Paris, France | AFP | The “yellow vest” anti-government protests that have rocked France will be held on Saturday and New Year’s Eve, and continue into 2019, several sources in the movement said Thursday. “The yellow vests are still mobilised,” said Laetitia Dewalle, one spokeswoman of the protest movement which …
Read More »US government shutdown extends into next week
Washington, United States | AFP | The US government partial shutdown was set to stretch deep into next week after legislators failed Thursday to make a breakthrough in the row over President Donald Trump’s demand for a US-Mexico border wall. After convening for just a few minutes following the official …
Read More »Michelle Obama tops Hillary Clinton as America’s most admired woman
Washington, United States | AFP | Former First Lady Hillary Clinton’s 17-year run as the woman Americans admire most is over. Another former First Lady, Michelle Obama, has deposed Clinton as America’s most admired woman, according to a Gallup poll published on Thursday. Former president Barack Obama was named the …
Read More »ANALYSIS: The year Bobi Wine
NRM, FDC battled eight by-elections but a young untested legislator became the issue Kampala, Uganda | IAN KATUSIIME | This year, 2018, saw some upsets and changes in the political lay of the land as 36-year-old legislator Robert Kyagulanyi popularly known as Bobi Wine continued to exert his presence on a …
Read More »Nobel laureate Mukwege gets hero’s welcome in DRCongo
Bukavu, DR Congo | AFP | Thousands of people in DR Congo turned out to welcome Nobel Peace Prize laureate Denis Mukwege, the surgeon who helps women recover from the trauma of rape. “We won! We won!” sang Mamy Magasine as she improvised a celebratory rumba in a rain-soaked courtyard …
Read More »Saudi king orders government reshuffle after Khashoggi fallout
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | AFP | Saudi Arabia’s King Salman ordered a sweeping government reshuffle Thursday, replacing key security and political figures including the foreign minister, as the kingdom grapples with the international fallout over critic Jamal Khashoggi’s murder. The surprise shake up saw the appointment of a new National …
Read More »Trump’s surprise troop visit sparks criticism in Iraq
Baghdad, Iraq | AFP | President Donald Trump’s lightning Christmas visit with US troops in Iraq has triggered questions and criticism in a country deeply divided over Washington’s influence since the 2003 US invasion. The Wednesday visit, Trump’s first with US troops in a conflict zone since he took office …
Read More »Gabon president to speak publicly for first time since stroke
Libreville, Gabon | AFP | Gabon’s President Ali Bongo will deliver a speech on New Year’s Day, a source close to his entourage said Wednesday, in what will be the leader’s first public address since he had a stroke in October. The 59-year-old leader has not been back to Gabon …
Read More »Brazil’s new government under Bolsonaro
Brasília, Brazil | AFP | Brazil’s new government under far-right President Jair Bolsonaro includes a star anti-corruption judge as justice minister and a free-market economy minister with broad powers, and sees a third of the slots going to ex-military men. The foreign ministry is to come under a mid-level public …
Read More »Hajji Hussein Kyanjo on politics of honesty and openness
Kampala, Uganda | AGNES NANTABA | Hajji Hussein Kyanjo is a former MP of Makindye East constituency in Kampala district. He was one of the most candid opposition figures in the eighth and part of the ninth parliament, a position enhanced by his moderate approach to legislative issues generally, yet very …
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