Washington, United States | AFP | With the US government in shutdown, the Senate convened a rare emergency session Saturday to negotiate a way out of a crisis that has marred the anniversary of Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration. Hours after a marathon session Friday failed to produce agreement on a …
Read More »DR Congo on edge ahead of ‘banned’ protest
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | A heavy police presence is expected in the Democratic Republic of Congo capital Kinshasa on Sunday ahead of planned protests demanding that President Joseph Kabila leave power. Catholic church leaders have called for a mass peaceful demonstration against Kabila’s 17-year rule, three weeks after …
Read More »Thousands of women in anti-president protest in Togo
Lome, Togo | AFP | Thousands of women took to the streets of Togo’s capital Lome on Saturday to protest against the power of President Faure Gnassingbe. Since September, a coalition of 14 political parties has held almost weekly marches, where thousands have called for Gnassingbe to step down to …
Read More »S.Africa’s ANC vows change as Zuma exit looms
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | South Africa’s ruling ANC party said Saturday it would “act decisively” to rebuild its reputation, as local media reported that President Jacob Zuma could soon be forced from office. Zuma has been under growing pressure to resign since he was replaced as head of …
Read More »Twitter says Russia-linked accounts more widespread
San Francisco, United States | AFP | Twitter on Friday said the number of Russia-linked accounts firing off tweets evidently aimed at the US election in 2016 was more widespread than initially determined. The social media company found, and shuttered, an additional 1,062 accounts associated with the Internet Research Agency, …
Read More »France to host 140 foreign CEOs for pre-Davos summit
Paris, France | AFP | Nearly 140 chief executives from companies around the world will gather at the Versailles Palace outside Paris on Monday, as the French government steps up its efforts to attract more foreign investors. President Emmanuel Macron orchestrated what is being billed as an “attractiveness summit” as …
Read More »Egypt’s President Sisi says will stand for re-election
Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said Friday he would stand in a presidential election due to take place in March. “I announce to you in the honesty and transparency which we are used to… my candidacy for the post of president of the republic,” Sisi …
Read More »US cities gear up for anti-Trump Women’s March 2.0
New York, United States | AFP | Giant crowds are expected at rallies around the United States Saturday for a second Women’s March opposing President Donald Trump, and calling for voter mobilization ahead of the 2018 midterm elections. On January 21, 2017, one day after Trump’s inauguration, more than three …
Read More »Zimbabwean president wants UN to observe vote
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa wants international observers including UN officials to watch over the country’s upcoming elections, he said in a Financial Times interview. Mnangagwa has adopted a more diplomatic tone since taking over as leader in November, after the ousting of the authoritarian …
Read More »Egypt, Ethiopia united against ‘conflict’ over Nile waters
Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn said Thursday at talks in Cairo they were opposed to any “conflict” over the sharing of Nile waters. Sisi said that Desalegn’s visit was “a clear sign for our peoples and the entire world of …
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