Tag Archives: politics

Lome, Togo | AFP | Lawmakers in Togo will begin to look at a constitutional reform bill from as soon as the end of this week, the head of the National Assembly said on Wednesday. Parliamentary groups and commissions met to read the government proposals, which came after opposition calls for …

Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | His family has ruled Togo for more than 50 years but President Faure Gnassingbe has in the last week faced unprecedented public pressure to step down. He and his country stand alone in West Africa in resisting calls for constitutional reform, even as parliament begins …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | A former South African minister was convicted on Wednesday of brutally beating two women at a Johannesburg nightclub after one of them called him gay. Ex-deputy higher education minister Mduduzi Manana pleaded guilty to three counts of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | The UK arm of public relations firm Bell Pottinger entered administration Tuesday after being “heavily financially impacted” by the fallout from an alleged racially charged ad campaign in South Africa. “Bell Pottinger has been heavily financially impacted by the well-publicised issues resulting in losses of …

Luanda, Angola | AFP |  Angola’s constitutional court on Wednesday upheld the ruling party’s landslide win in last month’s election which will usher in the MPLA’s fourth decade in power and rejected opposition claims the poll was flawed. The ruling Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola won 61.7 percent …

Barcelona, Spain | AFP | Prosecutors in Catalonia on Tuesday ordered police to seize ballot boxes, election flyers and any other item that could be used in a banned independence referendum called by the Spanish region’s separatist executive. The vote is set for October 1 and the northeastern region’s separatists are …

Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP |  Zimbabwe produced enough food to feed its people for the first time since adopting a controversial policy to strip land from white farmers, President Robert Mugabe told parliament on Tuesday. From the year 2000, hundreds of white farmers were evicted from their farms, often violently, …

Lome, Togo | AFP |  Opposition lawmakers in Togo forced the adjournment of parliament on Tuesday in protest at a constitutional reform bill being left off the day’s agenda, despite days of anti-government protests. The president of the National Assembly, Dama Dramani, agreed to suspend the extraordinary session as lawmakers …

Singapore, Singapore | AFP |  Singapore got its first female president Wednesday, but the milestone was overshadowed by criticism that her selection was undemocratic after she was handed the job without a vote. Halimah Yacob, a former speaker of parliament from the Muslim Malay minority, did not have to face …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Accused of glossing over flaws in Kenya’s election which later caused the result to be overturned, international observers are under a harsh spotlight ahead of a re-run next month. The August 8 poll, which saw President Uhuru Kenyatta reelected, was annulled by Kenya’s Supreme Court earlier …