Just as 16th century Europe needed African gold, 21st century Europe needs African migrants COMMENT | IBRAHIM ASSANE MAYAKI | In October, the European Union announced a plan to invest €40 billion ($47.6 billion) in Africa, a “Marshall Plan” for the continent that would boost economic growth, create jobs, and, ultimately, …

It’s cheap and accurate Kampala, Uganda | SIKHULILE MOYO | A critical part of reaching zero new HIV infections by 2030 – as the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal aims to do – is to be able to track accurately when specific high risk groups become infected with the virus. This …

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | A day of protest in Democratic Republic of Congo drew only a small turnout on Tuesday, dealing a blow to opposition hopes of unseating President Joseph Kabila over delayed elections. Rallies were held in several cities but were attended by only a few dozen …

Dhaka, Bangladesh | AFP | Bangladesh and Myanmar on Tuesday reaffirmed their commitment to begin repatriating Rohingya refugees from January, despite rights groups warning that their safety is still not assured should they return. The foreign secretaries of Bangladesh and Myanmar met in Dhaka to finalise the agreement signed on …

Paris, France | AFP | Sixty-five journalists and media workers were killed worldwide in 2017, according to annual figures published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on Tuesday. Among them were 50 professional reporters, the lowest toll in 14 years. However, the downward trend is due at least in part to journalists …

New York, United States | AFP | Bitcoin burst out of the shadows in 2017, seducing Wall Street and individual investors alike even though many still struggle to understand precisely what it is. The cryptocurrency’s rise is also pushing regulators to consider taking action after years of simply urging caution. Bitcoin …

Paris, France | AFP | France’s data protection agency on Monday told messaging app WhatsApp it needs to obtain users’ permission to transfer some information to its parent company Facebook and gave it a month to comply. “Should WhatsApp fail to comply with the formal notice within the specified timescale” the …

Paris, France | AFP | The movement for clean cycling MPCC implored Team Sky on Monday to suspend Tour de France winner Chris Froome over his adverse doping test. Last week Froome and Sky revealed the 32-year-old had tested for elevated levels of the asthma medication salbutamol during the Vuelta a …

A micro-sociological personal perspective of the country Kampala, Uganda | JUDE KAGORO |  Rwanda is a country that is both understudied and misunderstood. Some people go to Rwanda sing praises of what they have seen and perhaps forget. Others, using euro-centric and Afro-pessimist lens, criticise uncritically. Some rely on age-old cliché to …

Tripoli, Libya | AFP | Around 36,000 child migrants, including 14,000 who are unaccompanied, need help in Libya, a major transit hub for migrants trying to reach Europe, UN agencies said Monday. Out of about 400,000 migrants in Libya, nine percent are children, the UN children’s agency UNICEF and the International …