Kenya’s finance minister is due to present Thursday the East African economic powerhouse’s biggest ever budget, alongside a contentious finance bill that contains a raft of new or increased taxes.President William Ruto’s government has drawn up a four-trillion-shilling ($31.1-billion) budget for 2024/25, up from 3.75 trillion shillings it approved last June for the current fiscal …

Kenya to present budget with new tax hikesThu, 13 Jun 2024 10:46:54 GMT Read More »

Kenya’s finance minister is due to present Thursday the East African economic powerhouse’s biggest ever budget, alongside a contentious finance bill that contains a raft of new or increased taxes.President William Ruto’s government has drawn up a four-trillion-shilling ($31.1-billion) budget for 2024/25, up from 3.75 trillion shillings it approved last June for the current fiscal …

Kenya to present budget with new tax hikesThu, 13 Jun 2024 08:34:00 GMT Read More »

Ibrahima Bathily says he no longer recognises the beachfront in the area of Senegal’s capital Dakar where he grew up.”The entire coast is privatised. It has become impossible to access the sea without paying,” he complained.Buildings have sprung up on all sides of his makeshift bar that stands on rocks facing the Atlantic Ocean.Even the …

Dakar’s beachfront battle against concreteThu, 13 Jun 2024 05:45:48 GMT Read More »

In a bar in Gabon’s capital Libreville, revellers get up and dance as soon as the DJ plays N’Tcham — a local rhythmic genre born out of the city’s prisons.Among young Gabonese, N’Tcham has dethroned Nigerian afrobeat and South Africa’s amapiano, both of which have made an impact on the global stage.”In slang, N’Tcham means …

Gabon artists dream of taking music born in prison to global stageWed, 12 Jun 2024 16:11:12 GMT Read More »

Dozens of migrants detained by UK police before the start of controversial deportation flights to Rwanda have been released on bail, lawyers said on Wednesday.The government said last month it had detained an unspecified number of migrants after lawmakers ended months of parliamentary wrangling and passed a law allowing some asylum seekers to be deported.But …

Migrants held for Rwanda deportation flights get bail: lawyersWed, 12 Jun 2024 14:46:17 GMT Read More »

A Kenyan court on Wednesday resumed hearing a murder case against a former police officer accused of gunning down two unarmed teenagers in broad daylight seven years ago.Dubbed the “killer cop” by domestic media, Ahmed Rashid was filmed shooting the two young men as they lay on the ground on a busy street in the …

Kenya court resumes trial of ‘killer cop’Wed, 12 Jun 2024 14:43:03 GMT Read More »

Ethiopia last month embarked on a key phase of a national dialogue process aimed at healing the wounds threatening to tear apart Africa’s second most populous nation.While its supporters insist dialogue is the only way to address the myriad problems confronting the fractured country, including deep-seated political tensions and rumbling regional conflicts, critics say it …

Ethiopia national dialogue: path to reconciliation or ‘dead on arrival’?Wed, 12 Jun 2024 11:11:07 GMT Read More »

Despite the rain pelting Balogun market in Lagos, Ajoke takes her time choosing the tie-dye fabric known as adire that she wants to give as a gift. The popular textile traditionally dyed with indigo is emblematic of the culture of the Yoruba people, one of Nigeria’s majority ethnic groups. The cloth is typically used for traditional outfits …

Nigeria’s dyed cloth traders feel heat from China, inflationWed, 12 Jun 2024 06:30:33 GMT Read More »

Senegal joined the club of oil-producing countries on Tuesday as Australian group Woodside Energy announced that production had started in the West African country’s first offshore project.While Senegal’s fossil fuel output is not expected to be as high as that of bigger producers such as Nigeria, there are hopes the oil and gas industry will …

Production starts at Senegal’s first offshore oil fieldWed, 12 Jun 2024 02:08:57 GMT Read More »

Violence against children in armed conflicts reached “extreme levels” in 2023, particularly in Gaza and Sudan, according to a forthcoming UN report obtained by AFP on Tuesday.The United Nations’ annual “Children in Armed conflict” report placed the Sudanese army as well as the rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on the blacklist for “the killing and …

Child victims of war spiked in 2023 amid Gaza, Sudan crises: UN reportWed, 12 Jun 2024 00:35:50 GMT Read More »