AFRICA

   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 …

Kigali, Rwanda | PK MEDIA|  President Paul Kagame has been elected as the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) Presidential flag bearer for the Presidential elections scheduled for August this year. The RPF national congress members elected Kagame unanimously, at meeting held at the new RPF Headquarters in Rusororo which the President, who is …

Libreville, Gabon | AFP |  Gabon authorities said Saturday that they were investigating threats by a critic of President Ali Bongo, including an ultimatum to step down before the arrival of an International Criminal Court team next week. The threats included a warning that government buildings had been set with …

Cairo, Egypt | AFP |  Guards check drivers’ papers to keep out uninvited guests from gated compounds where Egypt’s rich can escape the chaos of Cairo’s streets in a country with a widening wealth gap. Built in the deserts around Cairo, some compounds offer amenities such as indoor and outdoor …