Features catergory

How Arsene Wenger changed the Premier League … and then dropped the ball By Rob Gowers When Arsene Wenger was named as the new manager of Arsenal FC in September 1996, English football was in a period of transition. The 1989 Hillsborough disaster had led to a transformation of the …

“Depression: let’s talk” says WHO, as depression tops list of causes of ill health WHO | GENEVA – Depression is the leading cause of ill health and disability worldwide. According to the latest estimates from the World Health Organisation (WHO), more than 300 million people are now living with depression, …

Football proletariat’ brave Serbia’s crumbling, violent stadiums Belgrade, Serbia | AFP | Khalid Aucho and Takuto Yasuoka are two of hundreds of footballers from Africa, Asia and South America whose dream of stardom has brought them to Eastern Europe. Aucho, a 23-year-old from Uganda who has already tried Scotland, and …

Lokamarinyang, Kenya | AFP | In just a few years water, oil and money would flow. Roads, schools and hospitals would follow. Turkana’s generations of poverty and neglect in Kenya’s arid north would end. But it was not to be: five years after the discovery of oil, and four since …

  Paris, France | AFP | Russia’s former world chess champion Garry Kasparov wants to bring the game to a million children in Africa as an educational tool to sharpen their learning skills and build confidence. “We have plenty of data collected from around the world… that proves beyond any doubt …

Washington, United States | AFP |  Jimmy Breslin, a brash, colorful award-winning reporter and newspaper columnist who took on the high and mighty and championed the underdog, died Sunday at the age of 88. His wife Ronnie Eldridge confirmed his death, The New York Times reported. Breslin had been recovering …

United Nations, United States | AFP | The UN Security Council on Monday said it was disturbed by reports of torture and forced disappearances in Burundi but ignored calls from rights groups for sanctions. A French-drafted statement was adopted unanimously after some wrangling with Russia, China and Egypt, which oppose sanctions. …

Banjul, Gambia | AFP | Journalists in The Gambia on Tuesday urged the country’s new leadership to uphold their pledge to respect media freedom after a violent public assault on a reporter by President Adama Barrow’s supporters. Kebba Jeffang, a journalist for Foroyaa newspaper, was hit, scratched and insulted at …

Nkangi, the man who saved the soul of Buganda’s power By Andrew S. Kaggwa One Sunday in 1964, a young man called Mayanja Nkangi was going about his normal business when someone stopped him and said: “We want you to be a Katikkiro. The lukiiko (Buganda parliament) are annoyed with …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | From ancient Rome to modern times, mankind has suffered devastating periods of hunger caused by drought, war or misguided politics. Last week South Sudan was declared the site of the world’s first famine in six years, affecting about 100,000 people. Here is an exploration of …