NEWS ANALYSIS

Paris, France | AFP | Spitting is frowned upon in polite society — unless of course the spitter is engaged in tasting wines. “It’s by spitting out the wine that you will be even more distinguished in society,” pleads Pierre-Jules Peyrat, a Paris sommelier. Holding forth before a rapt crowd at …

Mekele, Ethiopia | AFP | In his cramped studio, Ethiopian reggae singer Solomon Yikunoamlak plucks his guitar and reads over his latest ballad, a strident call for unity in his native Tigray during a time of national upheaval. It is unusual material for an artist who rose to fame singing love …

And lessons on what it takes to help small firms thrive | Oluseye Jegede | Nigeria’s Otigba Computer Village is arguably the biggest information, communications technology (ICT) market in Africa. It started off as a one-man business on a street called “Otigba” in Ikeja, the capital of Lagos State. Within …

Is it targeting the wrong people? Kampala, Uganda | PATRICIA AKANKWATSA | Falling ill and having to visit a healthcare facility is a frightening experience for most people. Feeling anxious, uncertain and maybe even helpless is common even among people living in countries with highly developed care. In Uganda, a …

Paris, France | AFP | It was the biggest piece of supposed fake news before the term “fake news” was even invented. Millions of people across the world still believe that no one has ever walked on the Moon, and that the images that NASA broadcast in July 1969 were shot …

Govt proposal to build a sixth power dam on the Nile kicks up storm Kampala, Uganda | RONALD MUSOKE | Murchison Falls, one of River Nile’s remaining spectacular waterfalls tops the “bucket list” of iconic sceneries in Uganda that hundreds of thousands of tourists covet when they visit the country. …

The powerful people behind Bemanya Kampala, Uganda | HAGGAI MATSIKO | Uganda Telecom Ltd (UTL) looks like a typical company in shambles. In April 2017 it run to court to block a petition seeking to wound it up partly owing to Shs709 billion debts it had accumulated over the years. …

Bihac, Bosnia and Herzegovina | AFP |  Stranded in Bosnia, thousands of migrants face yet one more hurdle on their journey towards the European Union: the scorching summer heat in the Balkans. Under a leaden sky, Saleh Alhasan and his friends hurry to reach the shade of the woods after failing …

Lagos, Nigeria | AFP |  Nigeria’s film industry, dubbed Nollywood, has long kept viewers entertained with tales of romance and riches, and now foreign investors are increasingly looking for a part of the action. US giant Netflix, France’s Canal+ and China’s StarTimes are among those making moves in the globe’s second …

Mirny, Russia | AFP | Diamonds are forever, and so is the permanently frozen ground of Yakutia in north eastern Siberia, home to huge diamond deposits that ensure Russia’s supremacy in world production of the luxury stone. In the city of Mirny, the sun shines almost continuously during the region’s white …