Cotonou, Benin | AFP | Benin opposition politician Sebastien Ajavon on Wednesday took the country’s government to court, demanding nearly $990 million in damages after a string of arrests and prosecutions. One of the failed presidential candidate’s four lawyers, Julien Bensimhon, told the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights …
Read More »Buhari too ‘unwell’ to govern: Nigerian opposition
Buhari Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | Nigeria’s main opposition party has said President Muhammadu Buhari is unfit to run the country after he again left for London on medical grounds. The 75-year-old former military ruler last year spent five months in London seeking treatment for an undisclosed illness that he …
Read More »RWANDA: Remembering victims of the 1994 genocide
In remembering victims of the1994 genocide against Tutsi, RSSB promises survivors to never be alone Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | We will continue to support families of the former Social Security Fund of Rwanda (Caisse Sociale du Rwanda –CSR) employees who perished in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi”, Jonathan …
Read More »Brazil’s first lady mocked after jumping in lake to rescue dog
Brasília, Brazil | AFP | Brazil’s first lady Marcela Temer leapt fully clothed into a lake at the presidential palace to rescue her pet dog — then got roasted on social media. The 34-year-old former beauty queen jumped into the lake after her Jack Russell named Picoly went after some …
Read More »Former top Chinese Communist official jailed for life for bribery
Beijing, China | AFP | A former Chinese Communist Party official who was once tipped as a potential successor to President Xi Jinping was sentenced to life in prison for bribery on Tuesday, the latest senior cadre to fall in Xi’s sweeping anti-corruption crusade. Sun Zhengcai, a former Politburo member …
Read More »S.Africa’s Cape Town mayor sacked by own party
Cape Town, South Africa | AFP | The mayor of Cape Town, South Africa’s second largest city, was ousted by her own party on Tuesday after her administration came under fire over mismanagement and alleged corruption. “Patricia de Lille is no longer the mayor of Cape Town because she is …
Read More »Putin sworn in for fourth term as Russian president
Moscow, Russia | AFP | Vladimir Putin was sworn in as Russia’s president for a fourth term on Monday, extending his almost two-decade rule by another six years at a time of high tension with his Western rivals. The 65-year-old, in power since 1999, is on course to become the …
Read More »Zimbabwe’s Mugabe parliament appearance over diamonds delayed
Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Former Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe will not appear before a parliament committee this week to answer questions on multi-billion-dollar corruption in the diamond industry after the hearing was postponed, a lawmaker said Monday. The 94-year-old Mugabe had been summoned to appear before a mines and …
Read More »Erdogan rejects main Turkey opposition’s TV debate challenge
Ankara, Turkey | AFP | Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday rejected a challenge from the main opposition party’s presidential candidate to hold televised debates ahead of snap polls on June 24. Muharrem Ince, the Republican People’s Party (CHP) candidate running against Erdogan, earlier on Monday urged the president …
Read More »Equatorial Guinea court upholds opposition ban, jail terms
Malabo, Equatorial Guinea | AFP | Equatorial Guinea’s paramount court on Monday confirmed the dissolution of the country’s main opposition and upheld 30-year jail terms handed to 21 of its members. A former Spanish colony of 1.2 million people, awash with oil but mired in poverty and a reputation for …
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