AFRICA

  Kigali, Rwanda | THE INDEPENDENT | Rwanda President Paul Kagame’s speech today at the 30th Commemoration (Kwibuka 30) of the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi. **** FULL ADDRESS *** Today, our hearts are filled with grief and gratitude in equal measure. We remember our dead, and are also grateful for …

HARARE | Xinhua |  Zimbabwe’s new currency — the Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG) — will start circulating in the economy on April 30, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor John Mushayavanhu has said. In a statement issued Saturday night, Mushayavanhu said the new notes and coins were already under production while …

NAIROBI, Kenya | Xinhua | Kenya and France have finalized an agreement to facilitate funding for the upgrading of the Nairobi Commuter Railway, a rail network serving Nairobi and its suburbs, officials said on Saturday. Musalia Mudavadi, prime cabinet secretary who is also the cabinet secretary for foreign and diaspora affairs, …

ABUJA, Nigeria | Xinhua | At least 25 people were killed by a group of unidentified gunmen who recently attacked a local community in Nigeria’s north-central state of Kogi, local authorities said. The gunmen wreaked havoc in the Agojeju-Odo community in the Omala local government area of Kogi late Thursday, …

NAIROBI, Kenya | Xinhua | The Kenya shilling strengthened against the U.S. dollar Friday to close the week at the 130 mark, the strongest level in about a year. The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) quoted the local unit at 130.7 shillings against the dollar Friday, as the local currency …

NAIROBI, KENYA | Xinhua | East African countries unveiled a strategic plan on Thursday aimed at increasing insurance penetration in the region. Kaddunabbi Ibrahim Lubega, Chairman of the East African Insurance Supervisors’ Association and CEO of the Insurance Regulatory Authority of Uganda, announced the plan in Nairobi, Kenya. Lubega said …

CAPE TOWN, South Africa | Xinhua | South Africa’s former parliament speaker, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, was arrested and charged with corruption on Thursday, a day after she resigned over graft allegations. National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Henry Mamothame confirmed that Mapisa-Nqakula was formally detained after handing herself over to police in Pretoria …

CAPE TOWN, South Africa | Xinhua | South African National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula resigned Wednesday amid investigations into corruption allegations against her. “Today, the 3rd of April, I have submitted to the Acting Speaker of the National Assembly, Hon. Lechesa Tsenoli, my letter of resignation as both the Speaker of …

CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA | Xinhua | A South African high court on Tuesday dismissed an urgent application filed by National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula to interdict a possible arrest of her on corruption charges. The ruling, which clears the path for her potential arrest, marks a new setback for …

CAIRO | Xinhua |  Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi took the constitutional oath on Tuesday as president of Egypt for a third consecutive term in office, serving until 2030, the state-run Nile TV reported. In an aired ceremony held at the headquarters of the Egyptian Parliament in the New Administrative Capital, Sisi vowed …