Tag Archives: politics

Moscow, Russia | AFP | From a musclebound Superman to ice hockey player to jet pilot, Vladimir Putin plays various heroic roles in paintings at a Moscow exhibition called “Superputin” that opened this week as he began his campaign for a fourth Kremlin term. Displayed at an arts centre in a …

Kiev, Ukraine | AFP | Former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili has gone on hunger strike to protest his arrest in Ukraine on charges of trying to stage a coup sponsored by Russia, his lawyer and supporters said Saturday. Kiev police rearrested the foe of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Friday after …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | A South African court on Friday overturned President Jacob Zuma’s appointment of the head of public prosecutions, dealing a sharp reprimand to the scandal-tainted leader. Shaun Abrahams, who was in 2015 named by Zuma as director of public prosecutions, has often been criticised for allegedly …

Dakar, Senegal | AFP | A lawyer for Dakar mayor Khalifa Sall, detained since March on corruption charges, on Friday said the prosecutor’s office had ordered his trial to begin next week, despite pending appeals. Sall is accused of misappropriating 1.83 billion CFA francs ($2.85 million, 2.7 million euros) of city …

Oslo, Norway | AFP | A controversial former leader of Norway’s anti-immigration party on Friday failed in his bid to join the committee that awards the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize. According to Alfred Nobel’s will, the five members of the committee are elected by the Norwegian Parliament, which takes into account …

N’Djamena, Chad | AFP | Chad’s interior minister has said that a ban on some protests in the country is justified because of security risks. It comes after a coalition of activist groups earlier this week said they were planning to defy the ban and hold a major anti-government march. Interior …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | South Africa’s deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa has said he believes the woman who accused President Jacob Zuma of rape, triggered an immediate riposte from the presidential office. Ramaphosa is a leading contender to take over from Zuma as head of the ANC ruling party later …

Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwe’s new government ordered Thursday that land confiscated from a white farmer to give to an ally of former president Robert Mugabe must be returned. Robert Smart, who grew tobacco and corn on his farm in Makoni in eastern Zimbabwe, was evicted in June after …

Paris, France | AFP | Gay marriage, legalised on Thursday in Australia in a parliamentary vote, is now recognised in more than 25 countries, of which 16 are in Europe. Here is a breakdown. – European pioneers – In April 2001 the Netherlands became the first country in the world …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP |  Months of electoral upheaval, sporadic unrest and economic slowdown have hit young Kenyans hard, a nationwide youth survey found Thursday. The struggle to make ends meet has left them disillusioned, apathetic and angry, according to the annual survey of nearly 3,000 Kenyans aged 15-24 years …