Tororo, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Nearly 500 years after the descendants of Adhola and Owiny separated in present day Tororo in Uganda, their descendants on Thursday November 7, 2019 signed a pact confirming their blood relationship, and agreed to reunite and work together. There was a brief cultural …
Read More »Jopadhola Community Education Fund starts with $1000 boost
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Jopadhola Community Education and Scholarship Trust (TJC EAST) fund was on Saturday launched, with Kenyan physical planning expert Engineer Vincent K’Odera from Kisumu boosting it with an offer of $1,000 (sh3.6 million) cash. Engineer Vincent K’Odera, who as a member of the Luo …
Read More »Rwandan brewer Skol apologises for sexist jokes on beer bottles
Kigali, Rwanda | AFP | A Rwandan brewery apologised Tuesday for printing sexist jokes on its beer labels after its attempt at humour drew a stinging rebuke from some of the country’s top female officials. Skol Brewery Limited also promised to immediately discontinue its “Live Laugh Lager” campaign, which saw …
Read More »The Sudanese cartoonist reaching out to the world
Copenhagen, Denmark | AFP | From his self-imposed exile in Denmark, political cartoonist Khalid Albaih sees himself as an “ambassador” for his native Sudan, with biting sketches that aim to unify rather than alienate. His criticism of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, in power for three decades, has made it impossible …
Read More »Porky peak: Manila pig roasters in Christmas frenzy
Manila, Philippines | AFP | Row upon row of pigs on bamboo spits sizzle slowly over orange embers in Manila just days before Christmas, peak season for the Philippines’ pig roasting “lechoneros”. Smoke rises day and night from their cooking pits in the La Loma area, which brands itself a …
Read More »THIS WEEK: Reggae made it to the global cultural heritage list
THIS WEEK: Reggae made it to the global cultural heritage list Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | UNESCO, a cultural agency of the United Nations, added reggae music to a list of international cultural treasures. The declaration, according to a news agency Reuters came during a meeting in Paris where they …
Read More »Oulanyah urges Acholi sub-region to increase productivity
Gulu, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Deputy Speaker Jacob Oulanyah has asked the Acholi sub-region to increase productivity as a tool to eradicate poverty and place the region on the right pedestal to prosperity. Oulanyah said unlike the struggle against past insurgencies, the campaign against poverty can now be waged …
Read More »Reggae, music ‘of love and humanity’, secures UN culture listing
Port Louis, Mauritius | AFP | Jamaican reggae, the music of the oppressed which Bob Marley catapulted onto the global stage, won a coveted spot on the United Nations’ list of global cultural treasures Thursday. UNESCO, the world body’s cultural and scientific agency, added reggae to its collection of “intangible …
Read More »China’s youth embrace street dance amid hip-hop crackdown
Beijing, China | AFP | In China, where children are often saddled with a packed schedule of extracurricular activities before they even enter grade school, some parents are making room for a surprising pursuit: hip-hop dance classes. Inside a dance studio in central Beijing, a group of kids bopped up …
Read More »‘We’ve got the power!’ In DRC, rap moves to take on rumba
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | It is a conflict at once cultural, generational and political: rap music in DR Congo is staging a frontal assault on rumba, accusing its ageing stars of only singing of love and other banalities. DRC’s growing army of rappers say their urban lyrics reflect …
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