New Delhi, India | AFP | A southern Indian state announced Sunday it would go to the supreme court to challenge a federal ban on the sale of cows for slaughter, stepping up a showdown with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Cows are considered sacred by Hindus and the Hindu nationalist …
Read More »Frustration and hope: Biafra 50 years on
Umuahia, Nigeria | AFP | Nigeria on Tuesday marks 50 years since the declaration of an independent Republic of Biafra plunged the country into a civil war, amid renewed tensions and fresh calls for a separate state. The main pro-independence groups — the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), and the …
Read More »White House shaken as Russia probe pierces Trump’s inner circle
Washington, United States | AFP | The probe into Russia’s role in the US election pierced the innermost circle of the White House Saturday, with reports that Donald Trump’s son-in-law sought a secret communications line with Moscow — the most damning allegation yet from the scandal. With the president …
Read More »Trump son-in-law sought secret line to Moscow: report
Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, made a pre-inauguration proposal to the Russian ambassador to set up a secret, bug-proof communications line with the Kremlin, the Washington Post reported Friday evening. Kushner, then and now a close adviser to Trump, went so far as to …
Read More »In Burundi, unmarried couples have until December to legalise their relationships
In moral ‘crusade’, Burundi forces unwed couples to marry Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Unmarried couples have until the end of the year to legalise their relationships, the Burundi government said Friday, as part of an effort to reform morals in the country. The order follows the launch of a …
Read More »Zambia bars S.Africa opposition leader at airport
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | Zambian officials barred South Africa’s main opposition leader from entering the country Thursday, his party said, claiming he was blocked over his support for an imprisoned Zambian opposition leader. Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Mmusi Maimane was en route to the Zambian capital Lusaka to …
Read More »Egyptians brace for austere Ramadan after reforms
Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Ramadan is a time for daytime fasting and lavish evening feasts, but Egyptians are scaling back preparations for the Muslim holy month this year after austerity measures fuelled decades-high inflation. At a Cairo supermarket, Rana, a web designer and mother of two, said she was …
Read More »Nigeria: Coup rumours reflect rising distrust in Buhari’s absence
Lagos, Nigeria| AFRICAN ARGUMENTS| Last week, Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai, issued a stern warning to soldiers to stay out of politics, raising alarm of a potential coup plot. His statement claimed that individuals had been approaching army officers for political reasons, and cautioned: “Any officer or soldier …
Read More »Tanzania President Magufuli sacks Mines Minister
Tanzania minister sacked: Wednesday’s report found that companies exporting raw mineral sands understated the nature and quantity of precious metals in their containers and so avoided paying taxes Dar es Salaam, Tanzania | AFP | President John Magufuli fired Tanzania’s mines minister on Wednesday after a government report found minerals exports …
Read More »Trump calls N. Korea’s Kim Jong-Un ‘madman with nuclear weapons’
Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump called North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un a “madman with nuclear weapons” during a telephone call with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, according to a transcript of the conversation released by US media Tuesday. A White House readout of the April 29 call …
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