Brazzaville, Congo | AFP | Congo voters go to the polls Sunday in legislative elections in the oil-rich African country, the first since violence-marred presidential polls last year which returned Denis Sassou Nguesso to power. While no fresh violence is expected opposition parties have cried foul, as over 2 million …
Read More »MUSEVENI: By-elections and role of the youth in politics
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | President Yoweri Museveni has explained results of recent Uganda by-elections, saying the National Resistance Movement (NRM) has done well despite several weaknesses in the party. He however is unhappy with the political behavour he witnessed in some constituencies, where opponents are tuanted and inimidation rampant. “The NRM, …
Read More »Senegal suspends sports events after football deaths
Dakar, Senegal | AFP | Senegal on Sunday suspended all sports and cultural events until elections at the end of the month, a day after eight people died in a football stadium disaster. Legislative elections are due on July 30 and tensions are running high with prominent opposition leader and Dakar …
Read More »China pressures Botswana over Dalai Lama visit
Gaborone, Botswana | AFP | China piled pressure on Botswana on Saturday over a scheduled visit to the southern African country by the Dalai Lama, who it considers a dissident separatist threat. Botswana’s President Ian Khama announced on Wednesday he would meet the Tibetan spiritual leader during his visit to the …
Read More »N. Korea likely has more plutonium than previously thought: monitor
Seoul, South Korea | AFP | New images of North Korea’s main nuclear facility show that the isolated regime has apparently produced more plutonium for its weapons programme than previously thought, a US monitor said, as tensions soar over Pyongyang’s ambitions. The respected 38 North website, a monitoring project linked …
Read More »Turkey celebrates defeat of anti-Erdogan putsch after new purge
Istanbul, Turkey | AFP | Turkey on Saturday holds an intense series of events to celebrate the first anniversary of the defeat of last year’s attempted coup, showcasing President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s grip on power on the heels of a new purge of state employees. The authorities have declared …
Read More »In mining dispute with Tanzania, Acacia agrees to more tax
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Mining company Acacia agreed Friday to pay more royalties to Tanzania’s government as it seeks an end to a dispute over alleged underreporting of production and profits. President John Magufuli accused the London-listed company, whose largest shareholder is Canadian Barrick Gold, of “theft” after a …
Read More »Gambian president sets up commission into Jammeh’s assets
Banjul, Gambia | AFP | Gambian President Adama Barrow has set up a commission to probe the assets of former leader Yahya Jammeh, accused of stealing at least $50 million from the tiny west African state. In May, The Gambia’s justice minister announced that Jammeh had plundered the meagre state …
Read More »Coup bid ‘martyrs’ become new heroes of Erdogan’s Turkey
Çukurkuyu, Turkey | AFP | People have come from far and wide to this sleepy Anatolian village in central Turkey to recite prayers, take selfies or just think quietly. The purpose of their visit is simple — to pay their respects at the grave of Sergeant Omer Halisdemir, probably the most …
Read More »Sudan says to push for full lifting of US sanctions
Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Sudan said Thursday it would press on with efforts to achieve a full lifting of US sanctions against Khartoum, even as it hoped Washington would reverse its decision to extend a decades-old trade embargo. On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump prolonged a review period to …
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