Kigali, Rwanda | AFP | Slum dwellers in Kigali are accusing city authorities of razing their homes without paying compensation, stirring anger among poorer Rwandans who feel marginalised by a government-led push to modernise the capital. This month, the first of thousands of homes slated for demolition in Kigali’s unplanned …
Read More »US urges countries to suspend digital taxes
Washington, United States | AFP | US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Wednesday urged countries like France to suspend taxes on global computing giants and wait for a negotiated agreement on international taxation. As the United States is poised to impose tariffs of up to 100 percent on $2.4 billion …
Read More »Two years after coup, Zimbabweans grow more despondent
Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Two years ago, Linos Mutepera was among hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans who celebrated the toppling of long-time ruler Robert Mugabe with tears of joy. Today, he looks back at that time with bitterness, his hope of a better life dashed on the rocks of poverty …
Read More »Uganda economy gets bigger by 20%
Bigger Economy: Why could that be bad news? Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The recent rebasing of the national account series by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) has excited economists with many saying it presents the government an opportunity to make policy based on data that is a …
Read More »Ugandans are much richer-UBOS
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Ugandan economy is bigger than previously estimated, with new numbers showing Ugandans are much richer than had been thought, according to Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS). According to UBOS, they rebased the economy using the prices of 2015/16 financial year. This saw Uganda’s size …
Read More »Nigeria’s Buhari unveils record $33.8 billion budget
Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday unveiled a record budget plan to lawmakers, ramping up ambitious spending goals for his second term in charge. The draft budget increased more than 13 percent from last year at 10.33 trillion naira — around $33.8 billion (30.8 billion …
Read More »Nigeria’s Buhari says anti-migrant attacks ’embarrassment’ for Africa
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday denounced recent xenophobic violence in South Africa as an “embarrassment” for the continent, as he wrapped up a state visit. Buhari’s trip was overshadowed by a spate of recent attacks against foreign workers in South Africa, where …
Read More »XENOPHOBIA: Nigeria’s Buhari arrives in S.Africa
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari arrived in South Africa on Wednesday for a state visit after an outburst of xenophobic violence in and around Johannesburg stirred tensions between Africa’s leading economic powerhouses. Buhari and his South African counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa will meet Thursday to …
Read More »Blame game as wheels come off India’s auto sector
New Delhi, India | AFP | When India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman claimed that a preference by millennials for ride-hailing apps was contributing to a painful slump in car sales, it sparked an online backlash from furious youngsters. They started a campaign using ironic hashtags such as #BoycottMillennials and #SayItLikeNirmalaTai …
Read More »China plans new tariffs on $75 bn of US imports
Beijing, China | AFP | China announced Friday it will hit US soybeans, lobsters, peanut butter and other imports worth $75 billion with new tariffs in retaliation for Washington’s planned duty hikes, further intensifying the bruising trade war between the world’s top two economies. The punitive tariffs of 5 to …
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