Tunisia’s president has sacked the prime minister and suspended parliament, after violent protests broke out across the country. Thousands of protesters, angry at the government’s mishandling of Covid-19, had flooded onto the streets and clashed with police on Sunday. President Kais Saied announced he would take charge with help from a new prime minister, saying he intended to bring calm to the country. But opponents branded his move a coup. “We have taken these decisions… until social peace returns to Tunisia and until we save the state,” Mr Saied said in a televised address after an emergency security meeting at … Continue reading Tunisia PM sacked after violent protests

Nepal’s Supreme Court on Monday reinstated its parliament, which was dissolved by caretaker Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli in May, and ordered that his rival Sher Bahadur Deuba be appointed as prime minister.The Supreme Court in Kathmandu, Nepal. The move deals a major blow to Oli, who was unable to muster a majority in the House of Representatives and had sought to force a fresh election by dissolving parliament on May 22. Oli’s move had sparked a fresh constitutional crisis in the Himalayan nation, as it struggled to contain an outbreak of coronavirus that saw hospitals overwhelmed and medical oxygen run out. … Continue reading Nepal’s top court appoints new prime minister and reinstates dissolved parliament

The first woman elected prime minister of Samoa showed up for her swearing-in ceremony on Monday to find her opponents had locked the doors to prevent her from taking office. Fiame Naomi Mata’afa and her followers pitched a tent on the statehouse lawn, where she took the oath of office instead. The bizarre scenes capped six weeks of election turmoil that escalated into a constitutional crisis over the weekend as Mata’afa’s fierce rival refused to give up power over the Pacific nation. “This is an illegal takeover of government,” Mata’afa said Sunday of the efforts to keep her from office. “Because … Continue reading Bloodless coup: Samoa’s first female leader locked out of her own swearing-in ceremony

Fiame Naomi Mataafa is poised to become Samoa’s first female prime minister, after the Pacific nation’s top court helped break a month-long political impasse that followed a tightly contested April election. Samoa’s Supreme Court on Monday afternoon overruled an attempt by the head of state Tuimalealiifano Vaaletoa Sualauvi II to void the election results, local media reported. The top court also separately rejected the post-election creation of an additional parliamentary seat by the electoral commission that briefly gave the incumbent government a majority. The court decisions clear the path for Mataafa’s FAST party to form a government, ending the rule of … Continue reading Samoa set to appoint first female PM

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has said he is being investigated by anti-corruption prosecutors over allegations that he made false statements to a parliamentary commission. MPs have been investigating claims of nepotism, including the appointment of party loyalist Thomas Schmid as head of Austria’s state holding company. WhatsApp messages on Mr Schmid’s phone suggest Mr Kurz may have more to answer than previously known. Mr Kurz denies wrongdoing. He said on Wednesday he had “always tried” to tell the commission the truth and he would not resign as chancellor, and he would be happy to be questioned by a judge. He … Continue reading Austrian leader Sebastian Kurz investigated by corruption inquiry

The secretary-general of South Africa’s African National Congress (ANC) has refused to comply with his suspension after being charged with corruption. Ace Magashule denies the charges and said that he, as head of the ANC, had suspended President Cyril Ramaphosa. The dispute illustrates a power struggle within the governing party, the president warned that any ANC members facing corruption charges would also face suspension if they did not leave their posts within 30 days. The ANC tougher code of conduct is being seen as a test of whether the party of Nelson Mandela is serious about ending years of corruption … Continue reading South Africa’s Ace Magashule refuses to step down from ANC position

At least 17 people have allegedly been killed in India’s West Bengal state since Sunday in clashes following local elections. They were all reportedly party workers who belonged to the governing Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Violence reportedly broke out after the incumbent TMC swept to power for a third time in the battleground state, but police are yet to confirm the deaths or what started the violence. The BJP has alleged that TMC workers attacked its members, vanadalised offices and even looted shops run by BJP workers. But TMC has denied the charge and … Continue reading India parties claim 17 dead in poll clashes

Walter Mondale, the former vice president whose accomplished career was marred by one of the worst electoral shellackings in American history, died Monday.Former President Jimmy Carter participates in a tribute to former Vice President Walter Mondale in Washington on Oct. 20, 2015. Mondale, who was also the first presidential candidate to select a woman, Geraldine Ferraro, to be his running mate, was 93. The Associated Press reported his death, citing his family. The man known as “Fritz” had his seemingly effortless rise in politics halted twice by Ronald Reagan, once in 1980 when the Reagan-Bush ticket stomped Jimmy Carter’s bid … Continue reading Former Vice President Walter Mondale dies at 93

Will Smith’s slavery film Emancipation has pulled out of filming in Georgia over what the star has called the US state’s new “regressive voting laws”. In a statement issued to Deadline by Smith and director Antoine Fuqua, the pair said they felt “compelled” to act. “We cannot in good conscience provide economic support to a government that enacts regressive voting laws that are designed to restrict voter access.” Some feel the new law will restrict voting by disadvantaged groups. Deadline said the move by the Emancipation producers comes after weeks of discussions between the filmmakers, film officials and Georgia political … Continue reading Will Smith’s slavery film Emancipation pulls out of Georgia over voting laws

Trump-boosting Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz is under federal investigation over allegations that he maintained a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl and paid for her to travel with him, according to a report Tuesday. Matt Gaetz The three-term Republican, who is one of former President Donald Trump’s most ardent allies on Capitol Hill, is being probed by Justice Department prosecutors for potentially breaking federal sex trafficking laws by allegedly traveling across state lines with the teen to engage in sex, multiple sources told The New York Times. The teen’s identity is not known, and it’s unclear how Gaetz, 38, met her. … Continue reading US congressman Matt Gaetz under federal investigation

Guy Brice Parfait Kolelas, leading opposition presidential candidate in Republic of Congo’s election, died on Sunday, a day after the country went to the polls. Kolelas was hospitalised on the eve of the elections and died of COVID-19 as he was being taken to France for treatment, his campaign director Christian Cyr Rodrigue Mayanda told AFP news agency on Monday. Kolelas “died in the medical aircraft which came to get him from Brazzaville on Sunday afternoon”, added Mayanda. On Saturday, a family member told the Associated Press that Kolelas was receiving treatment at a private hospital in the capital Brazzaville … Continue reading Congo’s opposition candidate dies a day after elections

French ex-President Nicolas Sarkozy has been sentenced to three years in jail, two of them suspended, for corruption. He was convicted of trying to bribe a judge in 2014, after he had left office by suggesting he could secure a prestigious job for him in return for information about a separate case. Sarkozy, 66, is the first former French president to get a custodial sentence, his lawyer says he will appeal. Sarkozy will remain free during that process which could take years. In the ruling, Judge Christine Mée said the conservative politician “knew what [he] was doing was wrong”, adding … Continue reading How The Mighty Falls: Former French president sentenced to jail for corruption