NEWS ANALYSIS

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | The election 25 years ago of South Africa’s first black president, the late Nelson Mandela, who inspired the struggle against apartheid, was a time of soaring hope that the bruised country would reconcile after decades of discrimination and inequality. “You have mandated us to …

Colombo, Sri Lanka | AFP | As Shantha Prasad carried children wounded in Sri Lanka’s deadly attacks into a Colombo hospital, memories of the country’s deadly civil war flooded back. “I carried about eight wounded children yesterday,” he told AFP on Monday, a day after a string of blasts hit hotels …

Kiev, Ukraine | AFP | Ukraine’s election has catapulted Volodymyr Zelensky, a 41-year-old standup comedian and television star with no political experience, into the nation’s top job. As leader of a country dependent on international aid and battling separatists, Zelensky will have to deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin, deep …

The protesters were calling for freedom, peace, justice By Andrew Edward Tchie |ANDREW EDWARD TCHIE | Following months of protests, and a prolonged sit-in outside the military headquarters in Khartoum, Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir was placed under house arrest on April 11 as the country’s military prepared for a transitional …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said prior to the humiliating 4-0 thrashing by Everton there would not be wholesale changes to Manchester United personnel in the close season, but Gary Neville, for one, believes he should think again. United’s millionaire stars such as Paul Pogba and David …

Paris, France | AFP |  Black South Africans voted for the first time in April 1994, turning out in droves for a jubilant election that was the final death blow to centuries of white domination. Here is an account of that historic event, based on AFP reports from the time. …

Paris, France | AFP |  South Africa’s first all-race vote 25 years ago turned the page on an oppressive system of racial segregation called apartheid that for roughly 50 years privileged whites over blacks. Here is a reminder. – Races apart – Apartheid — an Afrikaans-language word meaning the state …

The reign of Omar al-Bashir is over. His 30 years of rule are finally at an end. Like previous Sudanese leaders, he was finally toppled by the army, which finally sided with the people over the president. | MARTIN PLAUT | But it was the presence of vast numbers of …

How accurate are claims by Ugandans on Bashir coup? Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | On April 16, five days after Field Marshal Omar Al-Bashir was kicked out in Sudan, President Yoweri Museveni’s Senior Advisor and Personal Assistant, Milly Babalanda, wrote in the New Vision that “Museveni knows when he …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Stress and excessively-long working hours contribute to the deaths of nearly 2.8 million workers every year, while an additional 374 million people get injured or fall ill because of their jobs. This is according to a report released by the International Labour Organisation-ILO. According …