Melbourne, Australia | AFP | “Even though I always believe I can play this way, visualize myself playing this way. At this level, as I said, under the circumstances, it was truly a perfect match.” — Novak Djokovic after his rout of Rafael Nadal to win a record seventh Australian Open. …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | About 40 schools in Kasese municipality are facing closure for alleged failure to meet the minimum requirements. Emmy Kayiiri, the Assistant Principal Education Officer Kasese Municipality, says the affected include kindergartens, primary and secondary schools and tertiary institutions. Some of the affected schools are Kasese …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | Despite the humiliating rejection of Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit deal, Britain is no closer to knowing the end result of its vote to leave the European Union. A raft of amendments to be voted on by MPs on Tuesday threaten to further muddy the …

Sousa, Syria | AFP | The Islamic State group’s once-sprawling “caliphate” has been reduced to a four-square-kilometre pocket of territory in eastern Syria, a senior Kurdish commander said Monday. With support from a US-led military coalition, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are in the final stages of an assault launched more than four months ago …

Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | President Omar al-Bashir vowed Monday to bring peace in the state of South Kordofan where Sudanese forces are fighting rebels, as protesters planned to hold anti-government rallies in the country’s conflict zones. Deadly protests triggered by a government decision to raise the price of bread have rocked the east African …

Cairo, Egypt | AFP | The 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt in June and July has been pushed back by a week to cater for the holy month of Ramadan, the tournament’s chief told AFP on Sunday. The four-week long event will now run from June 21-July 19 instead of June 15-July 13, …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT |  Government has instituted a 14 member committee to investigate the ownership of 75 properties in Mbale municipality formerly under the Departed Asians Property Custodian Board. The properties in question are scattered all over Mbale municipality. Clement Kandole, a member of the Departed Asians Property Custodian …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT |  The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has changed the dates for the 2019 Total Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON). CAF communicated on Monday that hosts Egypt requested for a change of dates for the tournament that will attract 24 teams for the first time. “During …

Dubai, United Arab Emirates | AFP | Dubai International Airport said it retained its top global spot in 2018 after serving the largest number of passengers for the fifth year in a row despite falling short of its target. Traffic at the major transit hub rose slightly to 89.15 million passengers, …

Melbourne, Australia | AFP | Twelve months after exiting the Australian Open with fitness, form and career doubts swirling, Novak Djokovic on Sunday struggled to keep his emotions from reducing him to tears. The Serb world number one had just lifted the Norman Brookes trophy for a record seventh time, after …