Tripoli, Libya | AFP | Fuel smuggling is costing Libya more than $750 million each year and harming its economy and society, the head of the National Oil Company in the conflict-riddled country said. “The impact of fuel smuggling is destroying the fabric of the country,” NOC president Mustafa Sanalla …

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | AFP | Ethiopian new Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed reshuffled his cabinet Thursday in a bid to stem growing discontent with the long-ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) coalition. Abiy, 42, is the first prime minister to come from Ethiopia’s largest ethnic group the Oromo, who …

Mbale, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | One of the petitioners challenging the 2017 Constitutional Amendment Act says President Yoweri Museveni was not guided before he signed the bill into law in December last year. Male Mabiriizi Kiwanuka, in his submission to the Constitutional Court hearing in Mbale district on Wednesday …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | State House needs over 116 billion shillings for the President’s security for the financial year 2018/2019 as presented in their Ministerial Policy Statement. Officials from State House led by the State House Comptroller, Lucy Nakyobe, appeared before Parliament’s Presidential Affairs Committee on Wednesday to justify …

Malabo, Equatorial Guinea | AFP | Equatorial Guinea called Wednesday for national human rights institutions to replace international organisations across Africa, after facing accusations of a bloody crackdown following a failed coup bid last year. “I will propose the creation of human rights institutions in each African country”, longtime President …

kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Jaffar Remo Amin, one of the sons of former president Idi Amin Dada, has said his father’s legacy was genuine emancipation of Ugandans and removing the chains of imperialism. Jaffar Amin told Uganda Radio Network that General Amin, who grabbed power in a military coup …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | It makes no sense for the United Nations and its humanitarian partners not to recruit locals in refugee hosting districts, especially for jobs which do not require higher skills. This is the position of Hillary Onek, the Minister for Relief, Disaster Preparedness and Refugees, on …

How progressive is Uganda’s tax code for an economy that has been hurting since 2016? COMMENT | MORRISON RWAKAKAMBA |  As we approach the 2018/2019 Financial Year and the statecraft colour that comes with it – the State of the Nation address and reading of the national budget; the dress rehearsals …

Kampala, Uganda | MOTORING GURU | Say it isn’t so! Mercedes-AMG expected to adopt hybrid turbo V8 as its flagship engine As the march of technology continues and emissions regulations begin to bite, automotive juggernauts will fall by the wayside. Case in point, the Mercedes-AMG M279 engine, known outside Benz nerd …

Today, some 800 million people spend at least 10% of their household budgets on health payments COMMENT | SANIA NISHTAR | Half of the planet cannot access essential health services. For many people, paying to see a doctor, obtaining medications, seeking family-planning advice, or even getting immunised against common illnesses is …