Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Sudanese protesters Sunday welcomed a breakthrough in talks with army rulers who agreed to form a joint civilian-military council, paving the way for the civilian administration demanded by demonstrators. Saturday’s agreement would replace the existing 10-member military council that took power after the army ousted …
Read More »Gloves off as Biden eyes Trump knockout in 2020
Washington, United States | AFP | “I don’t see Joe Biden as a threat.” It was with these words that Donald Trump earlier this month summarily dismissed the challenge posed by the former vice president, who on Thursday announced his long-expected decision to run for the Democratic nomination in 2020. …
Read More »South Africa still waiting on post-apartheid promises
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | The election 25 years ago of South Africa’s first black president, the late Nelson Mandela, who inspired the struggle against apartheid, was a time of soaring hope that the bruised country would reconcile after decades of discrimination and inequality. “You have mandated us to …
Read More »From comic to commander-in-chief: challenges for new Ukraine leader
Kiev, Ukraine | AFP | Ukraine’s election has catapulted Volodymyr Zelensky, a 41-year-old standup comedian and television star with no political experience, into the nation’s top job. As leader of a country dependent on international aid and battling separatists, Zelensky will have to deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin, deep …
Read More »‘Free at last!’: when black South Africans could finally vote
Paris, France | AFP | Black South Africans voted for the first time in April 1994, turning out in droves for a jubilant election that was the final death blow to centuries of white domination. Here is an account of that historic event, based on AFP reports from the time. …
Read More »Apartheid, the race-based system ended 25 years ago
Paris, France | AFP | South Africa’s first all-race vote 25 years ago turned the page on an oppressive system of racial segregation called apartheid that for roughly 50 years privileged whites over blacks. Here is a reminder. – Races apart – Apartheid — an Afrikaans-language word meaning the state …
Read More »Sudan protest leaders, army rulers start talks on power transfer
Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Protest leaders were to hold talks Saturday with Sudan’s military rulers to seek a timetable for a transfer of power to a civilian administration, leading figures in the protest movement said. The talks come on the eve of the protest leaders’ planned announcement of a ruling …
Read More »Who are Sudan’s protest leaders and what are their demands?
Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | After toppling veteran Sudanese leader Omar al-Bashir and forcing his successor, General Awad Ibn Ouf, to step down, protesters have turned their wrath against the ruling military council. Who are the leaders of the protest movement which is now four months old, and what are …
Read More »Trump seethes over Mueller report
Washington, United States | AFP | A seething President Donald Trump launched a tirade Friday against the “bullshit” Mueller report on how he tried to thwart the probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election, while a leading Democratic opponent urged his impeachment. In early morning tweets, Trump called it …
Read More »Sudan protest leaders to unveil civilian ruling body on Sunday
Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Sudanese protest leaders have announced plans to unveil a civilian body to take over from the ruling military council as demonstrators thronged Friday outside army headquarters and Washington said it would send an envoy to encourage the transition. The military council, which took power after …
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