Kenyan Vice President Rigathi Gachagua said Friday that 70 students remained ‘unaccounted for’ after a fire at a local boarding school killed 17 students and injured 13 others. Gachagua added that some of the students may have been taken home by their parents on the night of Thursday. The cause of the fire was not immediately clear. President William Ruto said he had told authorities to investigate what he called the "horrific incident" and said those responsible would be held to account. Authorities have cordoned off the school and crime scene investigators have been sent there. According to the East African nation’s ministry of education, the school has a total 824 students comprising 422 girls and 402 boys. Of these, 160 girls are boarders while the rest are day scholars.

Beijing is sending reporters to Chinese cities to showcase culture, technology and tourism. What’s missing, say analysts, is an uncensored picture of China and its human rights abuses. Victoria Amunga for VOA News has the story.

Residents in South Tokar city in Sudan's Red Sea state were left stranded after flash floods destroyed the main highway connecting the city to de facto capital Port Sudan. People have been displaced and have lost their properties due to the floods. "People are going up and down using ropes. People are affected because of the property they lost and their belongings that were washed away by the flood," said local leader Taher Ohaj. Trucks have been parked on the destroyed road, unable to cross for the past eight days according to a local merchant, who added that prices have spiked after the floods due to the lack of access.

Some Kenyan taxi drivers have openly admitted to violating rules set by ride sharing companies like Uber, that prohibit their employees and contractors from setting their own fare prices, as a means of coping with the increased costs of living. Reuters reporter David Doyle has more.