Washington, United States | AFP | After pressure from lawmakers, First Lady Melania Trump announced Tuesday the White House will reopen to the public in early March, nearly seven weeks after her husband Donald became president. White House tours are highly popular with visitors to Washington, a perk arranged by …
Read More »Gambia to remain in ICC, notifies UN of change
Banjul, Gambia | AFP | The Gambia’s new government has asked the United Nations to halt the process of withdrawal from the International Criminal Court (ICC) begun by the regime of former leader Yahya Jammeh. The Hague-based court, set up in 2002, is often accused of bias against African nations, …
Read More »Flynn resigns as Trump’s national security advisor
Washington, United States | AFP | The White House announced Monday that Michael Flynn has resigned as President Donald Trump’s national security advisor, amid escalating controversy over his contacts with Moscow. In his formal resignation letter, Flynn acknowledged that in the period leading up to Trump’s inauguration: “I inadvertently briefed …
Read More »South Sudanese general Swaka resigns, citing ‘ethnic cleansing’
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | A senior South Sudanese general has quit, accusing President Salva Kiir and top members from his majority Dinka tribe of “ethnic cleansing,” according to a resignation letter obtained by AFP Sunday. Lieutenant-General Thomas Cirillo Swaka is the country’s deputy chief of general staff for logistics …
Read More »New militias emerge in South Sudan conflict
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | New militia groups, some “opportunists”, others “downright criminal”, have emerged in South Sudan since renewed violence erupted there last July, the head of an international ceasefire monitoring team said Friday. Talking to the press in Nairobi, Festus Mogae, a former president of Botswana who leads …
Read More »TANGA ODOI: FDC will lose out in EALA race
National Resistance Movement (NRM) party officials have indicated that the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) could lose out in the race to fill Uganda’s nine places in the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA). Appearing on the NBS TV political show Frontline on Thursday night, the NRM Electoral Commission chairman Dr. …
Read More »IN THE INDEPENDENT: MPs unearth ‘Sh500bn for spying gear’
COVER STORY MPs catch Shs500bn ‘mistakenly’ given to defense budget: Museveni was planning to use money to buy spying equipment, say MPs NEWS ANALYSIS Why Kenya lost fight for AU top job: And why East Africa lost more over outdated voting habits at continental body THE LAST WORD Why …
Read More »Trump backs ‘One China’ policy in first call with Xi
Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump reaffirmed Washington’s ‘One China’ policy on Thursday in his first conversation with Xi Jinping, an apparent effort to ease tensions after angering Beijing by questioning a major plank of Sino-US relations. During a phone call with China’s leader, the US president …
Read More »EU to give ‘virtually bankrupt’ Gambia 225 mn euros
Banjul, Gambia | AFP | The European Union announced aid worth 225 million euros ($240 million) for The Gambia on Thursday as President Adama Barrow warned that the nation was “virtually bankrupt” due to economic mismanagement by the former regime. The EU froze assistance to The Gambia in December 2014 …
Read More »Fistfight in South African parliament as guards eject MPs
Cape Town, South Africa | AFP | A brawl broke out in South Africa’s parliament Thursday as guards exchanged punches with opposition lawmakers who shouted down President Jacob Zuma as he tried to deliver his state of the nation address. In chaotic scenes, guards in white shirts forcibly ejected about …
Read More »