Madagascar’s football chief Ahmad Ahmad was elected president of the Confederation of African Football Thursday, ousting veteran leader Issa Hayatou after 29 years in office. Ahmad won the election in the Ethiopian capital by 34 votes to Hayatou’s 20, official results showed. Delegates cheered and pumped their fists in the …
Read More »High turnout as Dutch vote in Europe’s first far-right test
The Hague, Netherlands | AFP | Millions of Dutch flocked to the polls Wednesday in a test of the “patriotic revolution” promised by far-right MP Geert Wilders, with Europe closely watching the outcome amid signs his support may be waning. Following last year’s shock Brexit referendum, and Donald Trump’s victory in …
Read More »ANALYSIS: African soccer supremo Hayatou’s bid for eighth term
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | AFP | Issa Hayatou, the last of the old generation leaders in world football, faces a rare and determined challenge when he bids for an eighth term as head of the Confederation of African Football in Thursday’s election. Ahmad Ahmad, head of the Madagascar Football Assocation, …
Read More »Erdogan likens Germany’s blocking rallies to Nazis
Istanbul, Turkey | AFP | Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan lashed out at Germany on Sunday for blocking rallies in support of him ahead of a vote on boosting his powers, likening the ban to “Nazi practices”. The attack came a day after German Chancellor Angela Merkel called Turkish Prime …
Read More »Le Pen in Lebanon controversy over headscarf refusal
Beirut, Lebanon | AFP | France’s far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen capped her visit to Lebanon with controversy on Tuesday when she refused to wear a headscarf to meet the country’s top Sunni Muslim cleric. On her last day in the Mediterranean country, Le Pen arrived at Sheikh Abdellatif …
Read More »Somalia’s new president Farmajo vows to rebuild failed state
Mogadishu, Somalia | AFP | Supporters of Somalia’s new President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, a veteran diplomat and former prime minister, hope he can be the answer to corruption and extremism in the world’s most notorious failed state. The 55-year-old father of four, better known as Farmajo, holds both American and …
Read More »Ex-PM Abdullahi Farmajo wins Somalia presidential vote
Mogadishu, Somalia | AFP | Former Somali prime minister Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo was elected president Wednesday after incumbent Hassan Sheikh Mohamud admitted defeat in a second round of voting by lawmakers. He has been sworn in. After six hours and two rounds of voting, Farmajo failed to win the required …
Read More »Adama Barrow: Gambia’s unassuming president-in-waiting
Banjul, Gambia | AFP | He is quiet, understated and until recently unknown, but Adama Barrow — an Arsenal supporter who was once a security guard in London — has become the flagbearer for a new era of change in The Gambia. The 51-year-old won an election seven weeks ago …
Read More »Gambian president declares state of emergency
Banjul, Gambia | AFP | Gambian President Yahya Jammeh on Tuesday declared a state of emergency, citing foreign interference in a presidential election he lost to opponent Adama Barrow last month. The declaration was necessary “due to the unprecedented and extraordinary amount of foreign inference in the December 1 presidential …
Read More »Jammeh refuses to leave, Barrow flies out of country
Gambia’s Barrow to meet west African leaders in Mali Banjul, Gambia | AFP | President-elect Adama Barrow flew out of The Gambia late Friday to meet west African leaders attending a summit in Bamako with hopes of ending the country’s political crisis, Nigeria’s foreign minister said. “The ECOWAS team has …
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