AFRICA

Tunis, Tunisia | AFP |  Tunisia’s presidential candidate Nabil Karoui received a hero’s welcome as he walked free from jail Wednesday, just days ahead of a runoff against a political newcomer. Karoui’s release is the latest twist in a shock election dominated by political outsiders in the country whose 2011 …

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | AFP | Ethiopian Airlines on Wednesday denied whistleblower accusations that it tampered with the maintenance records of the Boeing 737 MAX jet which crashed in March, killing all 157 people on board. The accident, in which the plane nose-dived into a field outside Addis Ababa, led …

Segou, Mali | AFP |  The courtyard of Issa Haidara’s home in the central Malian town of Segou fills up rapidly at nightfall — testimony to the kindness of strangers. In quieter times, Haidara lived in the house with his wife, their five children and an aunt. But this night, 29 …

Cairo, Egypt | AFP |  Egypt’s prime minister warned Tuesday his government would not allow protesters to spread “chaos” after small rallies erupted against President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi last month. The rare protests broke out in defiance of a ban on demonstrations after an exiled Egyptian businessman in Spain accused the …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Africa Information and Communications Technology consortia groups, the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology and the Uganda Communication Commission – UCC are lobbying all ICT departments across the African continent to come up with a joint position on global technology. The position agreed upon …

  Paris, France | AFP | Facebook on Tuesday announced the expansion of its third-party fact-checking programme to 10 new African countries in partnership with Agence France-Presse and other media. The programme will be available in Ethiopia, Zambia, Somalia and Burkina Faso in partnership with AFP; in Uganda and Tanzania …

Abuja, Nigeria | AFP |  Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday unveiled a record budget plan to lawmakers, ramping up ambitious spending goals for his second term in charge. The draft budget increased more than 13 percent from last year at 10.33 trillion naira — around $33.8 billion (30.8 billion …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT & AFP |  Ronald Musagala and Abdallah Mande, fresh from the World Athletics Championships, will be two of six Ugandans lined up to help Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge, as he attempts to break the 2-hour barrier in the marathon on Saturday. The others are long distance aces …

Conakry, Guinea | AFP | An opposition coalition in Guinea on Monday called for demonstrations from October 14 despite a government crackdown on protests after President Alpha Conde sparked speculation he would seek a controversial third term. Last month Conde, 81, called on the public to prepare for a referendum and …

Growing middle class, economy attracts investments in the hotel industry Kampala, Uganda | ISAAC KHISA | Nearly six years ago, 18 countries in Africa did not have any global branded hotel as prospective owners and operators did not see business opportunities.  But this has now reduced to only five countries …