Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe fired Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Monday, the government said, as the veteran leader appeared to clear the way for his wife Grace to succeed him. The dramatic move came after a tense weekend in which Mnangagwa and Grace Mugabe — …
Read More »Erdogan hails opera house project as ‘symbol’ of Istanbul
Istanbul, Turkey | AFP | Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday launched a controversial project to build a brand new opera house in Istanbul, saying the new building would be a symbol for the city. The 2,500-seat opera house, due to open in early 2019, will be built on the …
Read More »Saudi royal purge: the big names
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | AFP | Saudi Arabia has arrested 11 princes, four sitting ministers and dozens of former ministers, in what authorities hailed as a decisive anti-corruption sweep. Separately, key security chiefs were replaced in high-profile sackings. Here are some of the high-profile names swept up in the purge: Prince …
Read More »A year after election, poll has Trump lower than any president in decades
Washington, United States | AFP | A new poll, released a year after Donald Trump’s stunning electoral victory, shows the US president suffering historically dismal approval ratings as the Russia investigation casts a continuing shadow. The Washington Post, which conducted the survey with ABC News, said Trump’s approval rating was “demonstrably …
Read More »Mugabe’s wife says ready to take over in Zimbabwe
Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | President Robert Mugabe’s wife on Sunday said she is ready to succeed her husband as tensions rise in Zimbabwe’s ruling party over who will take over from the country’s ageing leader. “I say to Mr Mugabe you should … leave me to take over your …
Read More »Crisis of the state in Uganda
How foreign interests have captured Uganda’s politics thereby turning our people from citizens to clients THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | Police recently raided the offices of some Non-government Organisations (NGOs) including Action Aid Uganda and Great Lakes Institute for Strategic Studies (GLISS) and froze their accounts. The government …
Read More »DR Congo sets elections for December 2018
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | The Democratic Republic of Congo will hold its much delayed presidential and legislative elections in December 2018, the election commission announced Sunday. “Direct voting” will take place on December 23, 2018, covering presidential, legislative, regional and local elections, said Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) …
Read More »No letup in Juba standoff around ex-army chief’s home
Juba, South Sudan | AFP | Troops remained deployed around the home of South Sudan’s powerful former army chief Paul Malong on Sunday in a dispute over the fate of his 30 bodyguards, an army spokesman told AFP. The standoff began on Friday evening when more than 100 soldiers surrounded …
Read More »ANALYSIS: US politicians skeptical over growing military presence in Africa
Washington, United States | AFP | US politicians are voicing concern over America’s growing military presence across Africa, where they worry the Pentagon is getting ever more embroiled in a secretive campaign against a shifting enemy. Last month’s killing of four US soldiers in a Niger ambush has thrust the …
Read More »Scarred by Trump, challengers eye 2020
Washington, United States | AFP | One year on from Donald Trump’s shock election, US Democrats are still struggling to heal the wounds of Hillary Clinton’s calamitous defeat and identify a champion to challenge a deeply unpopular president in 2020. For Democrats it has been a sobering first 10 months under …
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