AFRICA NEWS

The European Union could one day offer a free trade agreement to the whole of the African continent, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker will say in a keynote speech on Wednesday, an EU official said.

Two-hundred-and-fifty Canadian troops and eight helicopters have just landed on the edge of the Sahara desert, joining the United Nations’ peacekeeping mission to Mali that’s been anything but peaceful.

British prime minister Theresa May’s visit to Africa was always going to look rather forlorn. As Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta pointedly reminded her on the very last day of her tour, no British prime minister had visited Kenya for 30 years.

The US Air Force is nearing completion of a secret $100 million drone base in northern Niger that will target militant groups operating in the area. Foreign Policy says weaponized drones could be ready for action in the coming months, marking a significant escalation in the war against terrorists in Africa.

Two important documents – the Beijing Declaration and the Beijing Action Plan (2019-2021) – were passed on Tuesday at the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).

African leaders participating in the ongoing Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) have applauded Chinese President Xi Jinping's commitment towards cooperation with the continent and the benefits that the Belt and Road Initiative brings.

President Xi Jinping told African leaders Monday that China's investments on the continent have "no political strings attached", pledging $60 billion in new development financing, even as Beijing is increasingly criticised over its debt-heavy projects abroad.

China-Africa trade has been growing robustly since the launch of 10 major cooperation plans three years ago.

Talks on enhancing the fight against terrorism in Kenya and the region will largely feature during British Prime Minister Theresa May’s visit in the country this week.

Taiwan’s businesses in Africa, already squeezed diplomatically and facing tough competition from their mainland counterparts, can expect to come under even more pressure as Beijing extends its reach across the continent, a Taiwanese business leader warned on Friday.

The migration crisis across the African continent can be addressed by governments doing more to create an enabling environment that provide opportunities for citizens to eliminate the the need to relocate elsewhere for survival.

Teargas and live bullets have rocked Kampala streets this Monday afternoon. Police and the army have fired teargas and bullets to contain rioters who have lit fire in the middle of roads in Kisekka Market, Namirembe Road and Kikuubo Market Lane.