Tag Archives: politics

N’Djamena, Chad | AFP | Chad’s legislative elections, originally due to take place in 2015, “should take place in November”, President Idriss Deby told opposition parties Friday, state radio reported. Deby, named in a US corruption probe, had already promised earlier that the elections would finally take place this year. The …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP |  Tanzanian President John Magufuli on Friday inaugurated a 24-kilometre (15-mile) around the country’s tanzanite mines to prevent smuggling of the precious violet-blue stones, which are unique to the East African country. Magufuli in September ordered the army to build the wall around the mines, located …

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Millions of duplicates have been found among people registered to vote in Democratic Republic of Congo elections slated for December, the head of the country’s electoral commission told AFP Thursday. “We were able to register around 46 million voters,” Corneille Nangaa said, a day …

Seoul, South Korea | AFP |  The epic scandal that led Friday to the jailing of former South Korean president Park Geun-hye for 24 years broke more than 18 months ago. The once-popular leader and her confidante Choi Soon-sil were ensnared by allegations of dodgy links with big business, abuse …

  Durban, South Africa | AFP | South African former president Jacob Zuma appeared in court Friday on corruption charges over a multi-billion dollar 1990s arms deal, with the judge adjourning the case after a 15-minute hearing. Zuma, 75, smiled broadly and gave a thumbs-up as he walked into the …

Lusaka, Zambia | AFRICAN ARGUMENTS | On 23 March, Zambia’s main opposition party filed a motion seeking the impeachment of President Edgar Lungu. The action was led by the United Party for National Development (UPND) party and backed by a third of MPs. The ruling Patriotic Front (PF) immediately derided the move. Presidential spokesperson …

Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Nigerian former President Goodluck Jonathan “wasn’t aware” of any use of Cambridge Analytica in his 2015 bid for re-election, his spokesman said Thursday. The Nigerian government is probing claims that Cambridge Analytica, a British-based political consultancy, illegally used Facebook data in past election campaigns. In …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | Former South African president Jacob Zuma is to appear in court Friday on 16 corruption charges over a suspect arms deal that dogged much of his rule before he was ousted in February. Zuma will attend the brief preliminary hearing at the Durban High …

Memphis, United States | AFP | Americans on Wednesday marked 50 years since the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr, a day seared into the national consciousness that transformed the civil rights leader into a symbol of the fight for racial equality. In a country still torn over issues of race …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | In life, Winnie Mandela was known as a brave anti-apartheid activist whose reputation was badly tainted by criminal convictions and thuggish gang violence. But in death, her chequered record has largely been forgiven in South Africa, with the president declaring 12 days of mourning and …