Ugandan entrepreneur sets Valentine’s Day mood with scented candles

Uganda's new and stricter laws to punish lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and other queer people puts draconian restrictions on the media and advocates for LGBTQ rights, too.

The new anti-gay legislation in the East African country would mean long prison terms or even death for people who identify as LGBTQ.

Uganda has seen a new wave of hatred and “anti-gay” demonstrations sweep through the country since January... after a case of suspected paedophilia in a school became a pretext to condemn the entire LGBT community.

Uganda has seen a new wave of hatred and “anti-gay” demonstrations sweep through the country since January after a case of suspected paedophilia in a school became a pretext to condemn the entire LGBT community. Homosexuality is illegal in the country and punishable by imprisonment.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni did not sign into law a controversial bill against homosexuality that would prescribe the death penalty in some cases. He has called for minor changes to the proposed legislation.

The Ugandan parliament has passed one of the world's strictest anti-LGBT+ bills. Some provisions were toned down, but the legislation still includes the death penalty for certain same-sex acts.

The number of wild mountain gorillas, who are at risk from humans, is increasing for the first time in years. This is thanks to the efforts of conservationists like Uganda's first-ever wildlife veterinarian, Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, who says they are truly gentle giants. There are just over a thousand mountain gorillas left, mostly high in the mountains in Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Kalema-Zikusoka has also written a book, "Walking with Gorillas", charting her life from young enthusiast to wildlife campaigner.

In Kenya, some industrial fishing techniques are banned in a bid to counteract damage suffered by coastal communities that have seen their fish stocks plummet. Also, as Africa continues to wrangle with the dilemma of how to keep economic growth on track whilst tackling the climate emergency, we hear from the president of the African Development Bank about the choices ahead. And in Uganda, efforts to roll back the production of charcoal are met with resistance.

Authorities said 41 people were killed when an Islamic State-aligned group attacked a school in the nation's west.

Ugandan officials said that the school's head teacher was arrested for "collaborating" with militants that attacked the school.

Ugandan authorities said on Monday that 20 people had been detained for questioning about their possible role in the massacre of 42 people, mostly students, on Friday by the Islamist group Allied Democratic Forces (ADF).

In Uganda, parents of children still missing since a school dorm was set on fire and another attacked with machetes offer up their DNA in search for their missing loved ones. Meanwhile in Burundi, hundreds of thousands of people who fled their country in 2015 amidst political turmoil have started returning from Rwanda and Tanzania. Finally, we learn the rags-to-riches story of one Ghanaian designer.