Reno, United States | AFP | White House Republican candidate Donald Trump was bundled off stage by security officers Saturday after a false gun scare during a campaign appearance. The US Secret Service, which provides security for presidential candidates, later said someone in the crowd had shouted “gun” but that …
Read More »Vatican: Failure in Venezuela talks could lead to ‘bloodshed’
Buenos Aires, Argentina | AFP | If upcoming Vatican-backed talks between Venezuela’s bitterly antagonistic government and opposition fail, the result could well be “bloodshed,” a papal envoy warned Saturday. “If one delegation or the other ends the dialogue, it’s not the pope but the Venezuelan people who will lose, because …
Read More »Gambia’s first female presidential candidate bows out
Banjul, Gambia | AFP | The Gambia’s first ever female presidential candidate has withdrawn from the race and will endorse the single opposition candidate challenging President Yahya Jammeh, she said Saturday. In a statement sent to AFP, Isatou Touray said she was dropping out of the contest “so as to …
Read More »South Africa’s Zuma: ‘I am not scared of jail’
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | South Africa’s embattled President Jacob Zuma put on a brave face Saturday at his first public appearance since the release of fresh evidence of alleged corruption at the top of the ANC government. “I have spent a lot of time in jail. I am …
Read More »In Africa, little enthusiasm for US vote after Obama
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | “The dream becomes reality”, “Our son, our hope”: the headlines in the Kenyan press in 2008 captured pride and excitement after the election of Barack Obama. Eight years later, enthusiasm for the outgoing president has faded on a continent that he is accused of forsaking. …
Read More »DR Congo police fire tear gas to prevent banned rally
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Police fired tear gas and fanned out across the capital of DR Congo on Saturday to prevent a banned opposition rally seeking the exit of President Joseph Kabila this year. DR Congo has been going through political turmoil which deepened last month after the …
Read More »Sudan arrests opposition leader over fuel price speech
Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Sudanese security agents arrested a senior opposition politician on Friday for giving a speech that criticised a government decision to raise fuel prices, his party said. Agents from the all-powerful National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) arrested Khaled Omar, deputy chief of the Sudanese Congress …
Read More »UK says Brexit timetable ‘unchanged’ despite shock ruling
London, United Kingdom | AFP | British Prime Minister Theresa May on Friday told European leaders that her March deadline for triggering Brexit negotiations “remains unchanged” despite a court ruling that she first needs parliament’s approval. May told European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and German Chancellor Angela Merkel that the …
Read More »Tension as Kenya deports Machar’s spokesman back to Juba
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Kenya has deported the spokesman of South Sudan’s rebel chief Riek Machar, officials said Friday, despite rebels’ warning that forcibly returning him to the war-wracked country puts his life in danger. Senior rebel official Nyarji Roman said James Gatdet Dak had been arrested at his …
Read More »A high-stakes ‘ground game’ in last days before US vote
Miami, United States | AFP | It’s the final week of the US presidential race and most of the desks are empty at the Donald Trump campaign office in Miami. Star-spangled Mylar balloons pucker in mid-air over rows of unmanned phones. Just a few people huddle at a table in …
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