Juba, South Sudan | AFP | South Sudan’s capital Juba was tense on Saturday as more than 100 soldiers surrounded the residence of powerful former army chief Paul Malong in a bid to disarm his bodyguards. Streets across the city were largely empty as people stayed at home for fear …
Read More »Costa Rica presidential candidates hold debate in prison
San José, Costa Rica | AFP | Seven candidates to become Costa Rica’s next president went behind bars to hold an unusual debate in a prison where they answered inmates’ questions about their election platforms. “I hope you feel at home,” one of the prisoners said as the seven politicians …
Read More »S.Africa spy agency threatens to seek Zuma book ban
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | South Africa’s spy agency threatened on Friday to seek a banning order for a newly released book that makes a series of corruption allegations against President Jacob Zuma. The State Security Agency issued a legal letter, seen by AFP, accusing author Jacques Pauw of …
Read More »Zimbabwe arrests US woman for Mugabe ‘goblin’ tweet
Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwean police arrested a US citizen on Friday for allegedly tweeting that President Robert Mugabe is a “goblin whose wife and step-son bought a Rolls-Royce,” lawyers said. Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) said officers detained Martha O’Donovan in a dawn raid at her …
Read More »Twitter steps up security after Trump account cut off
Washington, United States | AFP | Twitter said it had boosted security measures Friday in response to a rogue employee’s move cutting off Donald Trump’s account, an 11-minute outage which drew mocking praise from the president’s critics but also warnings of a dangerous precedent. The US social network initially said …
Read More »Trump departs for Asia, leaving trail of controversy
Andrews Air Force Base, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump departed Washington for an almost two week trip to Asia Friday, leaving in his wake a trail of scandal and invective that risks overshadowing efforts at top-level diplomacy. Trump left Joint Base Andrews, just outside Washington, bound for …
Read More »Spain to seek Catalan leader’s arrest
Madrid, Spain | AFP | A Spanish judge was set Friday to issue an arrest warrant for Catalonia’s deposed leader Carles Puigdemont over his region’s contested independence drive, in a move likely to further escalate tensions in Spain’s worst political crisis in decades. The European arrest warrant was due a …
Read More »Zambia president warns judges not to follow Kenya’s lead
Lusaka, Zambia | AFP | President Edgar Lungu has warned Zambia’s judges against blocking him from running in 2021 elections, saying a judicial intervention like that in Kenya could plunge the country into chaos. Lungu is expected to contest the 2021 race but may face a legal challenge from opposition parties …
Read More »Liberia opposition leader calls for new election commission
Monrovia, Liberia | AFP | The Liberian opposition politician who has lodged a legal complaint against the country’s election commission on Thursday called for its commissioners to be replaced, citing their actions during a disputed presidential election. Charles Brumskine came third in an October 10 presidential election and immediately alleged fraud …
Read More »IN THE INDEPENDENT: Why Kayihura is in trouble
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The top stories in this week’s THE INDEPENDENT COVER STORY Kayihura in trouble: Behind arrest of top cops, the Rwanda twist. THE LAST WORD Crisis of the state in Uganda: How foreign interests have captured our politics thereby turning our people from citizens to …
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