NEWS ANALYSIS

Paris, France | AFP | President Emmanuel Macron Thursday promised significant tax cuts but also a return to public order in France as he revealed his long-awaited response to nearly half a year of street protests. In the first formal domestic news conference of his entire presidency, Macron steered clear of …

Washington, United States | AFP | “I don’t see Joe Biden as a threat.” It was with these words that Donald Trump earlier this month summarily dismissed the challenge posed by the former vice president, who on Thursday announced his long-expected decision to run for the Democratic nomination in 2020. …

Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Sudanese protest leaders raised the pressure on the country’s army rulers on Wednesday, threatening a general strike and calling for a million-strong march to demand a civilian government. The military council that took power after veteran president Omar al-Bashir was ousted earlier this month meanwhile invited …

Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Egyptian voters have overwhelmingly backed constitutional changes that could see President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s rule extended to 2030, the electoral board said Tuesday. National Election Authority head Lashin Ibrahim told a Cairo press conference that 88.83 percent voted “yes” in a referendum on the amendments, with …

Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Hundreds of protesters arrived on a packed train in Khartoum Tuesday to join a weeks-long sit-in outside army headquarters, as a top US official reiterated Washington’s backing for demands the country’s military council hand power to a civilian government. But African leaders meeting in Cairo insisted …

Washington, United States | AFP | Donald Trump’s approval rating has slid since release of the Russia investigation report, but instead of emerging bolstered in the 2020 presidential race, Democrats are torn over triggering impeachment proceedings that risk muddling their electoral message. While special counsel Robert Mueller’s report released last week …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | The election 25 years ago of South Africa’s first black president, the late Nelson Mandela, who inspired the struggle against apartheid, was a time of soaring hope that the bruised country would reconcile after decades of discrimination and inequality. “You have mandated us to …

Colombo, Sri Lanka | AFP | As Shantha Prasad carried children wounded in Sri Lanka’s deadly attacks into a Colombo hospital, memories of the country’s deadly civil war flooded back. “I carried about eight wounded children yesterday,” he told AFP on Monday, a day after a string of blasts hit hotels …

Kiev, Ukraine | AFP | Ukraine’s election has catapulted Volodymyr Zelensky, a 41-year-old standup comedian and television star with no political experience, into the nation’s top job. As leader of a country dependent on international aid and battling separatists, Zelensky will have to deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin, deep …

The protesters were calling for freedom, peace, justice By Andrew Edward Tchie |ANDREW EDWARD TCHIE | Following months of protests, and a prolonged sit-in outside the military headquarters in Khartoum, Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir was placed under house arrest on April 11 as the country’s military prepared for a transitional …