Munich, Germany | AFP | Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Saturday dismissed as “blabber” accusations that Moscow had interfered in the US election that brought President Donald Trump to power. “So as long as we don’t see facts, everything else is blabber,” Lavrov said at the Munich Security Conference, …
Read More »Trump says ‘no collusion’ after Russians indicted for election meddling
Washington, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump on Friday held up the indictment of 13 Russians — and no Americans — for meddling in the 2016 election as vindication that his campaign team did not collude with Moscow. “Russia started their anti-US campaign in 2014, long before …
Read More »Against Putin, seven candidates and one glaring absence
Moscow, Russia | AFP | Seven candidates are lined up against Vladimir Putin in a Russian presidential election next month that he is all but guaranteed to win, extending his Kremlin term to 2024 with a fourth term in office. His competitors include a former reality TV star and a …
Read More »No programme, no debate but Putin cruising to poll win
Moscow, Russia | AFP | Running with a lacklustre slogan, no programme and refusing to debate his opponents, it sometimes seems like Russian President Vladimir Putin is not campaigning for re-election at all. But it is unlikely to matter for the 65-year-old strongman who is cruising towards victory and a …
Read More »No December election without voting machines: DRCongo poll chief
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | DR Congo’s long-delayed election due on December 23 to choose a successor to long-serving ruler Joseph Kabila will not take place without electronic voting machines, the poll chief said Tuesday “Without voting machines, there will be no elections on December 23, 2018,” election commission …
Read More »US tells DR Congo to scrap electronic voting
United Nations, United States | AFP | The United States urged the Democratic Republic of Congo on Monday to scrap plans to use electronic voting for the first time in elections this year, saying it risked undermining the credibility of the historic polls. After much delay, the DR Congo will hold …
Read More »UN hopes for Libya elections ‘by end of 2018’
Tripoli, Libya | AFP | UN envoy Ghassan Salame said Wednesday he hoped for elections in Libya by the end of 2018 but that conditions in the strife-torn country were not yet ready for polling. “There are several conditions. For the time being, we have only achieved one: the start of …
Read More »Guinea appeals for calm after 7 killed in post-electoral violence
Conakry, Guinea | AFP | A Guinean minister and the international community appealed for calm on Wednesday after seven people were killed, including five young children, in violence linked to fraud allegations that marred local elections at the weekend. Sunday’s vote was the first of its kind since the end …
Read More »Anti-gay marriage lawmaker ahead in Costa Rica vote for next president
San José, Costa Rica | AFP | A conservative, evangelical lawmaker who fiercely opposes same-sex marriage emerged as the frontrunner to become Costa Rica’s next president, according to preliminary results from a first round election Sunday. Fabricio Alvarado of the right-wing National Restoration Party received 25 percent of the vote, …
Read More »US mulling sanctions on Venezuela oil: Tillerson
Buenos Aires, Argentina | AFP | The United States said Sunday it has not ruled out sanctions on Venezuelan oil as it turns the screw on President Nicolas Maduro, but is wary of hurting the country’s people. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is in Argentina as he tours Latin American to …
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