UR Karate team finish 3rd at Regional University Games

University of Rwanda (UR) Karate team emerged third to win bronze in the ongoing 9th Eastern Africa Inter- University Games in Uganda. Jean d’Amour Rukundo was the star performer after winning gold in the under 84 kg Kumite [fighting] category, Narcisse Tuyishime got silver in the under 60 category, and Jules Rutayisire took bronze in the under 75 kg category. Kampala International University (KIU) and Ndejje University, two private Ugandan Universities whose teams are dominated by Rwandan players with full scholarships there, emerged...

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Ghana winger Christian Atsu set to return to Chelsea after unremarkable Everton loan spell

Cameroon midfielder Alex Song is poised to inform West Ham United that he will play in the Africa Cup of Nations next month. Song's participation will take the number of West Ham players involved in the tournament to three and could put a serious dent in the club's hopes of sustaining their impressive start to the season. The midfielder had questioned whether the Africa Cup of Nations should go ahead after the outbreak of the Ebola...

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Ndayisenga makes top five in race for continental award

Reigning Tour du Rwanda champion Valens Ndayisenga has been named among the final five cyclists in contention for the 2014 African cyclist of the year award. The jury chaired by Bernard Hinault, five-time winner of the Tour de France, announced the five finalists that include Ndayisenga, last year’s winner Louis Meintjes from South Africa, 2012 winner Natnael Berhane of Eritrea, 2014 African champion Mekseb Debesay from Eritrea and...

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'RIP the runway' launched to give opportunities to fashion designers

A new fashion event, 'RIP the runaway,' has been launched to enable upcoming fashion designers explore their full potential and also dare to be creatively diverse. The show which will be extensively covered by national and international media will also give the already established fashion designers the needed publicity to showcase their products to the world. In addition, 'RIP the runway' will attract the participation of makeup artists, hair stylists and stunning runway models. Even though this is aimed at giving the up and coming...

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Local songs that rocked in 2014

As curtains fall on the year 2014, it is time to look back and remember the songs that topped the charts this year. Like 2013, it has been yet another great year for Rwandan music. The New Times conducted a mini-survey to find out which songs got people on their feet whenever played and got many people singing. We looked at songs that dominated radio playlists throughout the year as well as songs that were watched more than others on Youtube. We also talked to radio personalities and DJ’s as well as random people on the streets to...

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Amakye Dede, Lee Duodu and Kofi B Set to Usher In New Year

The Abrantie Spot located at Abeka Lapaz, in Accra is expected to come alive with fun and excitement on Thursday January 1, 2015 when three of the nation’s finest highlife giants join forces to thrill fans and to usher in the New Year in style. The artistes who are expected to set the stage on fire with good highlife tunes include the legendary Amakye Dede, the sensational Germany based Lee Duodu as well as the ‘Bantama Kwesi Boakye’ hit maker Kofi B. The show which is expected to attract hundreds of music fans in Accra and its environs...

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Judith Audu wins Best Actress at the In-Short Film Festival 2014

2014 ending big for Nigerian Actress, Judith Audu as she wins her first award for Best Actress at the recently concluded In-Short Film Festival 2014. It was 3 days loaded with amazing short films viewing at the In-Short Film Festival, organized by Victor Okhai, powered by Access Bank that held at the Oriental Hotel, Lagos from the 15th to 17th of December 2014. Akin Harrison's ALPHA MOM and Ejim Fortune's STRANGERS wins big as they each...

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THE DELIGHTFUL DELHI

An enchanted world as persevering as a fireball and as chilling like an ice ball, Delhi not just happens to be one of India’s largest cities but is a picture-perfect amalgamation of antiquity and modernity. The colorful medley of Delhi, as diverse as the country itself is an everlasting appearance of the many things this city has to offer. The place can amaze you by just its sheer size and diversity – both natural and man-made. While ...

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Union Savings and Loans picks Global Banking Award

Union Savings and Loans has been adjudged the Best SME Finance Company, 2014 by the Global Banking and Finance review. Union was part of over 200 global players in the banking and finance sector honoured by the reputable UK based award organization. Managing Director of Union Savings and Loans, Philip Oti- Mensah told Myjoyonline.com at the sidelines of the workers' end of year get together that the award is a testimony of the handwork and vision by staff of the company. "We are the first Saving and Loans company in Ghana to be...

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Government of Liberia signs Multimillion Deal with Chinese Company

The Ministry of Public Works of Liberia has signed a multimillion dollar contract with a Chinese company for the full pavement of Phase-I of the Fish Town-Harper Road Project being mutually financed by the Government of Liberia and the African Development Bank. The China Railway No. 5 Engineering Group Company Limited is said to cement the 50 kilometre road from Harper City to Karloken in Maryland County. The contract value is a little over 42.7 Million dollars and the real construction period is 2 years with 1 year of defects liability. During ...

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Ethiopia joins hands with Ericsson to Facilitate Telecommunication Sector

Following the termination of the deal with ZTE, Ethiopia has now signed a deal with Ericsson. An eight-month negotiation was confirmed by awarding Swedish based telecommunications firm, Ericsson, the $500-$550 million telecom project. The contract is part of the project that was taken away from ZTE. Primarily, a project was launched for the renovation and extension of telecom services with a total project cost of 1.6 billion dollars...

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Zimbabwe Tourism Minister on investment: Victoria Falls tourism future looks very bright

Zimbabwe's Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister, Walter Mzembi, has endorsed Africa Albida Tourism's investments in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, as fitting his vision to boost infrastructure to vastly grow the tourist attraction's economy to $30 billion a year. Mzembi was speaking at the 20th anniversary celebrations of Victoria Falls Safari Lodge, which was attended by more than 200 local and regional tourism operators. Africa Albida...

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Trade between Gulf States and Africa Rising

Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) countries are placing more attention on new markets in east, west and southern Africa as their trade flows with the continent expand, according to a report released by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) in conjunction with Falcon and Associates. The EIU study, entitled GCCTrade and Investment Flows, explores the GCC’s economic ties with each world region and identifies major growth drivers. Key ...

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Urwego secures Rwf1b loan from BRD to fund SMEs

Urwego Opportunity Bank has secured a Rwf1 billion short-term loan from Development Bank of Rwanda (BRD) to finance small-and-medium enterprises (SMEs). The one year funding is hoped to ease access to affordable credit and ultimately boost economic growth, Alex Kanyankole, the BRD Chief Executive Officer, said. “Our objective is to serve all the segments of the market… We are confident that this partnership will enable Urwego Bank...

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Local developers get boost as Airtel launches apps store

Local content developers in Rwanda have a great opportunity to market their innovations (applications) following the launch of Airtel app store. “We want to ensure customers access locally-relevant mobile applications and also drive the local application development industry by empowering talented developers in the country,” Teddy Bhullar, the Airtel Rwanda Managing Director, said in a statement. He added that customers can buy the...

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Ghana's mobile market grows 6.8% in 10 months

Mobile voice subscription figures recorded a 6.81% cumulative growth for the first 10 months of this year to reach nearly 30 million, National Communication Authority data has shown. Between January and October this year, mobile network operators added a little above 1.57 million new voice lines to their networks as they prepare for slowing growth and a renewed focus on customer retention and value-added services. According to the...

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Public-private partnerships key in agric transformation

Government and the private sector should work together to enhance the agriculture sector and agribusiness development in the country, Attaher Maiga, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) representative in Rwanda, has said. Maiga noted that the move could attract more investments into the agriculture industry. “It is essential to boost the capacity of agro-enterprises and farmer organisations. There is also need to engage public...

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Italy's best: Asamoah voted into Serie A team of the year

Juventus and Andrea Pirlo were the big winners in the Gran Gala del Calcio, but Napoli boycotted the ceremony. The votes for the best players of 2014 were provided by the AIC - the Italian Players' Association. Scudetto winners Juve were voted Team of the Year, while Gigi Buffon, Kwadwo Asamoah, Andrea Barzagli, Paul Pogba, Pirlo, Arturo Vidal and Carlos Tevez joined the Best XI. Pirlo was singled out as Player of the Year thanks to his performances for the Bianconeri. Gonzalo Higuain was voted best centre-forward, but Napoli President...

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Nations Cup 2015: Equatorial Guinea preparations underway

CAF took the finals away from Morocco, who had demanded a delay due to their fears over Ebola. The stadiums in Malabo and Bata were both used as venues when Equatorial Guinea co-hosted the 2012 Nations Cup with Gabon. However work needs to be done on the grounds in both Ebebeyin and Mongomo. “The turf for Mongomo and Ebebeyin stadiums is going to be brought by plane from Europe,” one of the supervisors told the BBC. Work also needs to be done...

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Sports Minister instructs Ghana FA to revise 2015 AFCON budget over contrasting camping base

The Ghana FA have been instructed to revise its budget for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations due to contrasting views over the Black Stars' pretournament camping base. Reports are rife new Black Stars coach Avram Grant prefers to have the team camped in Spain ahead of the tournament. The GFA have however earmarked locations in the UAE or South Africa to hold the team's pre-tournament camp. A budget was sent to the Sports Ministry for...

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Comedy Knights cracks ribs at Serena

It was all laughter and fun as the Comedy Knights treated comedy lovers to an overdose of their rib cracking jokes at Kigali Serena Hotel in a show dubbed, “Comedy Jam Holiday Special.” The show started with an energetic dance performance by the Kimisagara-based dance crew Snippers, who curtain raised for the first comedian on stage Big Brother Hotshot Arthur Nkusi, aka Rutula kalokalo. Arthur’s jokes were largely about his time in...

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2Face, Madinga to host 2014 All Africa Music Award

Two of the best out of Africa, have been announced by the International Committee of All Africa Music, AFRIMA, to host the 2014 edition of the AFRIMA awards. They are Democratic Republic of Congo “French speaking hottest” female broadcaster and music presenter, Madinga Sona Maria and Nigerian legendary contemporary music star, 2Face Idibia. The two are the co-host of AFRIMA award ceremony holding in Lagos Nigeria on Saturday, December...

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Celebrity Kingkong PY Wins Maiden Frytol Celebrity Cook-Off

Celebrity Kingking PY Addo Boateng, has won the maiden edition of the Frytol Oil Celebrity Cookoff which was held on Saturday at the Yiri Lodge, University of Ghana campus. The Frytol Xmas Celebrity cook-off saw Ghana’s favourite actress Jasmine Baroudi and a man who is no stranger to our screens PY Addo Boateng go head to head with chefs from African Sun Amber Hotel, Accra. PY beat Jasmine by margin of public votes and tasting of food...

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EQUATORIAL GUINEA: It’s 100% UNTOUCHED

Equatorial Guinea is a country of luscious vegetation and beautiful scenery, including tropical forests and snowcapped volcanoes. The capital, Malabo, is a rather rundown but attractive town, with pleasant Spanish colonial architecture, a striking volcanic setting and a lively market. The white-sand beaches around the islands are stunning. No wonder the country was first of all named 'Formosa', meaning 'beautiful', by the Portuguese. The ...

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