Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | Nigeria’s state-run oil firm on Monday hit back at claims of corruption from a senior government minister that have put President Muhammadu Buhari’s war on graft in the spotlight. The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) said the allegations made by junior oil minister Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu …
Read More »US risks sparking North Korea ‘escalation’: Lavrov
Moscow, Russia | AFP | Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday warned his US counterpart Rex Tillerson that Washington risks sparking an unacceptable escalation in tensions with North Korea. In a phone call with US Secretary of State Tillerson, Lavrov “stressed the unacceptability of an escalation of tensions on …
Read More »S.African families battle to uncover apartheid truth
Hammanskraal, South Africa | AFP | Time is running out for 95-year-old Phillip Mabelane. For 40 years he has waited to discover the truth of how his son died at the hands of police during South Africa’s apartheid era. Now the reopening of a similar case has given him hope that …
Read More »Mugabe snubs a top succession candidate in reshuffle
Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe on Monday stripped one of the top candidates to succeed him of a cabinet post, as the battle to replace the long-ruling leader intensifies. Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who also doubled as minister of justice, was replaced as minister by ruling ZANU-PF …
Read More »Ethiopia parliament speaker resigns
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | AFP | The speaker of Ethiopia’s lower house of parliament announced his resignation without giving any reason on Sunday. Abadula Gemeda was the speaker of the House of People’s Representatives from 2010 and was previously army chief of staff and president of the country’s most-populous region, Oromia. …
Read More »Ghost of Thatcher haunts May as she fights ouster plot
London, United Kingdom | AFP | A devastating election and a high-profile speech strewn with mishaps have ignited a leadership crisis for British Prime Minister Theresa May at a critical time as Brexit negotiators push for a deal in Brussels. A plot by a group of Conservative MPs to oust …
Read More »COMMENT: Danger of divisions in Uganda
Why Ugandans need to build social cohesion in order to craft a national identity and build a nation COMMENT | Reagan Wamajji | Recently, I had the pleasure of interacting with individuals on a rather interesting topic; Social cohesion; crafting a national identity and nation building. I had never taken …
Read More »Cubans pay tribute to ‘Che’ on 50th anniversary of his death
Santa Clara, Cuba | AFP | Tens of thousands of Cubans turned out on Sunday to pay tribute to Ernesto “Che” Guevara, the Argentine-born Marxist revolutionary and guerrilla leader, on the 50th anniversary of his death. An estimated 70,000 people thronged the streets outside a mausoleum in this town 300 …
Read More »Politics casts doubt on Kenya’s ‘Safari Sevens’
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Kenya’s annual ‘Safari Sevens’ rugby tournament is the latest sporting event to be postponed over political uncertainty ahead of a re-run presidential vote. The tournament, which attracts foreign, national and local sides, was due to start next month at the Rugby Football Union of East Africa …
Read More »Sudan eyes economic revival as US lifts sanctions
Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Up until a few years ago, Sudanese engineer Ahmed Abdallah used to manage his family’s expenses on his $400 monthly salary but he has since had to take out loans to make ends meet. With the US State Department’s announcement Friday of an end to some …
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