Kampala, Uganda | AFP | Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni said Monday he regretted stopping executions in his “pre-industrial” country, just days after his vow to resume death sentences alarmed rights groups. Museveni last signed a death warrant in 1999 to execute 28 convicts, while execution under military law was last …
Read More »S.Africa’s ruling ANC confirms discussing Zuma exit
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | South Africa’s ruling ANC party confirmed Monday that discussions were underway on President Jacob Zuma leaving office, but said no date for his departure had yet been agreed. Zuma has been under growing pressure to resign since he was replaced as head of the …
Read More »Weah sworn in as Liberian president, completes historic transition
Monrovia, Liberia | AFP | Former international football star George Weah was sworn in as Liberia’s new president on Monday, in the country’s first transition between democratically-elected leaders since 1944. Weah, 51, took over from Nobel laureate Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who spent 12 years at the helm, steering the West …
Read More »Joy and hope in Liberia at Weah inauguration ceremony
Monrovia, Liberia | AFP | The inauguration of former football star George Weah as president of Liberia got underway on Monday to scenes of joy and giddy optimism on Monday, a moment marking the troubled country’s first peaceful democratic transition since 1944. Weah, 51, takes over from Nobel laureate Ellen …
Read More »Pope Francis urges DR Congo to ‘avoid all forms of violence’
Lima, Peru | AFP | Pope Francis called Sunday for authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo to “avoid all forms of violence” after a crackdown on protesters in the capital left six dead. Francis, who was in Peru on the final day of a South American tour, called on …
Read More »George Weah: from football icon to Liberia president
Monrovia, Liberia | AFP | George Weah emerged from Liberia’s slums to become a superstar footballer in the 1990s, and has spent the last 13 years building political credibility to match his status as a sporting icon. Weah, 51, put education, job creation and infrastructure at the centre of his …
Read More »US shutdown extended as crunch vote delayed
Washington, United States | AFP | US lawmakers failed to reach an agreement Sunday on ending a government shutdown before the start of the working week as they postponed a crunch vote in the Senate despite marathon negotiations. Although leaders of President Donald Trump’s Republican party and the opposition Democrats …
Read More »George Weah to be sworn in with Liberian hopes sky-high
Monrovia, Liberia | AFP | Former international footballer George Weah will be sworn in as Liberia’s new president on Monday, a landmark moment that marks the troubled country’s first peaceful democratic transition since 1944. Weah will become the 25th president of the West African nation, taking power from President Ellen …
Read More »Liberia’s Sirleaf: Africa’s first elected female leader
Monrovia, Liberia | AFP | Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who shared the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize as a champion of women’s rights, is stepping down after making history as Africa’s first elected female president in Liberia. Taking the reins of a nation that had just emerged from a civil war leaving …
Read More »Internet cut off, at least five dead in DR Congo protest crackdown
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | At least five people were killed in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Sunday, the UN said, as the authorities cracked down on a banned protest against President Joseph Kabila. Witnesses said security forces fired live rounds and tear gas in Kinshasa to disperse …
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