Tag Archives: politics

  Pretoria, South Africa | AFP |  Police brutality, “fake news” propaganda and official cover-ups at the height of apartheid have been laid bare in a South African court probing the death of a communist activist 46 years ago. Ahmed Timol, a 29-year-old anti-apartheid volunteer, was arrested in Johannesburg in …

Cairo, Egypt | AFP |  Egypt has created a “national council” to combat the rise of Islamist “terrorism” which has targeted its security forces and Coptic Christian minority, in a presidential decree issued on Wednesday. The decree, published in Egypt’s official gazette, sets up a “national council to combat terrorism …

Lagos, Nigeria | AFP |  A Nigerian court has struck out a criminal case against a man who named his dog after President Muhammadu Buhari, his lawyer said on Wednesday. Joachim Iroko Chinakwe has been standing trial since August last year in Ota, southwest Nigeria, and admitted naming his pet …

Washington, United States | AFP | US Senate Republicans suffered a second stinging setback in as many days Wednesday in their efforts to uproot Obamacare, when a plan to repeal the health care law — with no replacement at the ready — failed to advance in the chamber. The washout …

Washington, United States | AFP |  President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that transgender people may not serve “in any capacity” in the US military, citing the “tremendous medical costs and disruption” their presence would cause. In late June, Pentagon chief Jim Mattis delayed for six months a plan put in …

Washington, United States | AFP | The US House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to impose tough new sanctions on Iran, North Korea and Russia, a move that will antagonize the Kremlin as well as European nations fearing economic ramifications. The measure notably constrains President Donald Trump’s ability to waive …

Libreville, Gabon | AFP | Ten people were injured in Libreville Tuesday as Gabon police broke up a rally organised to mark the return of opposition leader Jean Ping following a trip to Europe. The interior ministry said there were “no deaths and no injuries” during the demonstration, according to …

Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania| AFRICAN ARGUMENTS |  Ever since his election in 2015, Tanzania’s President John Magufuli has been a subject of public fascination. At first, his war on graft promised to cleanse the state of corruption, while his patriotic thrift inspired the hashtag #WhatWouldMagufuliDo? But as this campaign of tumbua majipu (“lance the boils”) was …

Luanda, Angola | AFP |  Angolan presidential candidate Joao Lourenco, who appears set to win next month’s election, launched his campaign on Tuesday with a speech vowing to tackle corruption and spread wealth. Defence minister Lourenco, 63, is the chosen successor of President Jose Eduardo dos Santos, whose decision to …

Abuja, Nigeria | AFP |  Hundreds of young Nigerians marched on the country’s parliament on Tuesday, calling for lawmakers to remove age barriers on political posts, including the presidency. Nigeria’s 1999 constitution stipulates that the president has to be at least 40, while senators and state governors have to be …