SUDAN PROTESTORS DEMAND CIVILIAN RULE
By Donnelly McCleland Sudan’s main protest group on Sunday [14 April] demanded the immediate handover of power to a civilian transitional government, saying it would keep up the street demonstrations which ousted former President Omar al-Bashir last week to achieve its aims. (Reuters) Uncertainty and turmoil amid jubilation A sit-in in the Sudanese capital, which…
CONCERN OVER HONG KONG’S PROPOSED CHANGES TO EXTRADITION LAWS
By Mike Burnard Thousands of people protested in Hong Kong on Sunday [7 April] against a government plan to change extradition laws, fearing an erosion of personal freedom and the city’s status as an international business hub. The Hong Kong government proposal, announced in February, would grant the city’s leader executive power to send fugitives…
RIVAL FACTIONS BATTLE FOR TRIPOLI
By Andrew Richards Libya has been plunged into chaos again, with forces loyal to a polarising military commander marching on the capital and trading fire with militias aligned with a weak UN-backed government. The battle for Tripoli could ignite civil war on the scale of the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed long-time dictator Muammar…
INTERNATIONALLY ACCLAIMED IRANIAN HUMAN RIGHTS LAWYER SENTENCED
By Donnelly McCleland Prominent Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh has been sentenced to 38 years in prison and 148 lashes, according to her family. Sotoudeh is well known for representing human rights defenders, dissidents and women who protested against the compulsory wearing of a headscarf in Iran. According to IRNA, Iran’s state-owned news service,…
TV ENTERTAINER EMERGES AS FRONTRUNNER IN UKRAINE ELECTIONS
By Donnelly McCleland (with contribution by Mike Burnard) Ukrainians awoke on April Fools’ Day to the reality of a comedian on the verge of taking over as commander in chief. The first-round victory for Volodymyr Zelensky, a 41-year-old entertainer who plays the president in a popular sitcom, served as a breath-taking rebuke by about 5…
TRUMP FORMALLY RECOGNISES ISRAELI SOVEREIGNTY OVER GOLAN HEIGHTS
By Alex Pollock (with contribution by Mike Burnard) Donald Trump signed a presidential proclamation on Monday [25 March] formally recognising Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, still considered Syrian territory under international law. The decision to recognise Israeli sovereignty over land that the international community nearly unanimously considers occupied, or at the least disputed, is…
DEVASTATION ACROSS THREE COUNTRIES IN CYCLONE IDAI’S WAKE
By Donnelly McCleland More than a thousand people are feared to have died in a cyclone that smashed into Mozambique, while scores have been killed and more than 150 are missing in neighbouring Zimbabwe. The city of Beira in central Mozambique bore Cyclone Idai’s full wrath on Thursday [14 March] before the storm barrelled on…
ALGERIA’S ELECTIONS – A TEST FOR DEMOCRACY
By Hannes Bosman and Donnelly McCleland An emerging coalition of Algerian opposition figures Tuesday [19 March] rejected President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s plan to remain in office while overseeing a political transition from his 20-year rule, echoing the demands of street protesters that he step down next month. The group also urged the military to stay out…
WEST IS USING CHRISTIANITY TO ‘SUBVERT’ CHINESE GOVERNMENT
By Andrew Richards ‘Western forces’ are trying to use Christianity to influence China’s society and even “subvert” the government, a senior official said, warning that Chinese Christians needed to follow a Chinese model of the religion. China’s constitution guarantees religious freedom, but since President Xi Jinping took office six years ago, the government has tightened…
SECOND US-NORTH KOREA SUMMIT NOT A “FAILURE”
By Mike Burnard The nuclear summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has collapsed after the two sides failed to reach a deal due to a stand-off over US sanctions and North Korean denuclearisation — a stunning end to high-stakes meetings meant to disarm a global threat. In a news conference…