Alarm raised after President Tshisekedi dumps EAC army for SADC’s only for fighting to intensify in eastern DRC
In the capital Kinshasa, and the North Kivu provincial capital Goma, Congolese have taken to the streets to protest against deteriorating security in the east and have accused the international community of not doing enough to hold Rwanda to account for its support for the rebels.
Russia security detains 400 people since death of iconic opposition leader Navalny and Putin’s fiercest rival
The death of Navalny robs the disparate Russian opposition of its most prominent leader as Putin prepares for the March presidential election – a rubber-stamp vote set to keep the former KGB spy in power until at least 2030.
Ethiopian security blocks Somali president from AU summit venue to ratchet up sour diplomatic ties
President Mohamud was in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, to attend an African Union summit. He charged that Ethiopian security services tried to block him from leaving his hotel on Saturday morning, forcing him to travel in the convoy of Djibouti’s president.
Trump vilifies judge who slapped him with $355m fraud fine, terms penalty ‘election interference’
Trump also faces four state and federal criminal trials, including one scheduled to start in New York on March 25, over alleged hush money payments to a porn star. That means Trump will become the first former US president to stand trial on criminal charges.
Heads of state at African Union summit in Addis Ababa condemn Israeli ‘genocide’ in Gaza
A quarter of Gaza’s residents are starving because of the war, which began with Hamas’ assault into Israel on October 7 in which militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted around 250.
Corrurption-tainted South African president faces tough test from main opposition party
Under South Africa’s system of government, lawmakers elect the president, so a party or coalition with a majority in parliament control both the executive and legislative branches. If the ANC’s support falls below 50 per cent at the polls, the party would have to make deals with smaller parties to secure Ramaphosa’s re-election.
Navalny’s death dampens democracy drive in Russia as disparate opposition gropes for his successor
Prosecutors warned Russians against participating in any mass protests in Moscow. Police watched as some Russians came to lay roses and carnations at a monument to victims of Soviet repression in the shadow of the former KGB headquarters on Moscow’s Lubyanka square.
Zimbabwe announces plan to ban university scholarships for gays as crackdown on same sex unions continues
Like many African countries, Zimbabwe has laws criminalising homosexual activity. Sex between men carries a potential sentence of up to a year in prison, and the country’s constitution bans same-sex marriages.
UN human rights office ‘appalled’ at death of Navalny in prison, tells Moscow to take responsibility
UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Alice Edwards said that several UN independent experts, including herself, had privately and publicly urged the Russian government to end the punitive conditions in which Navalny was held.
Senegal president caves in to pressure, agrees to presidential election ‘as soon as possible’
Senegal has been seen as one of the region’s most stable democracies, but election disputes have plunged the country into a political crisis that has sparked deadly protests and cuts to mobile internet. At least three people have been killed by security forces and dozens injured.
