Paris, France | AFP | President Joseph Kabila and his family in the Democratic Republic of Congo have created a personal economic empire worth hundreds of millions of dollars, the Bloomberg News agency reported Thursday. “Together the Kabilas have built a network of businesses that reaches into every corner of …
Read More »DR Congo orders social networks blocked as Kabila’s term expires
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo have ordered that social networks including Facebook and WhatsApp be blocked soon before President Joseph Kabila’s mandate expires, three internet providers said Thursday. Congo’s telecoms regulator issued an order, seen by AFP, demanding that providers cut access …
Read More »Kiir calls for ‘national dialogue’ to end South Sudan war
Juba, South Sudan | AFP | President Salva Kiir called Wednesday for a “national dialogue” to end the three-year-long civil war in South Sudan. In a speech to parliament, Kiir, whose wrangling for power with his former deputy Riek Machar plunged the world’s newest nation into a brutal, destructive and …
Read More »Trump meets with tech execs, including his critics
New York, United States | AFP | US President-elect Donald Trump sat down Wednesday with top tech executives — including several of his sharpest critics — to mend fences after a divisive election in which the majority of Silicon Valley backed Hillary Clinton. The afternoon summit at Trump Tower comes …
Read More »Putin is world’s most powerful man, Trump in second
New York, United States | AFP | Vladimir Putin was the world’s most powerful person for a fourth straight year in 2016, with US president-elect Donald Trump in second place, Forbes magazine said Wednesday in its annual rankings. “Russia’s president has exerted his country’s influence in nearly every corner of …
Read More »Mugabe criticises officials ‘bickering’ for power
MUGABE: Positions in the party are not jumped upon. People rise slowly Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwe’s ageing President Robert Mugabe on Wednesday criticised ruling party officials for allegedly “bickering” over positions of power and jostling to succeed him. “Positions in the party are not jumped upon. People …
Read More »Bill Gates urges Trump to inspire Americans like JFK did
New York, United States | AFP | Bill Gates on Tuesday called on Donald Trump to inspire Americans to embrace innovation as John F. Kennedy once did by urging them to fly to the moon. “In the same way President Kennedy talked about the space mission and got the country …
Read More »President-elect Barrow says ECOWAS-Jammeh talks in gridlock
Jammeh’s party contests Gambia vote despite calls to ‘go’ Banjul, Gambia | AFP | Gambian leader Yahya Jammeh’s ruling party on Tuesday filed a court challenge to election results that showed he lost to opponent Adama Barrow, just as a quartet of African leaders were pressing him to step down. …
Read More »UPDATE: No deal reached for Gambia impasse
Banjul, Gambia | AFP | Liberia’s president said Tuesday no deal has yet been reached by a heavyweight delegation for Yahya Jammeh to transition power to opposition leader Adama Barrow, who was declared the victor of a recent presidential election. A day of talks with Jammeh and Barrow yielded constructive …
Read More »Kanye West emerges from hospital to meet Trump
New York, United States | AFP | Rap superstar Kanye West on Tuesday delivered a surprise even in this most unusual of political years — he met President-elect Donald Trump, marking the artist’s first appearance since a reported mental breakdown. West, a rare US celebrity to voice support for Donald …
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