AFRICA

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 …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP |  The editor-in-chief of a Tanzanian newspaper suspended last week after linking two former presidents to controversial mining contracts said he has since faced threatening anonymous phone calls. Tanzania’s information ministry on Thursday imposed a two-year suspension on the Mawio weekly, a frequent critic of the …

Goma, DR Congo | AFP |  A soldier and 12 militants were killed Saturday in clashes in DR Congo’s restive eastern North-Kivu province, the army said. “Twelve Mai-Mai and an officer from the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo died in fighting that last nearly all of …

Lusaka, Zambia | AFP |  Nearly a year after coming to power in a contested election, Zambian President Edgar Lungu is facing a growing chorus of criticism over his government’s moves to clamp down on dissent. “Zambia eminently qualifies to be branded a dictatorship,” the country’s religious leaders said in …