AFRICA

Arusha, Tanzania | Xinhua | The East African business body has urged member states of the East African Community (EAC) to have a Single Air Transport Services Agreement aimed at lowering the cost of air tickets for both passengers and cargo in the region. The East African Business Council (EABC) said …

The analysis found condom use as the leading contraceptive method among unmarried, sexually active young African women, followed by injections in East and Southern Africa and implants in West Africa. Nairobi, Kenya  | BIRD AGENCY | The use of modern contraception is soaring worldwide, with one in three women of …

Arusha, Tanzania | Xinhua | The East African Community (EAC) on Wednesday officially launched the verification mission to assess Somalia’s readiness to join the regional bloc of seven member states. A statement by the EAC headquarters in Tanzania’s northern city of Arusha said the verification team comprised of experts from the …

Dodoma, Tanzania | Xinhua | Tanzania’s ruling party Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) on Tuesday warned underperforming leaders in public institutions to stop the malpractice and serve people accordingly. Daniel Chongolo, general secretary of the CCM, said the government will not tolerate public leaders that will be implicated in failing to serve …

Kinshasa, DRC | Xinhua | At least 20 people were injured late Wednesday during a bomb attack at a small market in the city of Beni of the North Kivu province in the northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), an army spokesman told Xinhua. Captain Anthony Mwalushayi, spokesman for …

  Yaounde, Cameroon | Xinhua | The Cameroonian government has not mandated “any foreign country or external entity” to mediate an armed separatist conflict in its English-speaking regions, the country’s Minister of Communication Rene Emmanuel Sadi said in a statement Monday night. The statement came barely four days after Canada’s foreign …

Juba, South Sudan | Xinhua | The World Food Programme (WFP) on Tuesday launched a school feeding program aimed at supporting 23,000 children over the next three years in highly food-insecure areas of South Sudan. Mary-Ellen McGroarty, country director for WFP in South Sudan, said during the launching ceremony in the …

Harare, Zimbabwe | Xinhua | Zimbabwe’s gold mining sector is targeting to raise production to 40 tonnes this year, up from 35.38 tonnes last year, an official said Tuesday. Last year’s output was a record high, spurred by new mining projects, timely payments, and incentives to miners. Out of the 35.38 …

COMMENT | Nkwazi Mhango | I was left puzzled when I heard that Kenya that failed miserably to pacify Somalia, has now sent its army to fight M23 rebels in the DRC.  A million questions have been generated by the decision. The first question is why Kenya alone? How did Kenya …

Kigali, Rwanda | Xinhua | Rwanda said a fighter jet from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) violated its airspace “for the third time” Tuesday afternoon and that “defensive measures were taken.” “Today at 5:03 pm, a Sukhoi-25 from the DR Congo violated Rwanda airspace for the third time,” …