NEWS ANALYSIS

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | AFP |  A cradle of mankind, modern-day Ethiopia is riven by ethnic tensions, with the latest unrest flaring in the region of Amhara in what the government called a regional “coup” bid. Here are some key facts about Africa’s second most populous nation: – People and …

What went wrong? Kampala, Uganda | HAGGAI MATSIKO | “This is a serious issue,” muttered Bank of Uganda Governor Tumusiime Mutebile when he heard about at it. A plane chartered to transport new currency notes to Uganda from France had on April 27 landed at Entebbe Airport with cargo not …

Washington, United States | AFP | Millions of children regularly use YouTube to watch video game tutorials, television shows and even to watch random people unbox new toys. But consumer and child protection groups are worried that the Google-owned video service is collecting data on young users at the same time, …

Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Sudan’s military ruler Thursday sacked the country’s prosecutor general, days after charges of corruption were brought against ousted leader Omar al-Bashir as new protests got underway. The dismissal came as General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan’s deputy in the ruling military council announced that the mastermind behind a …

Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Egypt and Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah will carry the hopes of the Africa Cup of Nations hosts on his slender shoulders just weeks after winning the European crown with his club. Egyptians say that all 97 million of their compatriots will be rooting for Salah when …

Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Sudan’s army ruler Wednesday called on protest leaders to resume talks on the transfer of power without any conditions, as tension between the two sides persists after the bloody dispersal of demonstrators. Dozens of protesters were killed and hundreds wounded on June 3 when a weeks-long …

Paris, France | AFP | European financial leaders on Tuesday vowed vigilance after Facebook announced it was diving into the cryptocurrency market, as analysts warned the social media giant could face major regulatory questions. French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, whose government initiated a new tax on digital giants like Facebook …

Why it must be driven by consumers | Arie Havelaar & Ashagrie Zewdu Woldegiorgis | Dirty food kills about 140 000 people every year, and leaves 91 million more suffering from diarrhoea, tapeworm, hepatitis and even dysentery and typhoid in Africa. Many of the pathogens and foods at the centre …

Beijing, China | AFP | Xi Jinping will make the first trip to North Korea by a Chinese president in 14 years this week, state media said Monday, as Beijing tightens relations with Pyongyang amid tensions with the United States. Xi will visit Pyongyang on Thursday and Friday at the invitation …

Where people, values, mentalities and habits create pure harmony THE INDEPENDENT | ANDREW M. MWENDA | In February and March of this year, I visited Japan and travelled extensively across that country’s major cities – from Tokyo to Kyoto and Hiroshima to Osaka, the commercial capital of Japan. I was …