Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo have ordered that social networks including Facebook and WhatsApp be blocked soon before President Joseph Kabila’s mandate expires, three internet providers said Thursday. Congo’s telecoms regulator issued an order, seen by AFP, demanding that providers cut access …

United Nations, United States | AFP |  Incoming UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday announced the appointment of Nigeria’s Environment Minister Amina Mohammed to be the UN’s number two official and tapped two other women for key leadership posts. Guterres has made gender parity a priority of his tenure which …

A private body guard to the board chairman of Sebei Elgon Co-operative Union  Major Juma Seiko was on Thursday charged and remanded to Luzira Prison on charges of murder and attempted murder. Prosecution led by  Emilly Ninsima alleges that on December 4, 2016, at Major Seiko’s residence in Nakasero, former soldier …

In this week’s issue of The Independent: COMMENT Yahya Jams: Gambian President Yahya Jammeh’s decision to cling to power after initially conceding defeat in the Dec.01 election might be a result of his fear about how the victorious opposition might treat him. That has lessons for those opposing President Yoweri …

Foreign Affairs Minister Sam Kutesa has called for international partnerships with Uganda’s Settlement Transformation Project (2016-2021) that aims to achieve self-reliance and local settlement of refugees. The Ugandan programme, officials say, aims to promote social development in the refugee hosting areas as a durable solution to challenges related to refugees, while protecting …

Washington, United States | AFP | New satellite imagery shows China has apparently installed “significant” defensive weapons on a series of artificial islands it built in the South China Sea, a US-based think tank said Wednesday. Beijing has created seven islets in the Spratly Islands in recent years, built up …

VIDEO: The Central Bank has once again eased the Central Borrowing Rate by one percentage point to 12 percent. According to Professor Emmanuel Mutebile, the Central Bank governor, the reduction is aimed at keeping the domestic economic growth momentum and inflation in check. Inflation has slightly picked up in the past …

VIDEO: The ruling National Resistance Movement is financially handicapped and therefore unable to mobilize grassroot structures ahead of the local council elections. The party’s electoral commission chief Dr. Tanga Odoi says they are still waiting for the central executive committee to come up with a budget, before they embark on …

Juba, South Sudan | AFP | President Salva Kiir called Wednesday for a “national dialogue” to end the three-year-long civil war in South Sudan. In a speech to parliament, Kiir, whose wrangling for power with his former deputy Riek Machar plunged the world’s newest nation into a brutal, destructive and …

Fans of Group D, which comprises Egypt, Ghana, Uganda and Mali, will have to travel by boat or plane to the centre of the country’s oil and timber industries. Libreville, Gabon | AFP | Gabon insists it is ready to host the African Cup of Nations despite concern about the …