The new banking model is expected to deepen financial inclusion Kampala, Uganda | ISAAC KHISA | Uganda’s commercial banks have started rolling out agent banking following Kenya and Rwanda’s footsteps in an effort to grow deposits and customer base. This follows the coming into force of the Financial Institutions Act …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | Manchester City resumed normal service in the Premier League, putting their defeat against Liverpool behind them with a 3-1 victory against Newcastle as Alexis Sanchez closed in on a move to Manchester United. Elsewhere, Arsenal showed a positive glimpse of life post-Sanchez while Chelsea …

Paris, France | AFP | President Emmanuel Macron’s campaign for a “French Renaissance” kicks into overdrive Monday as he welcomes 140 multinational business leaders before this week’s jamboree of the rich and powerful in Davos. The business-friendly president will host executives at the grand Versailles chateau near Paris for an …

Monrovia, Liberia | AFP | The inauguration of former football star George Weah as president of Liberia got underway on Monday to scenes of joy and giddy optimism on Monday, a moment marking the troubled country’s first peaceful democratic transition since 1944. Weah, 51, takes over from Nobel laureate Ellen …

Lima, Peru | AFP | Pope Francis called Sunday for authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo to “avoid all forms of violence” after a crackdown on protesters in the capital left six dead. Francis, who was in Peru on the final day of a South American tour, called on …

Tourism cannot aid economy unless some things are done right Kampala,Uganda | SUSANNE BECKEN | Would it not be great if something as simple and pleasurable as international travel could help end something as grinding and enduring as poverty? After all, the industry is booming, globally growing at least 4% …

Bogota, Colombia | AFP | A landslide in southwestern Colombia has killed 13 people on a small public bus in a rain-soaked mountainous area, authorities said Sunday. The landslide struck an area not far from the town of Tuquerres in Narino on Saturday. Rescuers have so far found the bodies …

Monrovia, Liberia | AFP | George Weah emerged from Liberia’s slums to become a superstar footballer in the 1990s, and has spent the last 13 years building political credibility to match his status as a sporting icon. Weah, 51, put education, job creation and infrastructure at the centre of his …

Washington, United States | AFP | US lawmakers failed to reach an agreement Sunday on ending a government shutdown before the start of the working week as they postponed a crunch vote in the Senate despite marathon negotiations. Although leaders of President Donald Trump’s Republican party and the opposition Democrats …

Accra, Ghana | AFP | Some of the girls wear hijabs, others are barefoot and the sandy pitch is marked out in charcoal. But the 14 players could be Ghana’s rugby stars of the future. One of them, Maimuna Dawda, used to watch matches on television before she got the …