Legislators ask World Bank, IMF for better terms of trade Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Members of parliament attending the 2018 Global Parliamentary Conference at the World Bank Headquarters in Washington DC have asked the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank to always consider giving African countries better …
Read More »THIS WEEK: Makerere suspends new fees structure
Makerere suspends new fees structure Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | After two days of strikes at Makerere University, Prof. Barnabus Nawangwe the Vice Chancellor on April 18 suspended the new plan to increase fees until further notice. Nawangwe said the decision to suspend the fees increment in the colleges of …
Read More »Swaziland is now kingdom of eSwatini
Kampala, Uganda |THE INDEPENDENT | I would like to announce that from today onwards, our country will be known as the Kingdom of eSwatini, King Mswati III of Swaziland announced at the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the 50th anniversary of Swazi independence. Africa’s last absolute monarch who was also celebrating his …
Read More »Brains, eyes, testes: off-limits for transplants?
Paris, France | AFP | Since the world’s first successful organ transplant in 1954 — a kidney — the discipline has advanced to the point where a wounded soldier could have his penis and scrotum replaced in a groundbreaking operation last month. A Frenchman recently became the first person to …
Read More »Thousands flee fresh clashes in northern Myanmar: UN
Yangon, Myanmar | AFP | Thousands of people have fled renewed fighting between Myanmar’s army and ethnic insurgents in the country’s remote north, a United Nations official said, as a long-simmering conflict intensifies. More than 4,000 people have been displaced in the country’s northernmost state of Kachin near the border …
Read More »Departing Wenger wants peaceful end to Mourinho rivalry
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Arsene Wenger says he hopes his farewell match at Old Trafford on Sunday passes off “peacefully” but has admitted he is unsure he will ever be friends with Jose Mourinho. Wenger, 68, made the surprise announcement last week that he will end his 21-year …
Read More »Scientists keep pigs’ brains alive for 36 hours
Paris, France | AFP | US-based researchers have successfully kept alive the brain cells of decapitated pigs for 36 hours, sparking concerns over the ethics involved in such frontline research. The MIT Technology Review said a team at Yale University led by neuro-scientist Nenad Sestan had carried out experiments on …
Read More »Son of Guinea’s first president faces forced labor charges in Texas
Washington, United States | AFP | The son of Guinea’s first president and his wife face up to 20 years in prison if found guilty in Texas of holding a young woman as a domestic slave. Mohamed Toure, 57, and Denise Cros-Toure, 57, appeared in a federal court in Fort …
Read More »Zimbabwe legalises cannabis for medical, scientific use
Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwe has legalised production of cannabis for medicinal or scientific use, according to new regulations seen by AFP Saturday. A statutory instrument entitled Production of Cannabis for Medicinal and Scientific Use Regulations, said prospective producers can apply to the health ministry for a licence to …
Read More »Knife attacker kills nine children in China
Beijing, China | AFP | A knife-wielding man with a grudge killed nine middle school children and injured at least 10 others as they returned home in northern China on Friday, authorities said, in one of the deadliest such rampages in the country in recent years. The 28-year-old suspect was …
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