Havana, Cuba | AFP | The ashes of Fidel Castro begin a four-day journey across Cuba Wednesday to his final resting place, retracing the late communist leader’s revolution victory tour of 1959. The “caravan of freedom” will leave from Havana, making symbolic stops along the 950-kilometer (590-mile) trek that will …
Read More »Hillary, pizza and a phony sex scandal: the power of ‘fake news’
Washington, United States | AFP | The internet rumor had the makings of a bizarrely sordid scandal involving a top political aide to Hillary Clinton, allegations of pedophilia and a restaurant in an upscale part of Washington. It ended in death threats against a small business owner — and became …
Read More »Australia strikes deal on ‘backpacker tax’
Sydney, Australia | AFP | Foreigners in Australia on working holidays face paying a 15 percent levy on every dollar they earn after the government Monday compromised on a controversial “backpacker tax”, dumping plans for a higher rate. Canberra had initially sought a revenue-raising 32.5 percent tax for seasonal workers …
Read More »South Africa’s Zuma survives attempted ousting
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | South African President Jacob Zuma survived an attempt to oust him from office only after a “robust” and “difficult” debate within the ruling ANC party, an official said Tuesday. Zuma has been weakened by corruption allegations, but his supporters were taken by surprise at …
Read More »Rugunda assures on Local Council 1 elections, set for January
Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda has announced that the elections for the Local Council 1 leaders will be held in January 2017. The structures for the Local Council 1 have not been in place legally for more than a decade. Rugunda said the government has secured funds for organising the polls …
Read More »No elections in DR Congo before April 2018
Antananarivo, Madagascar | AFP | Controversial moves to extend Congolese President Laurent Kabila’s stay in power appeared to advance Sunday as a close ally said elections would not be held until April 2018, 16 months after Kabila was due to leave office. Foreign Minister Raymond Tshibanda also warned that the …
Read More »Step down, ministers tell Jacob Zuma
Three S.African ministers call for Zuma to resign Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | At least three South African ministers have called for President Jacob Zuma to resign, local media reported Monday, in the most serious challenge to his leadership since he took power in 2009. The News24 news agency, …
Read More »Angola: Fidel Castro’s big African adventure
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | Southern African leaders paid glowing tributes to the late revolutionary icon Fidel Castro, but if one country will forever be heavily indebted to his leadership of Cuba, it is Angola. Castro sent tens of thousands of troops when oil-giant Angola became embroiled in a …
Read More »Fidel Castro versus 11 US presidents
Havana, Cuba | AFP | From Dwight Eisenhower, who broke US diplomatic relations with Cuba, to Barack Obama, who decided to normalize them, 11 US presidents faced off with Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro, who died late Friday. Dwight Eisenhower (Republican, 1953-1961): Provided arms to dictator Fulgencio Batista, who was …
Read More »Men made a mess of Somalia, now women want to fix it
Mogadishu, Somalia | AFP | Raped, abused and subjected to genital mutilation, many women suffer terribly in Somalia, an unrepentantly patriarchal country shown by successive surveys as one of the worst places to be female. A quota reserving 30 percent of parliamentary seats for women in current elections is supposed …
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