NAIROBI, June 19 (Reuters) – Uganda is aiming for commercial
output of oil by 2016 at the earliest, as the landlocked east
African nation seeks cheaper energy and funds for infrastructure
projects.

Explorers struck oil in east Africa’s third largest economy
in 2006 and Uganda estimates its crude reserves at 3.5 billion
barrels, but wrangling over taxes and the viability of a local
refinery have stalled production.

NAIROBI (Reuters) – An intensive drilling campaign with partners this year should bring Africa Oil Corp (AOI.V: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) much closer to confirming that Kenya has commercial quantities of oil, it said on Monday.

Chief Executive Keith Hill, whose Canadian-listed firm has interests in its 12 blocks covering 250,000 sq km in the region, told Reuters about $468 million would be spent in 2013 to drill at least 10 wells in Kenya and other locations in east Africa.

DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) – China’s new president told Africans on Monday he wanted a relationship of equals that would help the continent develop, responding to concerns that Beijing is only interested in shipping out its raw materials.

On the first stop on an African tour that will include a BRICS summit of major emerging economies, Xi Jinping told Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete that China’s involvement in Africa would help the continent grow richer.

DAR ES SALAAM, March 25 (Reuters) – China’s trade ties with
Africa will be under the spotlight on Monday when President Xi
Jinping outlines his country’s relationship with the continent,
which Beijing is increasingly turning to for both its resources
and as a market place.

Xi’s tour of Africa on his first overseas trip is seen as a
reflection of the strategic importance of Africa’s oil and
mineral resources to the world’s second biggest economy.

DAR ES SALAAM, March 24 (Reuters) – African dancers and a
21-gun salute welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping in Dar es
Salaam on Sunday at the start of an African tour that underlines
the continent’s strategic importance for China both for its
resources and as a marketplace.

Visiting, Tanzania, South Africa and Republic of Congo on
his first trip abroad as president, Xi will aim to build on
expanding economic relations that many Africans see as a healthy
counterbalance to the influence of the West.

DAR ES SALAAM, March 24 (Reuters) – Chinese President Xi
Jinping faces growing calls from policymakers and economists in
Africa for a more balanced trade relationship between the
continent and China as he arrives in Tanzania at the beginning
of an African tour on Sunday.

China’s ties with the continent dates back to the 1950s,
when Beijing backed African liberation movements fighting to
throw off Western colonial rule. It has built roads, railways,
stadiums and pipelines to win access to Africa’s oil and
minerals like copper and uranium to feed its booming economy.

NAIROBI (Reuters) – Uhuru Kenyatta, indicted for crimes against humanity, was declared winner of Kenya’s presidential election on Saturday, but rival Raila Odinga said he would challenge the outcome in court and asked supporters to avoid violence.

Kenyatta, Kenya’s richest man and son of its founding president, faces trial on charges of playing a leading role in the wave of tribal killings that followed the disputed 2007 presidential election. His win on Saturday avoided what could have been a divisive a run-off penciled in for April.

NAIROBI (Reuters) – Uhuru Kenyatta, the son of Kenya’s founding president, won the presidential election with a slim margin of 50.03 percent of votes cast, provisional figures showed, just enough to avoid a run-off after a race that has divided the nation.

Kenyatta, who faces international charges of crimes against humanity, secured victory over his main rival, Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who trailed with 43.28 percent of the vote.

NAIROBI (Reuters) – The Kenyan authorities said they would announce a final result on Saturday in a tightly fought election that seemed to put the son of Kenya’s founding president, Uhuru Kenyatta, on course for outright victory.

Kenyatta, who faces international charges of crimes against humanity, was leading Prime Minister Raila Odinga in the final stages with just over 50 percent of the votes, enough to avoid a run-off if he stays above that level.

NAIROBI (Reuters) – Kenya’s presidential race tightened on Friday as Uhuru Kenyatta’s lead narrowed over his main rival, Prime Minister Raila Odinga, raising the prospect of a second-round run-off.

Kenyatta, 51, the deputy prime minister, who is due to go on trial at The Hague on charges of crimes against humanity linked to the violent aftermath of the last election in 2007, had led since results started trickling in after polls closed on Monday.