insert_link Africa Tanzania’s election laws make it hard to build political opposition – what needs to change By Aikande Clement Kwayu, Tumaini University Makumira Tanzanians go to the polls this year in local elections to vote for street and village chairpersons. This will be followed by a general election next year for councillors, members of parliament and the president. Both sets of elections are being watched closely. They’re the first to be held following a raft of changes over the past eight […] today15 July, 2024
insert_link Africa Gabon: post-coup dialogue has mapped out path to democracy – now military leaders must act By Douglas Yates, American Graduate School in Paris (AGS) At the end of April 2024, a long and peaceful process of national dialogue in Gabon between the military junta, presided over by coup leader General Brice Oligui Nguema, and civil society, represented by 580 civilians, came to an end. The national dialogue followed an August 2023 coup that removed Ali Bongo Ondimba from office and ended […] today17 May, 2024
insert_link World Arrests made as unrest erupts in New Caledonia More than 80 people have been arrested after unrest in the French Pacific territory of New Caledonia. Shops and cars were burnt as violence broke out during protests against constitutional reform. Ross Cullen reports. today14 May, 2024
insert_link Africa Opposition accuses Togo government of extending President’s rule Tensions have risen in Togo as parliamentary and regional elections are underway amid controversy over a new constitution extending President Faure Gnassingbé's term. The BBC reports that opposition parties have accused the government of using the reform to extend Gnassingbé's family's 57-year rule, allowing him to potentially stay in power until 2031. today29 April, 2024
insert_link World Hundreds of Nigerian children are being kidnapped – the government must change its security strategy By Al Chukwuma Okoli, Federal University Lafia School abductions have been a trend in Nigeria. The latest took place in Kaduna and Sokoto states, both in the north-west region, when over 300 children were abducted at different times in March 2024. Previous prominent cases have included the Chibok, Dapchi and Kankara abductions, which insurgents claimed to have perpetrated. As a security scholar and analyst who has researched and […] today25 March, 2024
insert_link Opinion Pieces Irish referendum: how the Catholic church shaped Ireland’s constitution to define the status of women By Caitriona Beaumont, London South Bank University It has been 87 years since feminist and activist Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington declared that the new 1937 Irish constitution was based on a “fascist model, in which women would be relegated to permanent inferiority”. Several clauses were labelled “sinister and retrogressive” by women’s groups who feared gender bias embedded within the constitution would restrict Irish women to their domestic roles as wives […] today7 February, 2024
