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Namibia has its first woman president. Namibians say it won’t mean much for women Namibia’s presidential and National Assembly elections this year have been historic on many fronts. They were the country’s most controversial elections, with accusations of foreign interference and election rigging at the forefront; while the country’s first female president was elected. The South West Africa People’s Organisation’s (Swapo’s) Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah was announced as the president-elect on Tuesday night, with 57.69% of the vote. The announcement was made at the Electoral Commission of Namibia’s (ECN’s) headquarters in Windhoek, but many parties were absent — contributing to a sombre mood. Multiple parties, including the incoming official opposition party, the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC), and the Landless People’s Movement (LPM) boycotted the announcement, as they do not recognise the election’s results. In a statement issued moments before the announcement, the IPC reaffirmed its...

Questions for the President Opinion by a concerned Malawian  MCP has never won an election since the second advent of multiparty democracy in Malawi. If they win in 2025 it will be a first and a remarkable feat. And since they know how messed up the country is under the now defunct Tonse Alliance Government, they are trying all they can in the book to "win". I just wonder how they think they will convince the voter that President Chakwera is a better candidate though. To be honest, the State President had the goodwill of all Malawians in 2020. He won outright, with support of Dr Saulos Klaus Chilima (may his soul rest in peace) and didn't need a rerun only to reduce himself to a a tribe's man and a President of the Central Region, lose the support of most of his Tonse Alliance partners in two years! What legacy does the President or his circle think will leave behind when all this akum'mwera ndi zitsiru or Chihana asapangitse msonkhano pa Central Region noise is g...

 The Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) has come under intense scrutiny over its handling of the voter registration process for the 2025 General elections.   In a scathing letter, civil society organizations have expressed their dissatisfaction with the MEC's response to their concerns, citing alarming irregularities and inefficiencies that have marred the process. The letter, signed by Cde Edwards Kambanje, Joseph Peshi, and Cde Oliver Nakoma, highlights three key issues: technical failures, logistical challenges, and a short registration period.  These issues have resulted in many eligible voters being turned away, denied their constitutional right to register. The civil society organizations are demanding that the MEC extend the voter registration period to accommodate those affected by these challenges.  They also call for the MEC to address the systemic technical and logistical issues to prevent further disenfranchisement. At the heart of the controversy is the i...

DODOMA, Tanzania (AP) - At first, Tanzania's new president appeared keen on smashing corruption and wasteful government spending, capturing the admiration of many in this East African country with austerity measures like rarely traveling abroad. Then came President John Pombe Magufuli's more startling decrees. He banned all opposition rallies until 2024, when the next election is due. He approved a tough new cybercrime law under which some Tanzanians have been charged with insulting him in WhatsApp chats. Less than a year after his election, Magufuli has split public opinion with what some describe as undemocratic attempts to reform the government. Others see them as exhilarating. The 56-year-old Magufuli has left the country only twice, to Rwanda and Uganda, since he became president, saying the savings should be directed toward social services, such as health care, to the poorest Tanzanians. Government officials must obtain his permission before traveling abroad, and wh...

WASHINGTON: President-elect Donald Trump used his Twitter account on Wednesday to denounce reports of problems in his transition team, singling out the New York Times for saying world leaders have had trouble getting in touch with him. Trump, whose aggressive use of Twitter against rivals was a key element of his presidential campaign, tweeted a list of several world leaders he had spoken with since his upset victory in the  Australia, New Zealand, and more. I am always available to them. @nytimes is just upset that they looked like fools in their coverage of me," Trump continued. He focused on the Times, a frequent Twitter target for Trump, because it said U.S. allies were "scrambling to figure out how and when to contact Mr. Trump." "The failing @nytimes story is so totally wrong on transition," he tweeted. "It is going so smoothly. Also, I have spoken to many foreign leaders." On Tuesday night, Trump had defended his transition team amid reports ...

Following the election of Donald Trump as president of the United States, president Obama’s paternal grand mother Sarah Obama has called on Donald Trump to learn from what she considers as Obama’s leadership skills. She has also advised Donald Trump to review his plans on the immigrants controversy. Sarah Obama said: “There has been a notion that immigrants should be deported, these are all children of God. Now that he wants to deport Kenyans back home then it means that Americans living in other countries should also be sent back home. That should not be the case.” Sarah Obama says the grand son, Barrack Obama whose mandate is coming to an end, should copy from his late father’s example and focus on helping others. Outgoing president Obama has been criticised within the party for leaving the Democratic Party in ruins. Obama met with Trump on Thursday to discuss modalities of a peaceful transfer of power.

A tiger and polar bear in a Siberian zoo made contrasting predictions of the outcome of Tuesday's US election when invited to choose between pumpkins representing Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.  Female tiger Yunona favoured a pumpkin carved with the image of Clinton, the Democratic nominee, while polar bear Felix opted after some deliberation for one bearing the name of Republican candidate Trump. The Royev Ruchey Zoo in Krasnoyarsk, which released a video of the two, said the animals faced a tough choice as the pumpkins had been filled with fresh meat and fish, both favourite treats with Yunona and Felix.

Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have cast their ballots in the US election, with the latter saying it will be a "tremendous waste of time" if he misses out on the White House. Millions of Americans are going to the polls to elect their 45th president at the end of an acrimonious and wildly unpredictable campaign that has divided the nation. America will either have its first female commander-in-chief in Mrs Clinton, or choose billionaire tycoon Mr Trump, a flamboyant former reality TV star who has rocked US politics. Mrs Clinton greeted supporters waiting outside her polling station as she and husband Bill cast their ballot in their home town of Chappaqua, New York. She said it was "the most humbling feeling" to vote "because so many people are counting on the outcome of this election." Mr Trump, who arrived at a New York City polling station earlier to cast his vote, expressed confidence he would "win lots of states". He told Fox News: ...

The presidents took office without winning the popular vote.  In other words, they did not receive a plurality in terms of the popular vote.  They were elected, instead, by the electoral college or in the case of John Quincy Adams by the House of Representatives after a tie in the electoral votes. They were: John Quincy Adams who lost by 44,804 votes to Andrew Jackson in 1824 Rutherford B. Hayes who lost by 264,292 votes to Samuel J. Tilden in 1876 Four presidents took office without winning the popular vote.  In other words, they did not receive a plurality in terms of the popular vote.  They were elected, instead, by the electoral college or in the case of John Quincy Adams by the House of Representatives after a tie in the electoral votes.  They were:John Quincy Adams who lost by 44,804 votes to Andrew Jackson in 1824 Rutherford B. Hayes who lost by 264,292 votes to Samuel J. Tilden in 1876 The Twenty-Third Amendment gave the District of Columbia three e...

October, a month just prior to the November presidential elections in the US, is known for springing surprises.  On October 7, American citizens saw a video, released by The Washington Post, in which Donald Trump boasted of his capacity to sexually force himself on women. In the US, the sexual conduct of politicians tends to matter much more than in Europe. Given the monumental lewdness of Trump’s boast, his campaign began to disintegrate. Then, on October 28, barely 11 days before the elections, surfaced a note by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) sent to the US Congress. The FBI, it said, had uncovered emails that appeared “to be pertinent” to its earlier investigation of Hillary Clinton for having used a private email server for official communication during her years as secretary of state (2008-2013), though the Bureau could “not yet assess” whether the material was “significant”. The FBI jolted the campaign, which was going strongly in favour of Clinton. The key iss...

According to The Washington Post and ABC News tracking poll, Trump has the support of 46 per cent of voters compared with 45 per cent for Clinton. The survey, conducted by telephone on October 27-30 among 1,128 likely voters, also found that Libertarian Party presidential candidate Gary Johnson has three per cent support, while the Green Party's Jill Stein has two per cent. This is the first time since May that the real estate tycoon has beaten the former secretary of state in the periodic polling performed by the two media outlets. In a similar survey last week, Clinton was leading Trump by 46 per cent to 45 per cent, and a little more than a week ago, the former first lady was enjoying a 12-point lead (50 per cent to 38 per cent) over the controversial billionaire. One relevant finding in the survey was that 53 per cent of those consulted said that they were "very enthusiastic" in their support of Trump, while 45 per cent said the same about Clinton. The study also f...

The  thousands of citizens of south Africa want Zuma to realise the power.      The protests in the administrative capital of Pretoria on Wednesday came as opposition lawyers argued in court for the release of a state watchdog report about allegations that a business family linked to Zuma sought to influence some Cabinet post selections. Business executives, religious leaders and others have gathered in a Pretoria cathedral to demand that Zuma quit, while separate rallies are also being held by South Africa's two biggest opposition parties. Zuma has not commented this week on growing calls for his ouster. He is scheduled to chair a forum in Harare on Thursday with Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe.

South Sudan: Since the beginning of that new nation the citizens of that nation have not enjoyed with the creation of the nation. United Nations peacekeepers known as UNMISS failed to respond to an attack on civilians by South Sudanese government troops at the Hotel Terrain in the capital Juba in July, less than a mile from a U.N. compound, a U.N. inquiry found on Tuesday. It found a “lack of preparedness, ineffective command and control and a risk-averse or ‘inward-looking’ posture resulted in a loss of trust and confidence – particularly by the local population and humanitarian agencies – in the will and skill ofUNMISS military, (and) police to be proactive and show a determined posture to protect civilians under threat.” Several aid workers were raped, most robbed or beaten, and some terrorised with mock executions by scores of South Sudanese government troops in Juba, the capital, on 11 July. A local journalist was executed by the troops during the attack, which la...

WASHINGTON :― The White House delivered an arm’s-length rebuke to FBI Director James Comey on Monday, declining to either stand behind or fully condemn his decision to enter the presidential-election fray but noting that he had opened the door to a partisan fracas.  The Department of Justice has great power that comes with great responsibility, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said. He was addressing Comey sending a vaguely worded letter to Congress last week in which he announced the FBI had potentially discovered emails that could be related to a prior investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private account.  “I will neither defend nor criticize what Director Comey has decided to communicate to the public about the investigation,” Earnest said, before framing the decision as Comey’s alone and potentially damaging to “our democracy.”  What I will say is the Department of Justice in our democracy is given expansive a...

We got another set of mixed resultson Monday on whether the election has tightened further as a result of FBI Director James Comey’s letter to Congress about Hillary Clinton’s email server.  Overall, however, this is a fairly negative set of data for Clinton. First, we’ll start with polls that were conducted entirely since the news broke on Friday: A Morning Consult national poll for Politico, conducted Saturday and Sunday, has Clinton leading Donald Trump by 3 percentage points. That’s down from a 6-point lead in a poll Morning Consult conducted on Oct. 19-20 after the third presidential debate. But Morning Consult also conducted a poll last Thursday and Friday — included with this morning’s release — that had shown the race tightening, with Clinton holding a 3-point lead.  So this poll shows Trump closing the gap with Clinton, but not necessarily because of Comey. The Times Picayune-Lucid national tracking poll, conducted Friday through ...

India :  The police in India face challenges after 8 suspects terror known as islamic Movement of India (SIMI),broke out the jail and trying to escaped and were shoted and dead later. Arvind Kejriwal, Congress's Digvijaya Singh and Hyderabad lawmaker Asaduddin Owaisi demanded an inquiry, videos emerged, one that shows a policeman shooting at an inert body, and hours later, another that was interpreted as showing that the police shot dead suspects even though they wanted to surrender. In the second video, a group of men are seen at a distance and a voice says: "Control! These five men are talking to us. Three are trying to run away. Let's surround them!" Gunshots are then heard.  capital, the fugitives had managed to walk around 15 km on foot before they were hunted down. They had guns, said the police. "They were armed and there was crossfire," said senior Bhopal police officer Yogesh Choudhary. Described by the government as hardcore criminals, the eigh...

Eight Al-Shabaab militants and four soldiers died following a fierce gun battle near Baidoa town in southwest Somalia, government officials confirmed to Xinhua on Sunday. Information Minister for Southwest State in Somalia, Ugaas Hassan, said the Al-Shabaab militants had ambushed a military base when soldiers allied to Somalia National Army killed them. "The Al-Shabaab fighters attacked a military base near Baidoa and eight of them died during a gun battle with soldiers. We lost four soldiers," said Hassan. He denied claims by Al-Shabaab militants that they captured a government controlled territory in southwest Somalia. The minister disclosed that six soldiers from Somalia National Army who sustained injuries during the gun battle with Al-Shabaab have been hospitalized.

State-sanctioned Shia militias launched an assault on the Islamic State group west of the Iraqi city of Mosul on Saturday but reiterated that they would not enter the Sunni majority city. Jaafar al-Husseini, a spokesperson for the Hezbollah Brigades, said they launched an offensive Saturday along with other large militias toward the town of Tel Afar, which had a Shia majority before it fell to IS in 2014.  Iranian forces are advising the fighters and Iraqi aircraft are providing airstrikes, he said. Iraq launched a massive operation to retake militant-held Mosul, its second largest city, last week. The involvement of the Shia militias has raised concerns the battle could aggravate sectarian divisions. The Mosul offensive involves more than 25,000 soldiers, Federal Police, Kurdish fighters, Sunni tribesmen and the Shia militias, which operate under an umbrella organization known as the Popular Mobilization Units. Many of the militias were originally formed after the 2003 US-led inv...

The latest target of Donald Trump's  is a military expert who questioned his analysis of the battle for the Iraqi city of Mosul, with the Republican nominee offering him a couple of lessons in strategy. "You can tell your military expert that I'll sit down and teach him a couple of things," Trump told ABC News in an interview. He was responding to a question on a military expert who had criticised his analysis of the battle to retake Mosul from ISIS. Trump also hit out at the Obama administration for its strategy against ISIS, particularly in Mosul. "I've been hearing about Mosul now for three months. 'We're going to attack, we're going to attack.' Why do they have to say three months before the attack, 'We're going in?' Don't talk about it. (It's the) element of surprise," Trump said. "One of the reasons they wanted Mosul, they wanted to get ISIS leaders who they thought were in Mosul. Those people have all le...

First lady Michelle Obama said she was "beyond proud" to take part in a commissioning ceremony Saturday for the U.S. Navy attack submarine named for her home state of Illinois. The submarine officially became the USS Illinois, SSN 786, and began active service at a ceremony at the submarine base in Groton, Connecticut. Mrs. Obama, the ship sponsor, gave the order to "man our ship and bring her to life" before the crew of about 130 men ran across the brow, onto the vessel. "Thank you for giving me the incredible privilege of being associated with you and with your families and with the Illinois for the rest of my life," she told them. "I will continue to keep you in my prayers every single day and keep you in my thoughts, and know that you have a sponsor that cares deeply." The first lady, who is from Chicago, has made supporting military families a priority. She's considered an honorary member of the crew, and will be involved in the lives...