Accra, Ghana | AFP | Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo on Saturday said Donald Trump’s reported description of African nations as “shithole countries” was unacceptable, while his predecessor branded the US head of state a racist. President Akufo-Addo tweeted that Trump’s reported language was “extremely unfortunate”, adding: “We are certainly not …
Read More »Football boss Mansour says to stand for Egypt president
Cairo, Egypt | AFP | The head of Egypt’s legendary Zamalek football club, Mortada Mansour, said Saturday he would be standing in the presidential election in March. “I will be a candidate in the presidential election and I will start to collect sponsors,” he wrote on Facebook. He also confirmed …
Read More »Tanzania’s Magufuli rules out extending presidential term
Magufuli tells Tanzanians that the ongoing debate about increasing the presidential term from five to seven years displeases him Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Tanzanian President John Magufuli will not seek to extend presidential terms in the country, his party said Saturday, moving to quash calls from his own party …
Read More »At UN, diplomats are watching Candidate Haley
United Nations, United States | AFP | One year into the job, Nikki Haley stands out as the star of President Donald Trump’s administration, and diplomats say the UN ambassador is directing some of that star power into a likely White House bid. Speculation about Haley’s presidential ambitious has picked up …
Read More »THIS WEEK: South Africa’s parliament reviews Zuma’s impeachment process
THIS WEEK: South Africa’s parliament reviews Zuma’s impeachment process Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The National Assembly of South Africa has started the process to impeach President Jacob Zuma after the constitutional court ordered in December that they come up with rules to allow for impeachment after the same court …
Read More »ANC leader vows to ‘restore credibility’ after Zuma graft scandals
East London, South Africa | AFP | The new head of South Africa’s ruling ANC, Cyril Ramaphosa, pledged Saturday to “restore the credibility” of the party after a spate of graft scandals involving President Jacob Zuma. Zuma was replaced as party chief by his deputy Cyril Ramaphosa in December with the …
Read More »Gambia ‘suspends political events’ over clashes
Banjul, Gambia | AFP | The Gambia has suspended permission for rallies and other public political events after clashes allegedly between supporters of President Adama Barrow and those of the former regime of Yahya Jammeh. Gambian police said in a statement issued late Thursday that permits for political parties to …
Read More »Most Americans ‘don’t want’ Oprah to run for president
New York, United States | AFP | Americans may love Oprah Winfrey, but most don’t want the chat show queen to run for president, although if she did she would beat Donald Trump, a poll revealed Friday. Winfrey’s rousing speech at Sunday’s Golden Globe Awards ceremony ignited speculation that the billionaire …
Read More »UK blames protests as Trump cancels London trip
London, United Kingdom | AFP | The British government blamed the threat of mass protests for President Donald Trump’s decision Friday to cancel a visit to London to open the new US embassy, and warned that criticism of the White House risked harming US-UK relations. Trump said he was abandoning next …
Read More »Africans outraged over ‘racist’ Trump remarks
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Africans reacted angrily Friday after US President Donald Trump reportedly referred to their nations as “shithole countries”, with many lashing the US president for racism and ignorance. The 55-nation African Union condemned the remarks while the southern African state of Botswana hauled in the US …
Read More »