Botswana’s president-elect Duma Boko is a human rights lawyer who spent three decades in opposition fighting to dislodge the party in power for nearly 60 years before clinching his surprise landslide victory.The 54-year-old Harvard graduate inspired voters in the arid southern African country to turn out in large numbers for Wednesday’s elections that ended the …

Duma Boko, Botswana rights lawyer elected presidentFri, 01 Nov 2024 16:01:13 GMT Read More »

President Emmanuel Macron on Friday acknowledged that Larbi Ben M’hidi, a key figure in Algeria’s War of Independence against France, had been killed by French soldiers after his arrest in 1957, the French presidency said.”He recognised today that Larbi Ben M’hidi, a national hero for Algeria… was killed by French soldiers,” the presidency said on …

Macron recognises French soldiers killed Algerian independence hero in 1957Fri, 01 Nov 2024 15:51:59 GMT Read More »

The Indian Ocean island of Mauritius blocked access to social media on Friday, just days ahead of a general election, as tensions mounted over a wire-tapping scandal.Mauritius has been gripped by the release of secret recordings of phone calls by politicians, journalists, members of civil society and even foreign diplomats that began to emerge online …

Mauritius blocks social media amid wire-tapping scandalFri, 01 Nov 2024 14:43:59 GMT Read More »

Botswana’s opposition Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) has won a majority in parliament and can form the next government, the electoral commission announced Friday, marking a historic defeat for the party that had governed the diamond-rich country for nearly six decades.Outgoing president Mokgweetsi Masisi conceded defeat in Wednesday’s general election and said his administration would …

Botswana opposition wins election in historic turnaroundFri, 01 Nov 2024 13:29:59 GMT Read More »

Kenya plans to re-introduce some of the tax hikes that sparked deadly protests earlier this year, the government announced Friday, while a new deputy president was sworn in after weeks of drama.President William Ruto scrapped an unpopular finance bill in June after the protests. Rights groups accused police of a brutal and illegal crackdown that led …

Kenya reintroduces tax reforms with new deputy presidentFri, 01 Nov 2024 10:37:26 GMT Read More »