After more than 11 years abroad -- a decade of it behind bars -- former DR Congo warlord Jean-Pierre Bemba made a triumphant return home on Wednesday in front of tens of thousands supporters and police firing teargas, reflecting the country's high-voltage political mood. Bemba, throwing down the gauntlet to his rival President Joseph Kabila, [...]
Zimbabwe's ruling ZANU-PF party won the most seats in parliament, official results showed Wednesday, as the opposition MDC protested against alleged widespread fraud and the count continued in the key presidential race. The parliamentary results strengthened the chances of President Emmerson Mnangagwa holding power, but triggered MDC demonstrations in Harare and fears of clashes between [...]
Seychelles and New Zealand, both members of the Commonwealth, will cooperate in the fields of economic relations, the blue economy, and climate change, the newly accredited High Commissioner said on Tuesday. Mark Ramsden presented his credentials to the President of the island nation, Danny Faure, at State House. After the ceremony Ramsden said that the [...]
More than two dozen executives from Seychelles whose companies spend heavily on energy produced from imported fossil fuels have joined state officials to launch a project aimed at cutting their power bills by 30 percent. Thirty company executives and engineers said they welcomed the European Union-funded drive to cut back on petroleum-base energy, adding that energy [...]
Voters in Comoros overwhelmingly backed controversial constitutional reforms that would allow President Azali Assoumani to run for another term, an electoral official said Monday, following a referendum boycotted by the opposition. The Indian Ocean archipelago has a long history of instability and risks renewed unrest after Assoumani banned demonstrations and the opposition called Monday's vote [...]
A South African court ruled Monday that former Zimbabwean first lady Grace Mugabe did not have diplomatic immunity when she allegedly beat a young woman with an electrical cord. Mugabe was given immunity from prosecution by officials after she was alleged to have become angry and beaten model Gabriella Engels‚ who had been with her [...]
Poland plans to open an honorary consulate in Seychelles, the newly accredited Polish ambassador to the island nation told President Danny Faure on Tuesday. Ambassador Jacek Bazański said that Faure accepted the offer "without any hesitation." “I asked him to give me around three to five months to find a good candidate to fill the post of [...]
The Seychelles’ Electoral Commission plans to audit the expenses of political parties receiving funds for their activities, a top official says. The interim electoral commissioner, Bernard Elisabeth, said that political parties receive money every quarter depending on the number of seats they have in the National Assembly. “The money is disbursed every three months in a year to [...]
India on Monday effectively stripped four million people in Assam of citizenship, sparking fears of mass deportations of Muslims from the northeastern state. A new draft register of citizens includes only those able to prove they were in Assam before 1971, when millions fled Bangladesh's war of independence into the state, and their descendants. Critics [...]
A tribunal set up by the Constitutional Appointment Authority of Seychelles to investigate complaints of misbehavior by the Chief Justice, Mathilda Twomey, heard its first testimony from witnesses on Monday. Four witnesses are expected to appear before the court, including Supreme Court Judge Durai Karunakaran. Four charges are laid against Chief Justice Twomey: the abuse of authority of office; destruction [...]