Pretoria, South Africa | AFP | South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma challenged on Friday a court ruling which ordered him to launch a legal probe into corruption allegations against him, according to legal documents. The North Gauteng High Court last week ordered Zuma to appoint a judicial inquiry within 30 …
Read More »France named The Economist’s country of the year
London, United Kingdom | AFP | The Economist named France as its country of the year on Thursday, saying new President Emmanuel Macron had upset the odds to strike a victory for open societies and reform. The London-based weekly news magazine said the battle between open and closed visions of society …
Read More »Zimbabwe leader woos fled nationals to return in S.Africa speech
Pretoria, South Africa | AFP | Zimbabwe’s new leader on Thursday appealed to millions of nationals who fled economic decline and political turmoil to return home and help rebuild the nation following the fall of Robert Mugabe. Emmerson Mnangagwa, 75, took over from the long-time leader who resigned on November 21 …
Read More »Puigdemont: the ousted Catalan president who scored a comeback
Barcelona, Spain | AFP | Catalonia’s ousted separatist leader Carles Puigdemont saw his independence drive vindicated after he led the separatist bloc to a big win in a crucial election on Thursday from exile in Belgium. “The Spanish state has been defeated,” he told supporters in Brussels after his Together for …
Read More »Turkey summons UAE diplomat over tweet on Erdogan
Istanbul, Turkey | AFP | Turkey summoned a senior United Arab Emirates diplomat on Thursday to complain about a tweet by an Emirati minister that infuriated Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, state media reported. The Emirates’ foreign minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan this week retweeted a post on Twitter in …
Read More »Britain’s May dubbed ‘Madam Brexit’ by translator
Warsaw, Poland | AFP | British Prime Minister Theresa May was left smirking at a press conference with her Polish counterpart on Thursday after a translator accidentally called her “Madam Brexit”. May was in Warsaw for talks with Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, with the discussions inevitably turning to Britain’s 2019 departure …
Read More »Latest clashes highlight fragility of South Sudan ceasefire deal
Aba, DR Congo | AFP | As South Sudan’s warring parties haggled over a ceasefire deal this week, dozens of refugees streamed into neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo, fleeing what they said was a fresh government offensive. The apparent push to recapture the key rebel stronghold of Lasu came as …
Read More »Lonely Cape Verde rethinks West African isolation
Praia, Cape Verde | AFP | It was supposed to be tiny Cape Verde’s moment to shine: a chance for the Atlantic island nation to take up the rotating presidency of the commission of the 15-member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). But the archipelago has found itself once …
Read More »How Ugandan MPs voted to scrap presidential age limit
Kampala, Uganda | AFP | Ugandan lawmakers voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to remove presidential age limits, paving the way for President Yoweri Museveni to serve a sixth term in office. The highly controversial bill passed with 315 votes for, 62 against and two abstentions, after three days of chaotic debates in …
Read More »Ramaphosa revives youth hopes in S.Africa’s Soweto
Soweto, South Africa | AFP | Cyril Ramaphosa’s victory in the ANC leadership battle has sparked renewed hope among many in South Africa’s Soweto township where he grew up — and where frustration with the party has been mounting. “He is a model because he is one person that came …
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