Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Major African tech start-up Andela sacked hundreds of its staff this week — the majority from Nigeria — in one of the largest layoffs in the continent’s budding tech industry. The start-up, backed by hundreds of millions of dollars from investors including Facebook and tennis …

  Jerusalem, Undefined | AFP | Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his main challenger Benny Gantz were in a standoff over calls for a unity government on Thursday as election results put the premier’s long tenure in office at risk. In a major development following Tuesday’s polls, Netanyahu said …

 Iranian FM warns US or Saudi attack would trigger ‘all-out’ war: CNN Tehran, Iran | AFP |  Iranian FM has warned that a US or Saudi attack would trigger ‘all-out’ war, CNN has reported. This came hours after Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif accused Iran’s foes Thursday of agitating for war, as Washington and …

Kigali, Rwanda | THE INDEPENDENT | Rwanda Police has cautioned teachers against administering corporal punishments to students in form of disciplining, saying that such acts amounts to “criminal actions.” The warning follows separate cases where teachers have been arrested for severely beating and injuring pupils. Among those arrested is a teacher …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The United States (US) Mission has appealed to parliament to uphold internal best practices and allow the use of cameras and phones at polling stations during the 2021 general elections. In a brief statement issued on the US Mission Uganda official twitter handle Wednesday, …

Kigali, Rwanda | AFP |  Kigali on Wednesday welcomed the killing of a Rwandan Hutu rebel leader in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and said it proved neighbouring President Felix Tshisekedi’s commitment to fighting “negative forces”. Sylvestre Mudacumura, commander of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), who …

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP |  A Rwandan Hutu rebel leader wanted by the International Criminal Court on war crime charges has been shot dead by the Congolese army, a DRC military spokesperson said on Wednesday. Sylvestre Mudacumura, commander of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), was …

Algiers, Algeria | AFP |  Algeria’s military has ordered police to block protesters from outside the capital from entering Algiers, the army chief said Wednesday, after months of mass rallies. “I have instructed the national gendarmerie to deal with these actions with firmness,” said General Ahmed Gaid Salah, the country’s …

OPINION | By Norbert Mao | This week the last school term of the year starts. So let me share these fragments to lift up the spirit of our students. The only caveat I offer is that school days offer foundation-al knowledge. Learning should be a lifelong endeavor. In 1984 I arrived in Namilyango …

Washington, United States | AFP |  Trump has ordered government to ‘substantially increase’ Iran sanctions but in Berlin, Germany has extended Saudi arms exports ban as tensions rise in the Middle East. Trump announced what he said would be substantial new sanctions against Iran in the first response to what US …