Luanda, Angola | AFP | When Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos steps down and his successor is chosen in Wednesday’s elections, it will bring to an end a 38-year reign dominated by his unrelenting authoritarian style. Though seldom seen in public, he has been a looming presence in daily …
Read More »Mugabe’s deputy returns from S.Africa ‘after food poisoning treatment’
Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwe’s vice president has returned home from neighbouring South Africa where he was flown for emergency medical care for suspected food poisoning, a privately-owned newspaper reported Sunday. Emmerson Mnangagwa, 74, who is seen as a favourite to succeed President Robert Mugabe, fell ill at a rally …
Read More »Media tested anew in ‘war’ with Trump
Washington, UNITED STATES | AFP | When Donald Trump sought this week to lump white supremacists and those protesting against them into the same bag, he triggered a political firestorm with Republicans and Democrats warning “both sides” could not be treated alike. He also added fuel to an increasingly urgent debate …
Read More »Thousands join anti-racism march in Boston
Boston, UNITED STATES | AFP | Thousands of anti-racism demonstrators flooded the streets of Boston Saturday, dwarfing a gathering of white nationalists in the city and triggering scuffles with police but avoiding the serious violence that marred a similar event a week earlier in Virginia. A so-called “free speech” rally by …
Read More »Netanyahu, Putin to meet over Syria conflict
Jerusalem, Undefined | AFP | Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will travel to Russia on Wednesday for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, mainly focussing on the war in Syria, his office said late Saturday. The two leaders will meet in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi to “discuss the …
Read More »Grace Mugabe absent from S.Africa summit as assault claim lingers
Pretoria, South Africa | AFP | Zimbabwe’s first lady Grace Mugabe failed to appear Saturday at a summit in South Africa attended by her husband, an event overshadowed by her effort to obtain diplomatic immunity over assault allegations. The wife of President Robert Mugabe has not been seen since being accused …
Read More »Embattled Trumps to skip top art awards
Washington, United States | AFP | Donald and Melania Trump will skip one of America’s top art awards, the Kennedy Center Honors, the White House announced Saturday in the latest sign of the president’s growing isolation after one of the most disastrous weeks of his young administration. The decision — …
Read More »US launches formal trade investigation into China
Washington, United States | AFP | The United States on Friday formally launched a trade investigation into China’s intellectual property practices and forced transfer of American technology, which President Donald Trump had called for this week. “On Monday, President Trump instructed me to look into Chinese laws, policies, and practices …
Read More »Nigeria leader Buhari to fly home today after UK treatment
Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari will return home on Saturday after spending more than 100 days in London receiving treatment for an undisclosed ailment, his office said. The 74-year-old left for the British capital on May 7 with his prolonged absence causing tensions back home where …
Read More »Kenya opposition lodges legal challenge to election
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Kenya’s opposition filed a petition late Friday at the Supreme Court challenging the conduct and results of last week’s election won by President Uhuru Kenyatta, demanding new polls. Court registrar Esther Nyaiyaki received piles of bound papers from lawyers representing the National Super Alliance (NASA) coalition, …
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