Tag Archives: politics

Damaturu, NIGERIA | AFP | Nigeria’s president, in a visit to the country’s troubled northeast, on Monday predicted success in what he described as relentless efforts to release more than 200 schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram. The jihadists are still holding 112 of the 219 students they abducted from the Borno …

Johannesburg, SOUTH AFRICA | AFP | South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who came to power last month, vowed on Wednesday to “escalate the pace” of redistributing land from wealthy whites to poorer blacks. Land ownership is a sensitive subject in South Africa, 24 years after the end of apartheid rule, and …

Sevastopol, Undefined | AFP | Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday thanked residents of Crimea for voting to annex the peninsula from Ukraine in 2014, calling the move “real democracy” in a speech days ahead of Sunday’s presidential election. “With your decision you restored historical justice,” he told the crowd of …

Port Louis, Mauritius | AFP | Mauritian President Ameenah Gurib-Fakim has refused to resign, vowing to fight allegations that saw her embroiled in a financial scandal, the presidency said in a statement Wednesday. Gurib-Fakim, Africa’s only female head of state, has been accused of using a bank card provided by an …

Berlin, GERMANY | AFP | German Chancellor Angela Merkel, bruised by half a year of post-election coalition haggling, was Wednesday elected by parliament to her fourth and likely final term at the helm of Europe’s biggest economy. Lawmakers in Berlin’s glass-domed Reichstag voted 364-315 with nine abstentions for Merkel who …

Washington, United States | AFP |  One of the US State Department’s most senior officials was sacked on Tuesday after his comments on the firing of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson appeared to contradict the White House version of events. “This has been the honor of a lifetime and I …

Washington, United States | AFP | Outgoing Secretary of State Rex Tillerson warned in his farewell remarks on Tuesday that Washington must do more to respond to Russia’s “troubling behavior and actions.” After he was sacked by President Donald Trump, Tillerson also said US efforts to pressure North Korea had …

Washington, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced the departure of his top diplomat Rex Tillerson, to be succeeded by the current CIA chief Mike Pompeo. A senior US official said the president wanted to reshuffle his team ahead of talks with North Korea. “Mike …

Muldersdrift, South Africa | AFP | Exiled Congolese opposition leader Moise Katumbi  launched a campaign Monday to be elected president in polls scheduled for December, unveiling his new “Together for Change” party in South Africa. “We will fight the battle to take power — and we will win,” said Katumbi …

Antananarivo, Madagascar | AFP | The Madagascar government on Monday summoned the US ambassador after the embassy commented on a court decision that left dairy cows belonging to ex-president Marc Ravalomanana unattended and without food. A court had ordered the closure of AAA, an agribusiness owned by Ravalomanana, over violation of …