NEWS ANALYSIS

Mergers and acquisitions in 2025 reflected a shift toward consolidation, regional scale and restructuring as firms responded to tighter regulation and rising capital demands. From cross-border bank takeovers and insurance mergers to fintech spin-offs, companies moved to strengthen balance sheets and position for long-term growth. The Independent highlights the key …

Critics have compared the offensive against Venezuela to the Iraq war, citing a familiar mix of regime-change rhetoric and security pretexts, whose fundamental aim is to serve Washington’s oil interests. BEIJING | Xinhua | Since late August, the United States has ramped up military presence in the Caribbean off Venezuela’s …

SPECIAL FEATURE | OWEN NYAKA | Titus Virinyu was diagnosed HIV+, and health experts recommended him to take anti-retrovirals (ARVs) for life on a daily basis to prolong his life. Virinyu (pseudonym), who also has a mental problem, does not take the medication as per the doctors’ prescription. Sometimes he does …

  But the opposition faces the ruling party’s continued use of violence to manipulate the election   NEWS ANALYSIS  | LUKE MELCHIORRE |  On the eve of Uganda’s 2021 presidential election, it was clear that regardless of how Ugandans voted, the incumbent, Yoweri Museveni, would most likely be declared the winner. Amid …

BEIJING | Xinhua |  When future historians look back on the once-in-a-century global transformation and trace the underlying logic of evolving international relations, they will surely recognize Sept. 1, 2025 as a pivotal moment — when Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed the Global Governance Initiative (GGI). Prior to this, Beijing …

BEIJING, CHINA | Xinhua | U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order setting a 2028 target for returning U.S. astronauts to the Moon and developing space defense technologies. The order, titled “ENSURING AMERICAN SPACE SUPERIORITY,” vowed to “return Americans to the Moon by 2028 through the Artemis …

Tricycle taxi driver, Hamadi Juma, says Dar es Salaam is breathing “a little easier.” He is among the thousands of motorists who are cooperating in Tanzania’s campaign to switch from petrol to natural gas in an urgent effort to reduce greenhouse gases and alleviate air pollution. It’s part of a …

UVIRA, DRC | Xinhua | In Uvira, a strategic city in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), streets are being swept, shops are cautiously reopening, and residents are stepping back into public spaces as daily life begins to move again. After days of intense fighting, the once temporary administrative …

A new EPRC study exposes structural cracks threatening the future of Uganda’s most influential enterprises. Kampala, Uganda | JULIUS BUSINGE | Uganda’s most common business structure—the family enterprise—is facing a quiet but severe generational crisis. Fewer than 10% of family-owned businesses in the country survive beyond their founders; a trend …

December is particularly busy, as families prepare for holidays, travel and back-to-school expenses NEWS ANALYSIS | AGENCIES |  Africa’s mobile money industry is preparing for its busiest month of the year, with December transactions expected to push 2025’s total beyond the $81bn processed in 2024. But alongside the rise in …