Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The World Food Programme-WFP has received 53 light and 10 heavy-duty KAMAZ trucks to add to its delivery fleet, thanks to a donation by the Government of Russia. The vehicles worth USD 10.2 Million (38 billion Shillings) will be used to respond to emergencies in …
Read More »Behind Russia’s growing influence in Africa
Why the new development could be bad news for the US, Europe and India Kampala, Uganda | ISAAC KHISA | As Russia’s President, Vladimir Putin, hosts more than 50 African presidents for the first-ever Russia-Africa Summit in Sochi on Oct. 24, top on the agenda will be how to sustain …
Read More »US slaps sanctions over Russia rights despite revived ties
Washington, United States | AFP | The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on five Russians over abuses including the killing of a prominent opposition leader, days after top-level talks seemed to ease tensions between the powers. The State Department highlighted the actions against the five people, plus one …
Read More »Trump: Mueller ‘should not testify’ before US Congress
Washington, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump said Sunday that Special Counsel Robert Mueller “should not testify” before Congress on his Russia election meddling inquiry, setting up a confrontation with Democrats already irate over what they view as increasingly brazen administration stone-walling. Trump’s statement represented a reversal; …
Read More »Battle for space more stealth than Star Wars
Colorado Springs, United States | AFP | At tens of thousands of kilometers above the Earth, a Russian satellite slowly approached the French-Italian satellite Athena-Fidus in October 2017, a move France later denounced as “an act of espionage.” What is less widely known is that just a few days before …
Read More »How US is pushing Maduro’s envoys off international bodies
Caracas, Venezuela | AFP | Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is being squeezed internationally as the United States pressures key multilateral bodies to boot out his “illegitimate” representatives. To publicly underline America’s position and its support of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as interim leader, US President Donald Trump on Wednesday welcomed …
Read More »Here are the key findings of the Mueller report
Washington, United States | AFP | US Attorney General Bill Barr released a summary Sunday of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s long-awaited report into allegations that Donald Trump’s campaign colluded with Russia in the 2016 presidental election. Here are the main findings of the two-year investigation the president regularly denounced as …
Read More »Race for ‘hypersonic’ weapons heats up as France joins fray
Paris, France | AFP | World powers are vying to develop so-called “hypersonic” weapons that travel several times the speed of sound, with France the latest to join a field led so far by Russia and China. Hypersonics are like missiles that travel at over five times the speed of …
Read More »Facebook has ‘new tools’ against EU election meddling
Brussels, Belgium | AFP | Facebook unveiled Monday new tools to counter online political meddling in the European elections, part of a campaign to answer growing pressure to rein in disinformation. The US tech giant’s vice president, former British deputy prime minister Nick Clegg, said in a speech the methods …
Read More »Interpreters demand to stay out as Trump row throws spotlight
Washington, United States | AFP | Explosive allegations that US President Donald Trump concealed conversations with Russia have thrown an unwelcome spotlight on interpreters, whose quick wit is vital to diplomacy and who stay scrupulously in the shadows. Interpreters, whether they are working at high-stakes international summits or in low-level …
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