Naypyidaw, Myanmar | AFP | Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi reached out to the global community Tuesday in a broad appeal for support over a refugee crisis the UN has decried as “ethnic cleansing”, urging outsiders to help her nation unite across religious and ethnic lines and offering a pathway …
Read More »Trump eyes military parade for July 4 celebrations
United Nations, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump on Monday revealed plans to transform America’s Independence Day celebrations next July 4 into a vast military parade, styled on France’s Bastille Day. “We’re actually thinking about Fourth of July, Pennsylvania Avenue, having a really great parade to show our …
Read More »Togo ruling party calls rally to drown out opposition
Lome, Togo | AFP | Togo’s ruling presidential party on Monday urged supporters to take to the streets to coincide with planned opposition demonstrations against the slow pace of political reform. Georges Kwawu Aidam, the first vice-president of the Union for the Republic (UNIR) told AFP there would be marches …
Read More »Nigeria attacks pro-Biafra propaganda as curfew eased
Aba, Nigeria | AFP | A dusk-to-dawn curfew imposed after clashes between pro-Biafra supporters and Nigerian security services was relaxed on Monday, as the government blasted social media “quacks and internet trollers” for stoking tensions. The Abia state government in the country’s southeast last week ordered people off the streets …
Read More »Britain’s May says Trump visit still on despite terror tweets
Washington, United States | AFP | British Prime Minister Theresa May has insisted a long-awaited state visit by Donald Trump will go ahead as planned despite a diplomatic spat triggered by the US president’s comments after a terror attack in London. Speaking to ABC News from Downing Street in an interview …
Read More »Rival Libya govt seeks international recognition
Benghazi, Libya | AFP | The head of Libya’s rival government in the east called Sunday on the international community to recognise his administration which he says controls most of the North African country. Libya, which plunged into chaos after the ouster and killing of dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011, has …
Read More »Serbia’s gay PM at Pride takes tolerance ‘one step at a time’
Belgrade, Serbia | AFP | Serbia’s lesbian prime minister said Sunday that she was working “one step at a time” towards a more tolerant society, as she joined Belgrade’s annual gay march held under heavy security. Ana Brnabic, 41, became one of the few openly gay government leaders in the …
Read More »Ex-Pakistan PM’s wife on course to win his by-election seat
Lahore, Pakistan | AFP | The wife of former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was on course to win a parliamentary by-election for her husband’s seat, which became vacant when he was ousted from office, according to unofficial early results Sunday. The Supreme Court ended Sharif’s tenure as prime …
Read More »The false gospel of governance
THE LAST WORD: How Africa’s obsession with ‘governance’ issues is too much ado over little or nothing THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | Let me articulate a heresy: the argument that Africa’s failure to prosper economically is fundamentally due to “governance” i.e. that our leaders are greedy, selfish, …
Read More »Zimbabwe opposition head stable in SAfrica hospital:spokesman
Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwe’s main opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has been hospitalised in South Africa after his health deteriorated, a senior party official told AFP Saturday, though a spokesman said his condition was stable. “He is in South Africa on account of a medical cause. He is being attended …
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