The start of the clean-up operation did not take long. Luanda, Angola | AFP | Within three months of taking control of Angola, President Joao Lourenco sacked his predecessor’s daughter as head of the state-run oil company and set about dismantling the empire built by Jose Eduardo dos Santos. A presidential …
Read More »UK archbishop Sentamu puts collar back on after Mugabe’s fall
London, United Kingdom | AFP | The Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, put on his white cleric’s collar on Sunday for the first time since cutting it up ten years ago in a highly symbolic protest at Robert Mugabe’s rule. The Uganda-born cleric, the second most senior clergyman in the …
Read More »Trump renews support for embattled Senate candidate
Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump on Sunday redoubled his support for embattled Senate candidate Roy Moore, ignoring the allegations of sexual harassment plaguing Moore’s Alabama campaign and branding his opponent as weak on crime, the military and immigration. In an early-morning tweet, Trump added that for …
Read More »Ivanka Trump, Chelsea Clinton, defend Obama daughter over video
Washington, United States | AFP | Both sides of the US political divide are defending Malia Obama’s right to privacy after a video went viral showing the eldest daughter of former president Barack Obama apparently smoking. Chelsea Clinton and Ivanka Trump were among the numerous defenders of Malia, 19, on …
Read More »Putin signs ‘foreign agent’ media law
Moscow, Russia | AFP | President Vladimir Putin on Saturday signed into law new rules on international media organisations present in Russia being termed “foreign agents”, following US pressure on the Kremlin-backed RT television channel. Already approved by both houses of parliament, the legislation was published on the Russian authorities’ …
Read More »Zimbabwe war veterans at heart of Mugabe’s downfall
Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Once Robert Mugabe’s fiercest supporters, independence war veterans played a key role in ousting him, proving they still wield influence in Zimbabwe which only threw off colonial rule in 1980. Mugabe’s reign was built on support from three pillars — ZANU-PF party, the military and …
Read More »Zimbabwe court rules military takeover legal
Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | A Zimbabwe High Court has ruled that the military takeover that led to Robert Mugabe’s ousting was legal, raising immediate concerns about judicial independence under the country’s new administration. Army chiefs put military vehicles on the streets of Harare and placed veteran leader Mugabe, 93, under …
Read More »Mnangagwa pledges new era as Zimbabwe president
Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwe’s new President Emmerson Mnangagwa vowed sweeping change at his swearing in on Friday, seeking to reassure foreign investors and pledging to fight poverty and corruption after Robert Mugabe’s shock resignation. In his inaugural address, Mnangagwa set out a programme of dramatic change that promised …
Read More »France’s Macron nods to the left with cabinet mini-shuffle
Paris, France | AFP | French President Emmanuel Macron named a Socialist lawmaker to a top budget post as part of a cabinet shuffle unveiled Friday, following grumblings from leftists who accuse his centrist government of favouring the rich. The moves were prompted by the nomination of Macron’s ultra-loyal government spokesman, …
Read More »Zimbabwe’s political roller-coaster: What we know
Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Former vice president Emmerson Mnangagwa has taken over as Zimbabwe’s new leader, ending strongman Robert Mugabe’s 37-year reign and the country’s worst political crisis since independence. Here is a snapshot of two weeks of turmoil, from a military takeover to mass street protests and an …
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