Niamey, Niger | AFP | German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday announced a 27-million-euro aid package for Niger, her second stop in a three-nation Africa tour aimed at fighting terrorism and stemming the migrant influx to Europe. The German leader said the army of the arid west African country, one …

Washington, United States | AFP | After nearly 18 months of vitriolic campaigning and two incendiary presidential debates, it is clear that the 2016 race for the White House is truly like no other. The release of a 2005 video containing lewd and sexist comments made by Republican nominee Donald …

The High Court in Kampala has opened a five-day special criminal session for 50 capital offenders seeking to be released on bail pending trial. Among the suspects is  jailed Nakawa Municipality MP Michael Kabaziguruka  who is facing  treachery charges before the army court. He is set to appear before Justice Yasin Nyanzi  on Thursday …

New York, United States | AFP |  Rap chart-topper Drake on Monday earned a record 13 nominations for the American Music Awards, topping the mark set by late king of pop Michael Jackson. The Toronto rapper, whose “Views” has been the top-selling album released this year in the United States, …

Bangui, Central African Republic | AFP | Pope Francis has brought fresh hopes of peace to the war-ravaged Central African Republic, with Christians and Muslims praising his decision to name Bangui’s archbishop a cardinal as a step to ending sectarian violence. Aged only 49, Archbishop Dieudonne Nzapalainga will be the …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | A road ambush blamed on South Sudanese rebels left 21 people dead over the weekend, police said Monday, as the UN warned of a surge of violence in the world’s youngest nation. Police spokesman Dominant Kawcgwok said a group of mostly women and children — …

President Yoweri Museveni has congratulated the people of Sudan upon conclusion of a historic national dialogue that places the country on a new political path. “I came here to salute Bashir and the people of Sudan for after 60 years of trouble, sitting down in a national dialogue and finding …

Stockholm, Sweden | AFP |  Two US-based academics won the Nobel Economics Prize on Monday for groundbreaking research on contract theory that has helped design insurance policies, executive pay and even prison management. Oliver Hart, a British-American economist, and Bengt Holmstrom of Finland “have developed contract theory, a comprehensive framework …

Kigali, Rwanda | AFP |  Rwandan leader Paul Kagame warned Monday of a “showdown” with Paris after French investigators last week said they would reopen a probe into the genocide-triggering assassination of president Juvenal Habyarimana. The shooting down of Habyarimana’s French-crewed plane on April 6, 1994, kickstarted the genocide that …

Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | Nigerian judges will hold emergency talks Tuesday following the “deeply regrettable” detention of several judges by secret police in a corruption probe, the country’s chief justice said Monday. At least seven judges were detained by Nigerian security forces over the weekend in connection with allegedly …