Niamey, Niger | AFP | Around 100 schools have closed or suspended classes in Niger due to the threat from Islamist militants, the UN said on Thursday, in the latest warning over jihadist presence. Western African leaders last month held regional talks on the escalating attacks by Boko Haram jihadists …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Parliament’s Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) has directed the Auditor General to carry out an audit into the sh478 billion injected into Crane Bank Limited by the Central Bank. The money was injected into the defunct Bank by the Central Bank …

Paris, France | AFP | The French government will give police officers a long-sought raise after a strike called in the wake of the “yellow vest” anti-government protests, which have strained security forces already on high alert after years of jihadist terror attacks. The accord was announced just before midnight …

Seoul, South Korea | AFP | North Korea said Thursday its commitment to denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula was bound up with a “complete removal of US nuclear threats”. Following a rapid diplomatic rapprochement this year, the North’s leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump signed a vaguely-worded statement …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Tullow Oil is in the final stages of farming down its stakes in the Lake Albert Graben to its joint venture partners Total and China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC). Tullow, Total and CNOOC hold equal stakes of 33.3 percent in the Lake Albert Basin …

Moscow, Russia | AFP | Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that he wants to see his country’s economy in the world’s top five. “The main thing is that we need to get into a new league economically,” Putin told his annual press conference, adding: “We could very well take …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The amount of crude oil so far discovered is six billion barrels, down from 6.5 billion barrels, the Uganda government has announced. Of the six billion barrels, the amount recoverable has also been put at 1.4 billion barrels, down from the initial range of between …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | There is a new date for Uganda’s ‘First Oil’, which has now moved to 2022 from 2020, according to Energy Minister Irene Muloni. Addressing journalists in Kampala, Muloni said the delay is because the joint venture partners Total, China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC) and …

Washington, United States | AFP | US allies were stunned Thursday after President Donald Trump declared victory over the Islamic State group in Syria and abruptly ordered the withdrawal of US ground troops from the country. The decision runs counter to long-established US policy for Syria and the region. It …

Paris, France | AFP | France’s data protection agency said Thursday that it had fined the US ride-hailing group Uber 400,000 euros ($460,000) over a 2016 data breach that exposed the personal data of some 57 million clients and drivers worldwide. Uber drew the wrath of users and regulators after …