Lusaka, Zambia | AFP | Hakainde Hichilema, who was released from custody after treason charges against him were dropped, is a self-made entrepreneur who has made five unsuccessful attempts to become the Zambian president. He alleges that the 2016 election was rigged and, as leader of the opposition United Party …
Read More »Zimbabwe’s fiercely loyal first lady
Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe’s wife was once dismissed as a lightweight shopping addict with no political interests, but Grace Mugabe has recently emerged as a potential challenger for power. Aged 52, the first lady has become increasingly active in public life and in 2014 became the …
Read More »Climate change means more rain but less water in rural rivers: study
Sydney, Australia | AFP | Soaring temperatures driven by climate change are whipping up ever-more intense storms inundating cities with flash floods but leaving the countryside and crucial agricultural land parched, an Australian study has found. Researchers at Australia’s University of New South Wales (UNSW) found that while hotter weather sparked …
Read More »How to care for a million refugees
Imvepi settlement on the Uganda-South Sudanese border puts UNHCR to the test Kampala, Uganda | RONALD MUSOKE | In the mid-morning of July 30, Col. Lam Paul Gabriel, the deputy Spokesperson of the SPLA-IO, one of the rebel movements wedging war against Salva Kiir’s government in South Sudan, sat under the …
Read More »Popular sites targeted in string of Africa attacks
Paris, France | AFP | The attack on a Turkish restaurant in Burkina Faso’s capital on Sunday was the latest in a series of assaults in Africa targeting spots popular with foreigners and locals alike. Here is an overview of the worst such attacks in recent years, most of which have …
Read More »US-NKorea crisis tests Cold War’s nuclear deterrence doctrine
Paris, France | AFP | The doctrine of nuclear deterrence, put to the test in the standoff between Washington and Pyongyang, dates to the Cold War when the world’s two superpowers seemed hellbent on “mutually assured destruction”. The arms race between United States and the then Soviet Union saw a proliferation …
Read More »Kenya’s election standoff: Five key questions
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta has been declared the winner of the country’s election, but his rival Raila Odinga insists he is the true winner, and the election was stolen from him. Odinga has said he will outline his strategy to contest the vote on Tuesday. Deadly …
Read More »Mixed emotions as Bolt bows out
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Jamaican Usain Bolt said Sunday he was sad but also excited to bow out of athletics, adding that his disappointing world campaign in London would not change his career achievements. Bolt brought down the curtain on his glittering career in dramatic fashion when he …
Read More »The new Museveni age-limit plan
How president’s team has `trapped’ MPs on Age Limit Kampala, Uganda | HAGGAI MATSIKO | No bill seeking to remove the 75-year age limit on the presidency has been tabled but the head-butting around the issue is intense. When, on Aug. 07, President Yoweri Museveni’s staff posted a photo on …
Read More »Waiting for Raila, listening to God, in Nairobi slum
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Churches preached peace on Sunday in Mathare, a Nairobi slum that has been hit by days of violent demonstrations since last week’s disputed presidential vote, but it was opposition leader Raila Odinga the people were desperate to hear from. Odinga had been silent since the …
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