NEWS ANALYSIS

Tunis, Tunisia | AFP |  Tunisia’s all-powerful leader for over two decades, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was forced from power and into exile by a landmark popular uprising in early 2011, sparking revolts across the Arab world. The man who once appeared in official portraits with a benevolent smile …

Damning South Sudan Report focuses on regional players, including Uganda London, United Kingdom | AFP |  Hollywood star George Clooney’s investigative project The Sentry on Thursday urged the international community to act over alleged links between global corporations, tycoons and foreign governments and rampant corruption in South Sudan. The Sentry …

Kigali, Rwanda | AFP |  Kigali on Wednesday welcomed the killing of a Rwandan Hutu rebel leader in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and said it proved neighbouring President Felix Tshisekedi’s commitment to fighting “negative forces”. Sylvestre Mudacumura, commander of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), who …

    Washington, United States | AFP | US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo departed for Saudi Arabia Tuesday to discuss possible retaliation after Washington said it had proof that attacks on Saudi oil installations originated in Iran. Vice President Mike Pence announced that Pompeo was on his way to the …

Paris, France | AFP |  The vital transition to a zero-carbon economy is likely to be a long and rocky road. So-called green energy is booming, but not fast enough to curb climate change, which is accelerating at an alarming pace as oil, gas and coal consumption soar. – Booming renewables …

Vienna, Austria | AFP | With his lederhosen and lyrics about his love for the mountains, Andreas Gabalier has become the biggest name in Austrian pop music, but recently has had to defend himself against claims of far-right sympathies. As the political atmosphere in Austria hots up ahead of parliamentary elections …

Uganda offers lessons in tapping it Kampala, Uganda | SHUAIB LWASA | In places where municipalities continuously fail to collect and manage waste, authorities tend to concentrate their efforts in a few areas. These are often in a city’s wealthier sections. Informal settlements remain under-served or are not served at …

Benin City, Nigeria | AFP |  Emerging from her ordeal, Gloria considers herself “privileged”. Last year, the 26-year-old left Nigeria with four other women, dreaming of a better life in Europe. On a tortuous journey, three of the five friends died before reaching Libya, where the two survivors were stranded for …

Berlin, Germany | AFP |  Feeling the heat from a vocal climate protest movement, German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government plans Friday to unveil a multi-billion-euro grand plan for tackling global warming. Days before a UN climate summit in New York, Merkel’s team was due to announce details as the top EU …

Tunis, Tunisia | AFP |  Law professor and political outsider Kais Saied on Monday led Tunisia’s presidential polls with two-thirds of the votes counted, the electoral commission said, after the country’s second free vote for head of state since the 2011 Arab Spring. Saied was on 18.9 percent, ahead of imprisoned …