to work because silencing them increases crimes and threatens democracy COMMENT | ROBERT MAHONEY | What does it cost to silence a muckraking reporter? In the Philippines, officials needed just $250 in 2011 to buy the services of a journalist-slaying gunman. In Slovakia, Ján Kuciak and his …

Research suggests for Africa to avoid losses, focus should be on strengthening AfCFTA and EPAs die COMMENT | CARLOS LOPES | China’s use of trade and investment links to expand its influence in Africa is fueling growing concern in some European capitals. But, instead of complaining about China’s activities, the European …

U.S. politics has been corrupted by money, gerrymandering and massive attempts at disenfranchisement COMMENT | JOSEPH E. STIGLITZ | All eyes are on the United States as November’s Congressional elections approach. The outcome will answer many alarming questions raised two years ago, when Donald Trump won the presidential election. Will the …

Dewayne Johnson v. Monsanto: Lessons for Uganda as parliament debates concerns raised over National Bio-safety Bill 2017 COMMENT | BARBARA NTAMBIRWEKI | In August 2018, jurors in California, USA, ruled that Roundup, a popular weed killer, was responsible for Mr. Dewayne Johnson’s terminal cancer illness. A former groundskeeper, Johnson was awarded US$289 …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | President Yoweri Museveni has clarified on why he has recently directly supported Youth Programmes, mainly in Kampala and Rukungiri. **** FULL STATEMENT CLARIFICATION BY H. E GEN YOWERI KAGUTA MUSEVENI,  ON THE CONFUSION SURROUNDING THE YOUTH PROGRAMMES Fellow Countrymen and Countrywomen, especially the NRM Leaders, I …

Africans are now confronting a new and serious threat to our land, biodiversity, rights, and food supply COMMENT | MARIANN BASSEY-OROVWUJE | First, the agribusiness giants came to take our land and disrupt our food systems with synthetic pesticides, fertilisers, proprietary seeds, and genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Now, these firms’ hired …

Discrediting, constraining, or otherwise silencing independent journalists is a key tool of repression COMMENT | DAOUD KUTTAB | The London-based daily Al-Araby Al-Jadeed recently published a cartoon, by the Jordanian artist Emad Hajjaj, depicting a faceless man wearing a red and white keffiyeh and sweeping his brown thawb in such a …