Kigali, Rwanda | AFP | Forty-four African countries have signed an agreement establishing a free trade area seen as vital to the continent’s economic development, the head of the African Union said Wednesday. The creation of a free trade area — billed as the world’s largest in terms of participating …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Tanzanian police said Wednesday they had arrested a driver and a farmer accused of urging fellow citizens to protest against the increasing authoritarianism of President John Magufuli on social media. A call for nationwide protests on April 26, first launched by an opposition activist, has …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Uganda’s motorcycle hailing firm, SafeBoda, has unveiled a new year-long campaign dubbed YourCityRide aimed at encouraging people to go out and discover the best of Kampala City. The campaign will feature among others, city tour, street food festival and a boda themed street fashion …

Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Egypt’s administrative court issued a ruling on Tuesday stopping the operations of ride sharing apps Uber and Careem, state media reported. Both services had sparked protests by taxi drivers who complained that their drivers were not required to pay the hefty fees to operate transportation …

Brussels, Belgium | AFP | The European Union pushed Tuesday for an urgent investigation into revelations that a firm working for Donald Trump presidential campaign harvested data on 50 million users. EU Justice Commissioner Vera Jourova, who has called the breach “horrifying”, was meanwhile to seek clarification from the social …

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo have exposed more than 200 unqualified magistrates, an official source said Tuesday. A commission of enquiry formed in October to probe the qualifications and recruitment conditions of more than 3,000 magistrates found that hundreds “should not be …

Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Nigeria’s military was on Tuesday accused of ignoring repeated warnings about the movements of Boko Haram fighters before they kidnapped 110 schoolgirls in the country’s restive northeast. The students — the youngest of whom is aged just 10 — were seized from the town of …

Los Angeles, United States | AFP | Even the richest black boys raised in the United States earn less in adulthood than white boys from similar backgrounds, according to a wide-ranging study published Monday. While white men who grew up wealthy tend to stay that way, black boys raised in …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | A French couple living in London went on trial Monday accused of murdering their compatriot nanny and burning her body in a bonfire after starving and mistreating her. Sabrina Kouider and Ouissem Medouni had kept 21-year-old Sophie Lionnet as a “prisoner” and violently abused …

Washington, United States | AFP | The US Air Force will this summer begin testing a laser that will be mounted on an F-15 warplane, an official said Monday. The Pentagon last year awarded a $26 million contract to Lockheed Martin for a laser program called SHiELD (Self-protect High Energy …