NEWS ANALYSIS

Despite her straight-sets defeat by world No. 1 Sun Yingsha, 61-year-old table tennis veteran Ni Xia Lian has proven to be a beacon of resilience and inspiration for many. PARIS | Xinhua |  Amid the roaring applause at the South Paris Arena, 61-year-old paddler Ni Xia Lian waved to the …

Telecom Egypt, a leading telecommunications firm, has teamed up with Nokia to roll out 5G networks across the country’s major cities as the adoption of 5G technology across Africa accelerates. SPECIAL REPORT | BIRD AGENCY | Months after Egypt awarded its first 5G license to Telecom Egypt in a 15-year deal, …

PARIS | Xinhua |  Breaking through the waves reveals true gold. At the moment Chinese swimmer Pan Zhanle touched the wall and broke the record, all doubts, grievances, and frustrations vanished. “Awesome! It feels incredible!” exclaimed Pan after roaring to China’s first swimming gold in Paris with a world record …

New satellite internet roll-out offer faster speeds SPECIAL REPORT | BIRD AGENCY | Africa’s data market is experiencing a reset, with the aggressive rollout of satellite internet and intense competition promising faster and cheaper services, including markets with some of the world’s most expensive data plans. A year after the introduction …

Terrorism charges and new questions for Uganda Kenya relations ANALYSIS | IAN KATUSIIME | Thirty six activists of the Forum for Democratic Change who were arrested in Kenya on July 23 are facing terrorism charges in a baffling development that puts Kenya-Uganda relations under scrutiny. They were remanded to Luzira Prison …

A smaller force to stay behind as ATMIS exits ANALYSIS | IAN KATUSIIME |  Lt. Gen. Sam Kavuma, the new Force Commander of African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS), arrived in Mogadishu on July 28 to oversee the last phase of a troop drawdown process that started five years ago. …

Technocrats blame Chinese veneer processors, local tree growers blame the technocrats COVER STORY | THE INDEPENDENT  | In May last year, President Yoweri Museveni banned the export of ‘unprocessed’ timber products scampering a hitherto booming wood industry. One year later, panic from Museveni’s Executive Order No.3 continues with no end in …

24-year old Eritrean becomes first African to win at the  world’s oldest and most prestigious cycling race ANALYSIS | AGENCIES | A split second before he crossed the finish line in Turin, Biniam Girmay sat up on his bicycle. He let go of his handlebars, smiled to himself, and then punched …

`Twice as good for half the respect’ ANALYSIS | CLARE CORBOULD | Mainstream media are surprisingly muted at the prospect of the world’s most powerful nation being led for the first time by a woman – specifically a woman of colour, Vice President Kamala Harris. Using past elections as our guide, …

African scientists have achieved global success in science and mathematics by overcoming traditional challenges and bridging longstanding gaps. Here’s a list of some 10 African countries where scientists and mathematicians have created innovations that have had a global impact. SPECIAL REPORT | BIRD AGENCY | African scientists have a rich …