Monrovia, Liberia | AFP | Liberia’s female politicians profess near-universal respect for Ellen Johnson Sirleaf as she steps down after 12 years as president — but many also say the glass ceiling that Africa’s first female leader cracked remains firmly in place. Sirleaf, 78, will not run in October 10’s presidential …
Read More »BOBI WINE: We are more powerful than we’ve been made to believe
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | In the thick of Uganda’s current political tensions, artists from across Africa and the diaspora have come to Kampala for a “Your Music Your Voice” 2017 event to collaborate and discuss their common goal of advocating for social justice in their respective countries. On Tuesday …
Read More »UN chief asks Cameroon to probe attacks on anglophones
United Nations, United States | AFP | UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has called on Cameroon to probe deadly attacks in the country’s restless English-speaking region after protests leading to a symbolic declaration of independence. At least 17 people were killed in weekend attacks in mostly French-speaking Cameroon’s southwest, a …
Read More »Zimbabwe’s Tsvangirai discharged from S.Africa hospital
Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwe’s main opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, has been discharged from a South African hospital were he had been receiving medical treatment, his spokesman said Tuesday. “He was discharged last week (on) Monday. He is now fine, he is out of danger,” Luke Tamborinyoka told AFP. Tamborinyoka …
Read More »Home-made bomb explodes in restive Cameroon region
Yaoundé, Cameroon | AFP | A home-made device exploded overnight near a police station in Cameroon’s restless English-speaking region, where separatist leaders have launched a campaign for independence, concurring sources said Tuesday. There were no reported casualties, they said. The bomb detonated near a police unit called the Mobile Intervention Group …
Read More »Iraq ex-president and Kurdish leader Talabani dies
Sulaimaniyah, Iraq | AFP | Ex-Iraqi president Jalal Talabani, a veteran leader of the struggle for Kurdish self-determination and a unifying elder statesman, died on Tuesday in Germany aged 83, Kurdish officials said. Talabani was Iraq’s president from 2005 to 2014 and a key figure in Iraqi Kurdistan, where voters …
Read More »Mugabe back in S.Africa after wife evaded assault claim
Pretoria, South Africa | AFP | Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe returned to South Africa on Tuesday for the first time since his wife claimed diplomatic immunity over allegedly assaulting a model in a Johannesburg hotel room. Mugabe, 93, was not accompanied by his wife Grace as he met President Jacob Zuma …
Read More »Nyusi re-elected party president in Mozambique
Maputo, Mozambique | AFP | Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi vowed on Monday to push ahead with national peace talks after he was overwhelmingly re-elected leader of the ruling Frelimo party at a five-yearly conference. Nyusi, who has ruled the country since 2015 and is likely to stand again in 2019 …
Read More »Nairobi university shut over protests ahead of Kenya presidential re-run
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Campuses at one of Kenya’s largest universities were closed on Tuesday after demonstrations broke out ahead of the country’s tense presidential election re-run, a university official said. Students at the University of Nairobi were ordered to vacate their dormitories on short notice after overnight protests …
Read More »Barca board members resign over closed doors decision
Barcelona, Spain | AFP | Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu confirmed on Monday two of the club’s board members resigned in the wake of his decision to play a match behind closed doors after a violent crackdown by police of an independence referendum for Catalonia on Sunday. Police fired rubber …
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