AFRICA

NIAMEY | Xinhua | Niger has begun implementing retaliatory measures against the United States this week, imposing a comprehensive ban on issuing visas to U.S. citizens, the Niger News Agency (ANP) reported on Thursday. The move follows a decision by the United States to place Niger on a list of …

  Entebbe, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Safarilink’s decision to link Nairobi, Kisumu and Entebbe is beginning to reshape how travellers move across the Lake Victoria region, a corridor that for years lacked direct air connectivity despite its economic and cultural ties. Two weeks ago, the airline rolled out the …

The expedition is expected to complete its 13,000-kilometre journey in the coming weeks Mpika, Zambia | THE INDEPENDENT | Uganda’s ambitious Pearl-to-Cape electric expedition reached a major milestone after the locally manufactured Kayoola E-Coach traversed 11,277 kilometres of its planned 13,000-kilometre round trip, delivering early evidence on cost efficiency, emissions …

From Lagos and Nairobi to Cape Town and Marrakech, founders, investors, and corporates are using tech festivals to close funding, partnerships, and market-entry deals, according to ecosystem data and industry analysts.   SPECIAL REPORT | BIRD AGENCY |  Africa’s tech startup ecosystem is increasingly being organised around large, high-visibility festivals. From …

A duo of biomedical engineers in Kenya are designing low-cost regulators to help nurses safely manage oxygen in premature infants to reduce preventable deaths and higher risks of blindness. SPECIAL REPORT | BIRD AGENCY |  When healthcare engineer Lisa Mutheu joined the East Africa Biodesign fellowship, she anticipated a year of …

TRIPOLI | Xinhua |  Libya’s Government of National Unity declared three days of national mourning on Tuesday after army chief of staff Mohammed al-Haddad and four senior military officials died in a plane crash near the Turkish capital Ankara. The government extended its condolences in a statement to the families …

Air travel across West Africa is set to become dramatically cheaper as ECOWAS eliminates a host of taxes and charges that currently make up nearly half the cost of a typical airline ticket. SPECIAL REPORT | BIRD AGENCY |  West Africa is bracing for a jump in air travel demand as …

Tricycle taxi driver, Hamadi Juma, says Dar es Salaam is breathing “a little easier.” He is among the thousands of motorists who are cooperating in Tanzania’s campaign to switch from petrol to natural gas in an urgent effort to reduce greenhouse gases and alleviate air pollution. It’s part of a …

Once a premium service, instant payments, now worth nearly $2 trillion USD according to a new report, are a financial lifeline for everyday use throughout Africa. The surge is powered by lower transaction costs and rising smartphone use that enables even low-income users to transact in real time. SPECIAL REPORT …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT |  As policymakers and development financiers search for scalable solutions to Uganda’s youth unemployment challenge, the African Agribusiness Incubators Network (AAIN) is advancing a market-driven proposition: that weak incubation systems, rather than a shortage of entrepreneurial ideas, remain one of the biggest constraints to enterprise …