AFRICA

Mogadishu, Somalia | AFP |  At least 10 people were killed when Shabaab Islamists drove an explosives-laden minibus into local government offices in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Tuesday, according to the security ministry. The minibus was rammed through a security barrier outside offices in the southern district of Wadajir, …

  Birmingham, UK | NIC CHEESEMAN |   Unrigging Kenyan election The race for State House in Kenya is heating up. After a long period during which President Uhuru Kenyatta looked a shoo-in for re-election, the presidential race is looking increasingly competitive. Although the most reliable polls still give the incumbent a strong lead …

Cotonou, Benin | AFP |  Benin President Patrice Talon underwenttwo surgeries during a prolonged stay in Paris, one procedure due to doctors finding a lesion in his prostate, his office said Monday. The admission comes weeks after Talon’s absence, which lasted nearly a month, had been a hot topic in …

Zitto Kabwe: The arrest of Rugemalira and Seth is the ‘single most bold step by President Magufuli against corruption’ Nairobi, Kenya | AFP |  Two Tanzanian energy magnates on Monday became the first big industrialists to be charged over a multi-million-dollar graft scandal that led to the sacking of several …

Rome, Italy | AFP |  Central African Republic’s government on Monday signed an “immediate ceasefire” deal with rebel groups during a meeting in Rome aimed at ending violence in the strife-torn country. The truce will see armed groups be given representation in the political arena in exchange for an end …

  Uganda receives most new refugees worldwide, new displacement figures show  Oslo, Norway| NRC | The Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council has called for worldwide support for Uganda that received the largest number of new refugees last year of more than half a million people. “The system protecting refugees will …

   BUDGET: The EAC countries are looking at reducing the cost of doing business Kampala, Uganda | ISAAC KHISA |  Governments in the East African Community seem to be determined to ease the cost of doing business in the region as they allocate massive budgets to infrastructural developments in the new financial …

  Rwanda Budget scraps tax on imported textile machinery, tannery equipment Kigali, Rwanda | IVAN NGOBOKA|  In a bid to boost domestic manufacturing, the government of Rwanda has scrapped tax on imported textile machinery and tannery equipment. The announcement was made during the presentation of  the 2017/18 Budget before Parliament on …

Bamako, Mali | AFP |   Suspected jihadists crying “Allahu Akbar” stormed a tourist resort popular with foreigners on the edge of the Malian capital Bamako on Sunday, briefly seizing more than 30 hostages and leaving at least two people dead. The assault on the Kangaba Le Campement resort comes …

 Rwanda-born Berville is MP as Macron marches to clear majority in French parliament  Paris, France | AFP |  French President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist party swept to a large majority in parliamentary elections on Sunday, although it fell short of a predicted landslide. Macron’s year-old Republique en Marche (Republic on the …