Monrovia, Liberia | AFP | Four parties on Tuesday discussed a “merger” to bolster Vice President Joseph Boakai in his fight against former international football star George Weah for Liberia’s presidency, a senior party official said. The talks took place on the day that a runoff vote between the two men, …
Read More »Opposition march again in Togo over political reform
Lome, Togo | AFP | Thousands of people took to the streets in Togo’s capital on Tuesday in the latest protest calling for the long-standing President Faure Gnassingbe to step down. The demonstration is the first of three planned marches this week and comes after more than two months of nearly …
Read More »Tanzanian police raid opposition party offices
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Tanzanian police carried out a raid Tuesday night on the headquarters of an opposition party which recently criticised the state of the economy under President John Magufuli. “The police have just ended a raid on the headquarters of the Alliance for Change and Transparency (ACT) Wazalendo,” …
Read More »Mugabe deputy had ‘designs to seize power’: state media
Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwean Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa was plotting to seize power, state media said Tuesday, the day after President Robert Mugabe sacked him in a bitter power struggle. Mnangagwa was the leading contender to succeed Mugabe, 93, but his abrupt removal appeared to clear the way for …
Read More »Egypt’s Sisi rules out extending presidential term
Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ruled out a constitutional amendment to extend his term, saying an election would be held next year and he will not run again in 2022, in an interview with CNBC Monday. Sisi is a former army chief who overthrew his Islamist …
Read More »‘Election was designed to be rigged’: Liberian vice-president
Monrovia, Liberia | AFP | Liberia’s Vice-President has quietly occupied the executive backseat for 12 years, but in light of electoral fraud he believes snatched away his chance at the presidency, Joseph Boakai is unleashing himself. Known as Sleepy Joe for his propensity to fall asleep at public events, the second-in-command …
Read More »Who’s great again? Trump faces ‘king of China’ Xi
Beijing, China | AFP | Xi Jinping and Donald Trump have one thing in common — they both want to make their nations great again. But while China’s leader is on the rise, the US president arrives in Beijing laden down with heavy baggage. Xi will roll out the red …
Read More »DR Congo vote date: What’s at stake?
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Democratic Republic of Congo has said elections to replace President Joseph Kabila will take place by December 2018, a year later than scheduled. Following is an explanation why the decision is so important for DRC’s political crisis: – Election deal – A mineral-rich country a …
Read More »Cyclist who gave Trump the finger loses her job: report
Washington, United States | AFP | Juli Briskman didn’t think twice when she gave President Donald Trump the finger as his motorcade passed her while she was cycling on a road near his golf club. “He was passing by and my blood just started to boil,” the Democrat mother of two, …
Read More »Mnangagwa: Mugabe’s sunken ‘crocodile’
Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Emmerson Mnangagwa, who was removed by Zimbabwe’s leader Robert Mugabe as vice president on Monday after a bitter tussle with the first lady over succession, had waited almost four decades for his chance at the top job. Nicknamed “Ngwena” (The Crocodile) because of his fearsome power …
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