NEWS ANALYSIS

Paris, France | AFP |  When two British pilots steered a biplane across the vast Atlantic 100 years ago, battling frozen sleet and thick fog for more than 16 hours, they were making aviation history. With their harrowing 3,000-kilometre (1,860-mile) crossing, Captain John Alcock and navigator Lieutenant Arthur Whitten Brown completed …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | Hosts Egypt are favoured not only to win Group A at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations this June, but to go on and lift the trophy a record-extending eighth time. They possess in serial Liverpool scorer Mohamed Salah an African superstar and can expect …

Bamako, Mali | AFP | The Malian government on Wednesday sacked the governor of the central Mopti region following a village massacre in which 35 people died. Three days of national mourning would also be held “in homage to the victims of the terrorist attack perpetrated on June 10, 2019 against …

Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | The United States Wednesday named a special envoy to Sudan to find a “peaceful” solution between demonstrators and generals, as protest leaders demanded “international guarantees” for implementing any agremeent reached with the army rulers. Shops and restaurants meanwhile began to reopen in Sudan’s capital Wednesday after …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | Boris Johnson said Wednesday he would only take Britain out of the EU without a deal as a “last resort”, officially launching his campaign to be prime minister with a promise to unify a country still deeply divided over Brexit. The former foreign minister is …

Aix-en-Provence, France | AFP | It’s a musician’s dream — rehearse alongside a full orchestra, but in your own living room. And the immersive experience is possible because, yes, there’s an app for that, courtesy of a French start-up, Digital Music Solutions. “NomadPlay” is all down to an algorithm which separates …

Madrid, Spain | AFP | The high-stakes trial of 12 Catalan separatist leaders over their role in Catalonia’s failed 2017 independence bid is due to wrap up on Wednesday after four months of hearings. Here are five key facts about the trial: Who are the accused ? Nine former ministers in …

Dakar, Senegal | AFP |  Cheikh hoists his second wife Mareme onto his shoulder and carries her to their rose petal-covered bed, where he lays her down. The frolicking couple embrace and…. what happens next is left to the viewer’s imagination as the camera suddenly switches to a pair of white …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | Top African football officials hope the history-making Cup of Nations in Egypt from June 21 can deflect attention away from a string of embarrassing incidents involving them. In recent weeks, CAF president Ahmad Ahmad and senior vice-president Amaju Pinnick and VAR have been dominating the …

Mbarara, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Criminal Investigations Directorate-CID is to study the persistent number of murder cases in Mbarara district. The CID Director, Grace Akullo recently observed that Mbarara district has continued registering a high number of murder cases since 2001. “The District of Mbarara continues to register high …