Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwean police arrested a US citizen on Friday for allegedly tweeting that President Robert Mugabe is a “goblin whose wife and step-son bought a Rolls-Royce,” lawyers said. Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) said officers detained Martha O’Donovan in a dawn raid at her …
Read More »Twitter steps up security after Trump account cut off
Washington, United States | AFP | Twitter said it had boosted security measures Friday in response to a rogue employee’s move cutting off Donald Trump’s account, an 11-minute outage which drew mocking praise from the president’s critics but also warnings of a dangerous precedent. The US social network initially said …
Read More »Trump departs for Asia, leaving trail of controversy
Andrews Air Force Base, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump departed Washington for an almost two week trip to Asia Friday, leaving in his wake a trail of scandal and invective that risks overshadowing efforts at top-level diplomacy. Trump left Joint Base Andrews, just outside Washington, bound for …
Read More »Spain to seek Catalan leader’s arrest
Madrid, Spain | AFP | A Spanish judge was set Friday to issue an arrest warrant for Catalonia’s deposed leader Carles Puigdemont over his region’s contested independence drive, in a move likely to further escalate tensions in Spain’s worst political crisis in decades. The European arrest warrant was due a …
Read More »Zambia president warns judges not to follow Kenya’s lead
Lusaka, Zambia | AFP | President Edgar Lungu has warned Zambia’s judges against blocking him from running in 2021 elections, saying a judicial intervention like that in Kenya could plunge the country into chaos. Lungu is expected to contest the 2021 race but may face a legal challenge from opposition parties …
Read More »Liberia opposition leader calls for new election commission
Monrovia, Liberia | AFP | The Liberian opposition politician who has lodged a legal complaint against the country’s election commission on Thursday called for its commissioners to be replaced, citing their actions during a disputed presidential election. Charles Brumskine came third in an October 10 presidential election and immediately alleged fraud …
Read More »IN THE INDEPENDENT: Why Kayihura is in trouble
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The top stories in this week’s THE INDEPENDENT COVER STORY Kayihura in trouble: Behind arrest of top cops, the Rwanda twist. THE LAST WORD Crisis of the state in Uganda: How foreign interests have captured our politics thereby turning our people from citizens to …
Read More »Bloodshed in South African province as ANC tensions rise
Durban, South Africa | AFP | In the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal, local politics is a deadly game, with at least 40 people killed in politically motivated shootings since last year. A battle for control is raging ahead of a conference of the African National Congress to choose a new …
Read More »Kiir accuses Sudan of being ‘source of weapons’ in S.Sudan war
Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | South Sudanese President Salva Kiir on Thursday accused Sudan of being a “source of weapons” fuelling the brutal civil war in his country as he met leader Omar al-Bashir in Khartoum. “If there is someone who can accuse the other, it is me who can …
Read More »Togo, Guinea leaders mediate deepening Liberia election dispute
Monrovia, Liberia | AFP | The presidents of Guinea and Togo held mediation talks Wednesday with all sides involved in Liberia’s disputed election, following a Supreme Court announcement it would summon the country’s electoral commission to explain alleged fraud and irregularities. Liberia’s top court has reviewed a legal complaint backed by …
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