The News Today

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | The number of African elephants has dropped by around 111,000 in the past decade, a new report released Sunday at the Johannesburg conference on the wildlife trade said, blaming the plummeting figures on poaching. The revelation, the worst drop in 25 years, came amid …

Libreville, Gabon | AFP | EU monitors said Sunday that Gabon’s top court had failed to rectify vote-counting “anomalies” in fiercely-disputed elections in which President Ali Bongo extended his family’s rule in the oil-rich nation into a fifth decade. The European Union’s electoral observer mission said it “regretted” that Gabon’s …

Algiers, Algeria | AFP |  The world’s top oil producers “must take a decision” to stabilise prices, Algeria’s energy minister said on Sunday ahead of an OPEC meeting on Wednesday in Algiers. Oil prices are already depressed after two years of oversupply amid deep disagreements between members of the Organization …

Libreville, Gabon | AFP | Gabon’s constitutional court has upheld President’s Ali Bongo’s re-election victory, rejecting an appeal by rival Jean Ping, who had called for a recount over widespread allegations of fraud. The court, while partially changing the results of the close August 27 vote, said Bongo maintained a …

  The AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) has got a much needed boost, after the European Union signed a 15th contract to provide financial support to the African Union (AU) peace keeping mission. AU Commissioner for Peace and Security Ambassador Smail Chergui signed on Wednesday on behalf of the African Union. The EU is offering  178 …

Parliament’s Natural Resources Committee has suspended sand mining on a two acre site along Masaka road in Lweera-Kalungu district. The expansive Lweera wetland on Kampala-Masaka Highway, which stretches about 20 kilometers, is a major water catchment area that connects several rivers and wetlands in Gomba, Mpigi and Kalungu districts and drains directly into …

  Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | The UN rights chief on Thursday said DR Congo had used “excessive force” during deadly clashes with demonstrators in the capital and called on Kinshasa to reach out to the opposition to avert a “large-scale crisis” “The authorities need to pull back from …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP |  Global conservationists and policymakers meet in South Africa from Saturday to chart a way forward in the fight against escalating wildlife trafficking that could drive some species to extinction. The plight of Africa’s rhino and elephants, targeted for their horns and tusks, is expected …

NEWS ANALYSIS: Experts dissect the government’s target of oil finally flowing by 2020 The government of Uganda on Aug. 30 finally issued oil production licenses to Tullow Uganda Operations Pty Ltd and Total E&P Uganda B.V. The move ended a long wait for the oil companies caused by disagreements with the …

Extreme poverty in Uganda fell from 53.2% in 2006 to 34.6% in 2013 Poverty reduction among households in agriculture accounts for 79 percent of of national poverty decline from 2006 to 2013. According to the World Bank Group’s latest Poverty Assessment, the proportion of the Ugandan population living beneath the national poverty …