VIDEO: Politics of succession is a growing phenomenon in Africa, a phenomenon that critics cite as a threat to the growth of democracy. However, veteran Politician Wasswa Lule, son to former President the late Yusuf Lule, says passing the baton can still prevail in democratic processes. He spoke to People …
Read More »Evangelical bishop elected Rio mayor
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | AFP | An evangelical mega-church bishop who once branded Catholics demons was elected mayor of Rio de Janeiro on Sunday, in nationwide municipal elections confirming Brazil’s shift to the right. This was the second round of balloting for city halls in Latin America’s biggest country …
Read More »Turkey fires another 10,000 civil servants in post-coup purge
Istanbul, Turkey | AFP | Turkish authorities have fired over 10,000 more civil servants, as the government presses a crackdown over the failed July coup, the official gazette said. A total of 10,131 government employees have been removed, mainly from the education, justice and health ministries, according to announcements published …
Read More »On Africa tour, French PM rules out slavery reparations
Accra, Ghana | AFP | French Prime Minister Manuel Valls issued an appeal on Sunday to overcome the legacy of slavery, dismissing claims for financial compensation while acknowledging the “horror” of the slave trade. Valls was visiting Franklin House, a former slave hub in the Ghanaian capital Accra, on Sunday …
Read More »Angolan state oil company mirrors nation’s troubles
Luanda, Angola | AFP | Angolan state-owned oil company Sonangol rode the commodities boom that drove the country’s extraordinary growth after civil war ended in 2002, but today it symbolises a national economic crisis. The Luanda-based company has increasingly been in focus since Isabel dos Santos, the billionaire daughter of …
Read More »Zimbabwe ‘bond notes’ stir hyperinflation fears
Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabweans know the risks of worthless money all too well after hyperinflation between 2007 and 2009 gave them the 100-trillion-dollar banknote that barely bought a loaf of bread. Now they fear that the government is about to create another devastating crisis by printing its own …
Read More »Turkey parliament to consider death penalty for coup plotters
Istanbul, Turkey | AFP | Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday said his government would ask parliament to consider reintroducing the death penalty as a punishment for the plotters behind the July coup bid. “Our government will take this (proposal on capital punishment) to parliament. I am convinced that …
Read More »SPAIN: 300 days later, the boring plasma PM knocks out 3 young leaders
Rajoy, the under-estimated survivor who wore his rivals down Madrid, Spain | AFP | Spain’s conservative Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy won back power Saturday, at the age of 61, after a war of attrition against younger rivals who under-estimated his resistance after 35 years in politics. Just like in 2005 …
Read More »ANALYSIS: As Xi’s star rises, experts ask if the centre can hold
Beijing, China | AFP | Chinese Communist chief Xi Jinping’s ascension to the highest title in the party hierarchy formalises his position as its pre-eminent figure, analysts said, making him the country’s most powerful leader in a generation and inviting comparisons with Mao Zedong. The ruling party’s declaration that Xi …
Read More »US Supreme Court to decide ‘battle of the toilets’
Washington, United States | AFP | The US Supreme Court said Friday that it will decide which bathrooms should be used by transgender people, a highly sensitive question with national political resonance. The case involves 17-year-old Gavin Grimm, who was born a female but identifies as a male. Grimm filed …
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