New cars are hitting Africa’s roads faster than ever as local production rises and Chinese brands heat up competition with attractive prices.Morocco is speeding  production at over 1 million units surpassing South Africa at nearly 600,000 units. SPECIAL REPORT | BIRD AGENCY |  After years of shortages, high prices and delayed …

COMMENT | MATHIAS RUKUBA | On every school day in Uganda, hundreds of learners, teachers, support staff, and visitors converge in one place. Different ages. Different backgrounds. Different needs. One shared responsibility: safety. Yet, across the country, school safety is too often treated as an afterthought, noticed only when tragedy strikes, …

LUSAKA | Xinhua |  Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema on Thursday held talks with his Ghanaian counterpart John Dramani Mahama, with a particular focus on deepening economic ties. The two leaders met at State House in Lusaka following Mahama’s arrival on Wednesday for a three-day state visit to Zambia. While acknowledging …

  SHENZHEN, Xinhua | THE INDEPENDENT | When a Chinese robotics innovator faced an urgent space crunch for his laser sensor startup a few years ago, he did what many entrepreneurs in the country’s southern tech hub of Shenzhen do: he called the local government. By the next day, multiple authorities …

BEIJING | Xinhua | China and Russia should increase high-level exchanges and strengthen pragmatic cooperation in various fields, Chinese President Xi Jinping said in a virtual meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday. Xi extended New Year greetings to Putin and the Russian people, stating that Wednesday coincided with …

  Xi says ready to work with Trump to steer giant ship of China-U.S. ties steadily forward BEIJING | Xinhua | Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Wednesday that he hopes to work with U.S. President Donald Trump in the new year to steer the giant ship of China-U.S. relations …

The U.S., Allies, and Africa in the Spotlight   Washington, USA | THE INDEPENDENT | The United States has taken a decisive step to secure its place in the global critical minerals market with the launch of Project Vault, a $12 billion strategic reserve aimed at stockpiling essential minerals for …

BEIJING | Xinhua |  China and Uruguay should strengthen the alignment of development strategies, and deepen cooperation in areas such as economy and trade, finance, agriculture and animal husbandry, infrastructure construction, and information and communications technology, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Tuesday. Both sides should explore the potential for …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Commercial Division of the High Court has ordered the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) to halt the collection of at least sh24.7 billion in disputed taxes from betting and gaming company Massalia SMC Limited, pending the determination of an appeal before the court. The …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The election of LC111 and municipality division chairpersons and councillors is witnessing a slow start, as voters stay away across the country. Voting is taking place in much of Uganda, except for Kampala and other cities that concluded their polls last week. Our reporters …