Africa (except North Africa)

NIAMEY, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- Niger's junta announced on Sunday that it welcomes the withdrawal of French troops from the West African country by the end of the year.

"This is a historic moment that reflects the determination and will of the Nigerien people," said the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland (CNSP), a governing body established by the military after a coup in July.

NAIROBI, Sept 24 (NNN-KBC) — Kenya is set to host major agricultural  and Processing expo from 27th to 29th of next month at Sarit Centre .

Over 1,500 exhibitors from six countries expected to attend the expo co-organized by the Kenya National Chambers of Commerce & Industry – Kajiado chapter and MXM Exhibitors – a Dubai based event firm .

The exhibitors are drawn from Algeria, China, Egypt, Kenya, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Saudi Arabia, UAE.

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — An explosives-laden vehicle detonated Saturday at a security checkpoint in the central Somalia city of Beledweyne, killing at least 18 people and wounding 40 others, authorities said.

Abdirahman Dahir Gure, the interior minister of Hirshabelle state, announced the toll to journalists.

“Twenty of the wounded have been admitted to Beledweyne hospitals, while another 20 are in critical condition, prompting a request for their airlift to Mogadishu for advanced medical treatment,” he said.

NAIROBI, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- Kenya's coffee production is projected to hit approximately 51,000 metric tons in 2023, which is similar compared to the data achieved in 2022 as the area under cultivation has remained the same, according to a government official.

Benson Apuoyo, acting director of the Coffee Directorate at the Agriculture and Food Authority, said Tuesday in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, that the area under the crop remains stable at 108,000 hectares.

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — A military helicopter crash in Kenya near the border with Somalia has killed at least eight people, officials said Tuesday.

It was not immediately clear what caused the crash in the county of Lamu in coastal Kenya. Kenyan defense forces operate in the area to help deter al-Qaida-linked extremists from the al-Shahab group, based across the border in Somalia.

The Department of Defense said the Air Force helicopter crashed while on night patrol. It said a board of inquiry has been sent to the scene.

LISALA (Mongala, DRCongo), Sept 18 (NNN-DAILYNEWS) —  Seventeen people have been killed by a landslide in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The disaster occurred overnight on Sunday near the banks of the Congo river, in the northern city of Lisala, the capital of Mongala province.

Seven women, seven men and three children under five years died.

They were buried the same day due to lack of space to keep them at the local mortuary, Lisala official Désiré Koyo said.

MWANZA (Tanzania), Sept 11 (NNN-DAILYNEWS) — BILATERAL trade between China and Tanzania has more than tripled in the last 10 years, with statistics indicating that the volume increased from 2.47 billion US dollars in 2012 to 8.31 billion US dollars in 2022.

The revelation was made by Chinese Ambassador to Tanzania, Chen Mingjian, during her tour to inspect two infrastructures namely Magufuli Bridge and the lot five of the Central Line Standard-Gauge Railway (SGR), which have been implemented by China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC).