http://www.voanews.com Voice of America is an international news and broadcast organization serving Central and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, Central Asia, Russia, the Middle East and Balkan countries http://www.voanews.com/img/voa/rssLogo_VOA.gif http://www.voanews.com en-US 2012 - VOA 60 Fri, 24 May 2013 10:18:48 -0400 Pangea CMS – VOA HIV activists are struggling to find ways to address one of Uganda's biggest health crises: soaring HIV infections among couples, caused largely by cheating spouses.  The subject can be too politically and culturally sensitive to discuss. The face of Uganda’s AIDS epidemic is changing.  In the 1990s, the country brought down its infection rate dramatically with a campaign advocating ABC - abstinence, being faithful and condoms. The government urged people to get off the ... http://www.voanews.com/content/infidelity-root-cause-of-ugandas-chaning-aids-epidemic/1644720.html http://www.voanews.com/content/infidelity-root-cause-of-ugandas-chaning-aids-epidemic/1644720.html Fri, 19 Apr 2013 06:27:14 -0400 Africa Hilary Heuler One American computer hacker has figured out how to harness the knowledge and creativity of other hackers around the world to help local Ugandan charities solve their information technology problems -- for free. For 15 years, Johnny Long was paid by governments and major firms to break into their systems and sometimes their buildings, identifying security holes. His techniques are legendary in technology circles, his books are widely read and people flock to hear him speak at conferences. ... http://www.voanews.com/content/hacking-for-better-world/1628148.html http://www.voanews.com/content/hacking-for-better-world/1628148.html Mon, 25 Mar 2013 12:01:00 -0400 Science & Technology Hilary Heuler http://www.voanews.com/content/hacking-for-better-world/1628148.html#relatedInfoContainer The Ugandan parliament is haggling over a controversial marriage and divorce bill supported by women's rights groups.  The bill is causing an uproar in Ugandan society. The Marriage and Divorce Bill outlaws a number of traditional practices, makes asset sharing mandatory in a divorce, gives cohabiting partners property rights and makes marital rape illegal. Women’s rights groups have embraced it, saying these measures will curb domestic violence and give women more power over their ... http://www.voanews.com/content/ugandan-marriage-bill-pits-women-rights-against-tradition/1622252.html http://www.voanews.com/content/ugandan-marriage-bill-pits-women-rights-against-tradition/1622252.html Fri, 15 Mar 2013 12:32:08 -0400 Africa Hilary Heuler http://www.voanews.com/content/ugandan-marriage-bill-pits-women-rights-against-tradition/1622252.html#relatedInfoContainer A group of members of parliament from Uganda's north, angry at the misappropriation of aid money, accused the country's government this week of neglecting their region. Some have threatened to have the areas they represent secede. Late last year, Uganda was rocked by an embezzlement scandal in which millions of dollars meant for the development of northern Uganda allegedly was stolen by the Office of the Prime Minister. Foreign donors stopped the flow of aid money, some of which ... http://www.voanews.com/content/northern_ugandans_threaten_to_secede_citing_government_neglect/1608200.html http://www.voanews.com/content/northern_ugandans_threaten_to_secede_citing_government_neglect/1608200.html Thu, 21 Feb 2013 12:56:38 -0500 Africa Hilary Heuler http://www.voanews.com/content/northern_ugandans_threaten_to_secede_citing_government_neglect/1608200.html#relatedInfoContainer A teenager in Uganda's capital is running a program to get hundreds of girls into school - by training them to play football.  Their soccer field is in dangerously poor condition, edged with heaps of trash and ankle-deep in mud.  Cows graze on the little grass there is.  But the girls playing here under the supervision of 18-year-old Zaituni Uzamukunda do not seem to mind.  They are hoping soccer will be their ticket out of poverty. Many children in this poor Kampala ... http://www.voanews.com/content/playing-for-an-education-in-uganda/1605920.html http://www.voanews.com/content/playing-for-an-education-in-uganda/1605920.html Mon, 18 Feb 2013 11:56:16 -0500 Africa Hilary Heuler The African Space Research Program, based in Uganda, has announced that it is ready to launch its first probe into space. The small probe, or "observer", was developed by Chris Nsamba and a team of student volunteers working in Nsamba’s back yard. His organization, the African Space Research Program, is funded entirely by private donations. Yet Nsamba says that despite the lack of government support, the observer is fully tested and ready to go. "It’s done. We have already ... http://www.voanews.com/content/africa-space-probe/1604498.html http://www.voanews.com/content/africa-space-probe/1604498.html Fri, 15 Feb 2013 12:23:55 -0500 Science & Technology Hilary Heuler http://www.voanews.com/content/africa-space-probe/1604498.html#relatedInfoContainer David Cecil, a British citizen who produced a play last year about the plight of Ugandan gays, was deported from Uganda on Monday.  He had been arrested by Ugandan police Wednesday, and was flown back to Britain after having spent five days in detention at a Kampala police station.  Cecil had angered Ugandan authorities last year by staging The River and the Mountain, in which a group of employees kills their own boss when they learn he is gay.  Uganda's media council said ... http://www.voanews.com/content/producer-of-gay-themed-play-deported-from-uganda/1602216.html http://www.voanews.com/content/producer-of-gay-themed-play-deported-from-uganda/1602216.html Tue, 12 Feb 2013 13:59:02 -0500 Africa Hilary Heuler Phiona Mutesi, 16, grew up in a Kampala slum and learned chess from a mission when she stumbled in looking for free food. Now she's an international chess champion, playing in tournaments around the world. The city's impoverished Katwe slum seems an unlikely place to pick up a game of chess. But that is exactly what a room full of local children are doing, some perched on wooden benches, others sitting on the floor. This is where Uganda’s most improbable chess champion, Phiona Mutesi, ... http://www.voanews.com/content/teen-chess-prodigy-phiona-mutesi-is-kamapalas-pride-and-joy/1593812.html http://www.voanews.com/content/teen-chess-prodigy-phiona-mutesi-is-kamapalas-pride-and-joy/1593812.html Wed, 30 Jan 2013 11:33:59 -0500 Africa Hilary Heuler http://www.voanews.com/content/teen-chess-prodigy-phiona-mutesi-is-kamapalas-pride-and-joy/1593812.html#relatedInfoContainer A new movie called "God Loves Uganda" has been stirring controversy at the Sundance Film Festival.  The documentary accuses the American religious right of exporting homophobia to Uganda, and examines its impact on Ugandan politics. The Sundance Film Festival wrapped up over the weekend, but one film is still making waves.  “God Loves Uganda” is a documentary that charges that conservative religious groups in the United States have been working to demonize gays in Africa, ... http://www.voanews.com/content/activists-say-Ugandan-homophobia-fueled-by-american-religious-right/1592941.html http://www.voanews.com/content/activists-say-Ugandan-homophobia-fueled-by-american-religious-right/1592941.html Tue, 29 Jan 2013 09:49:56 -0500 Africa Hilary Heuler The chief bodyguard to warlord Joseph Kony has been killed by the Ugandan army in the Central African Republic, according to the Uganda military. The head of security for Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony was killed in a military operation Friday, according to the Ugandan Ministry of Defense. Kony’s rebel Lord's Resistance Army waged a bloody insurgency in northern Uganda for 20 years, before moving into neighboring countries in 2006.  Kony is wanted by the International Criminal Court ... http://www.voanews.com/content/joseph-konys-bodyguard-killed-in-car/1587885.html http://www.voanews.com/content/joseph-konys-bodyguard-killed-in-car/1587885.html Mon, 21 Jan 2013 10:18:57 -0500 Africa Hilary Heuler A British university has just dropped its connection with Uganda, citing the unacceptable limitations imposed by Uganda’s stance against homosexuality. Buckingham University had been accrediting courses at Victoria University in Kampala, but the British institution pulled out this week. “Why fly to Europe when there are UK (United Kingdom) degrees next door?” reads an ad for Victoria University, a prestigious private university in Kampala, Uganda. But now the UK degrees are no more, since ... http://www.voanews.com/content/ugana-gay-rights-university/1582067.html http://www.voanews.com/content/ugana-gay-rights-university/1582067.html Fri, 11 Jan 2013 11:44:54 -0500 Africa Hilary Heuler The death of a member of parliament in Uganda has sparked anger against the president, with several MPs accusing his government of murder. The dead woman's boyfriend has been charged with manslaughter, and an inquest is due to begin soon. Uganda’s parliament has been rocked by scandal, arrests and rumors of poisoning in recent weeks, as lawmakers argue over the death of 24 year-old opposition MP Cerinah Nebanda.  The young woman’s boyfriend was arrested in Kenya, and has been charged ... http://www.voanews.com/content/ugandan-mps-death-widens-rift-between-president-parliament/1580403.html http://www.voanews.com/content/ugandan-mps-death-widens-rift-between-president-parliament/1580403.html Wed, 09 Jan 2013 08:12:25 -0500 Africa Hilary Heuler http://www.voanews.com/content/ugandan-mps-death-widens-rift-between-president-parliament/1580403.html#relatedInfoContainer Frustrated by Uganda’s new oil bill and widespread claims of corruption, the Ugandan media and activists are finding new ways to increase transparency in the country's oil sector. These include an oil industry "wiki" -- a website that allows users to add or update content.  The goal is empower the public by sharing knowledge.   On a hot Kampala afternoon, Jackie Asiimwe stands in traffic handing copies of a newsletter to passing motorists. Asiimwe is part of a ... http://www.voanews.com/content/new-wiki-aims-to-open-up-Uganda-secretive-oil-industry/1567993.html http://www.voanews.com/content/new-wiki-aims-to-open-up-Uganda-secretive-oil-industry/1567993.html Wed, 19 Dec 2012 10:52:58 -0500 Africa Hilary Heuler http://www.voanews.com/content/new-wiki-aims-to-open-up-Uganda-secretive-oil-industry/1567993.html#relatedInfoContainer 20 years ago Uganda's Batwa, or pygmies, were evicted from the forest to make way for a national park. But now the impoverished Batwa are being allowed back as tour guides, showing hikers how they used to live, and making some money in the process. Listen to: Standing in the rain under the dripping forest canopy, Hagumimana Kanyabikingi offers up a traditional hunting prayer. May we kill an animal, he chants, and not be killed ourselves. Kanyabikingi is a Batwa, or “pygmy”, and for ... http://www.voanews.com/content/ugandas-batwa-reclaiming-their-ancestral-forest-as-tour-guides/1564214.html http://www.voanews.com/content/ugandas-batwa-reclaiming-their-ancestral-forest-as-tour-guides/1564214.html Thu, 13 Dec 2012 10:36:39 -0500 Africa Hilary Heuler http://www.voanews.com/content/ugandas-batwa-reclaiming-their-ancestral-forest-as-tour-guides/1564214.html#relatedInfoContainer Uganda's recent flood of Congolese refugees is having unexpected side-effects: some Ugandans are adopting the Congolese custom of eating primates, a new trend that may be linked to outbreaks of Ebola and represents a potential threat to the country's endangered chimpanzee population.  For some conservationists, protecting an animal that shares almost 99 percent of its DNA with humans is a deeply personal issue.  “In terms of relationship, you could have one who is really your ... http://www.voanews.com/content/concerns-voiced-as-ugandans-eat-primates/1559820.html http://www.voanews.com/content/concerns-voiced-as-ugandans-eat-primates/1559820.html Thu, 06 Dec 2012 12:42:41 -0500 Africa Hilary Heuler http://www.voanews.com/content/concerns-voiced-as-ugandans-eat-primates/1559820.html#relatedInfoContainer They come by night, stripping saplings, flattening rice paddies, uprooting whole fields of corn. Voracious and practically unstoppable, they lay farmers’ livelihoods to waste.  But here in Western Uganda, where the most destructive animals aren't locusts or crows, but highly protected elephants, conventional pest control is not an option.  "Just two months ago elephants ripped up an acre of my sorghum crop and [my] two children had to go hungry," says Latib Kalema, whose ... http://www.voanews.com/content/in-uganda-park-rangers-help-elephants-farmer-coexist/1554837.html http://www.voanews.com/content/in-uganda-park-rangers-help-elephants-farmer-coexist/1554837.html Wed, 28 Nov 2012 15:56:24 -0500 Africa Hilary Heuler http://www.voanews.com/content/in-uganda-park-rangers-help-elephants-farmer-coexist/1554837.html#relatedInfoContainer Uganda is struggling to contain the spread of the deadly Marburg virus, just weeks after an outbreak of Ebola killed at least 16 people.   Last week, health officials declared an outbreak of the rare and deadly Marburg virus, a type of hemorrhagic fever similar to Ebola. Five people have died so far, six have been placed in isolation and over 150 more are being monitored for symptoms. One of the cases is being treated in the capital, Kampala.  The outbreak comes just ... http://www.voanews.com/content/uganda-faces-fresh-outbreak-of-hemorrhagic-fever/1532463.html http://www.voanews.com/content/uganda-faces-fresh-outbreak-of-hemorrhagic-fever/1532463.html Wed, 24 Oct 2012 12:45:22 -0400 Africa Hilary Heuler http://www.voanews.com/content/uganda-faces-fresh-outbreak-of-hemorrhagic-fever/1532463.html#relatedInfoContainer Tea drinkers around the world brew up tea bags marked “Kenya,” but most of them don't know some of it actually comes from Uganda.  One of the country's most important drivers of revenue, Uganda's tea industry has long been dogged by quality problems, and a further tightening of regulatory standards could spell disaster for the roughly 65,000 Ugandans who manufacture the country's third-largest export, which generates $100 million per year.  But outside Uganda, no one ... http://www.voanews.com/content/ugandan-tea-famers-facing-labor-shortage-regulatory-changes/1524778.html http://www.voanews.com/content/ugandan-tea-famers-facing-labor-shortage-regulatory-changes/1524778.html Thu, 11 Oct 2012 12:05:11 -0400 Africa Hilary Heuler http://www.voanews.com/content/ugandan-tea-famers-facing-labor-shortage-regulatory-changes/1524778.html#relatedInfoContainer October 9 marks the 50th anniversary of Uganda's independence, an event the government is celebrating with great fanfare.  In 1962 Ugandans had high expectations of their new nation.  But not many of those expectations have been realized. On the day Uganda was granted independence from Britain - October 9, 1962 - Denis Kazibwe’s father planted a tree. “A tree for independence.  That was the first time we were served bread and tea with milk, and all of us got excited,” said ... http://www.voanews.com/content/after_fifty_years_ugandans_disappointed_with_country_progess/1521615.html http://www.voanews.com/content/after_fifty_years_ugandans_disappointed_with_country_progess/1521615.html Sat, 06 Oct 2012 09:11:25 -0400 Africa Hilary Heuler The Ugandan parliament swore in the youngest MP in African history this week, 19-year-old Proscovia Alengot Oromait. Proscovia Alengot Oromait, a 19-year-old from eastern Uganda, took her oath of office Thursday as Africa’s youngest-ever member of parliament. Having won a local bi-election last week, Oromait will be filling the seat of her late father, a legislator who died in July. But the difference is that while her father was an independent, Oromait belongs to Uganda’s ruling party, the ... http://www.voanews.com/content/in-uganda-mixed-reactions-to-africas-youngest-mp/1512624.html http://www.voanews.com/content/in-uganda-mixed-reactions-to-africas-youngest-mp/1512624.html Fri, 21 Sep 2012 14:56:40 -0400 Africa Hilary Heuler http://www.voanews.com/content/in-uganda-mixed-reactions-to-africas-youngest-mp/1512624.html#relatedInfoContainer