insert_link World What Article 23 means for the future of Hong Kong and its once vibrant pro-democracy movement By Michael C. Davis, O.P. Jindal Global University Lawmakers in Hong Kong passed new security legislation on March 19, 2024, handing authorities in the semi-autonomous city-state further power to clamp down on dissent. The law, under Article 23, has been decades in the making but was resisted for a long time by protesters who feared the legislation’s effect on civil liberties in Hong Kong, a special administrative […] todayMarch 22, 2024 15
insert_link Africa AU says African democracy a ‘ship in troubled waters’ Speaking on behalf of AU Commission chair Moussa Faki Mahamat, AU Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Bankole Adeoye, says Africa has reached a tipping point and should "return to being an axis of progressive democracy" by enforcing the continent's zero tolerance to unconstitutional changes in governance. “Our badly bruised historical experience of dictatorship cannot be replicated in the 21st century again because these emerging anti-constitutional norms negate our commitment […] todayMarch 22, 2024 4
insert_link Entertainment This is how President Ramaphosa got to the 25% figure of progress in land reform in South Africa By Johann Kirsten, Stellenbosch University and Wandile Sihlobo, Stellenbosch University Nearly three decades into democracy, land reform remains central to South Africa’s transformation policies and agricultural policy. We have over the years pointed out that the progress on land reform has been incorrectly reported. It’s been consistently understated. We have argued that, if the statistics are treated carefully, the progress has been much better than politicians […] todayMarch 22, 2024 22
insert_link Africa Chad presidential election: assassination of main opposition figure casts doubt on country’s return to democracy By Helga Dickow, University of Freiburg The assassination of Chad’s main opposition leader, Yaya Dillo, is hanging heavy over presidential elections due in early May. Dillo was killed on 28 February when the headquarters of the opposition Party Socialiste sans Frontières (Party of Socialists without Borders) in the Chadian capital N'Djamena was besieged by the newly formed Rapid Reaction Force. It’s not the first violence meted out […] todayMarch 22, 2024 3
insert_link World The West can’t ‘solve’ its Russia problem. Here’s how it should handle 6 more years of Vladimir Putin By Peter Tesch, Australian National University In perhaps the least surprising news of the year, Vladimir Putin has triumphed at the Russian ballot box and been enthroned for the fifth time as president. He will serve for six more years. He will be 77 years old in 2030. According to the constitution, which he re-wrote to his benefit in 2020, he then could stand again for a further […] todayMarch 20, 2024 19
insert_link South Africa South Africa’s election management body has done a good job for 30 years: here’s why By Dirk Kotze, University of South Africa More than in previous elections, South Africa’s Electoral Commission (IEC) will be tested to the hilt in this year’s national and provincial elections on 29 May. For the first time in 30 years, the electoral majority of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) is in jeopardy. This makes the upcoming poll the most consequential one since 1994, when the country […] todayMarch 20, 2024 32
insert_link Africa Press freedom in Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda: what journalists have to say about doing their jobs By Karen McIntyre, Virginia Commonwealth University and Meghan Sobel Cohen, Regis University A majority of the world’s population has experienced a decline in press freedom in recent years, according to a UN report. In east Africa, the results are mixed and debatable. In Rwanda, both international press freedom rankings and journalists on the ground say press freedom has increased over the past 10 years. In neighbouring Uganda, both […] todayMarch 19, 2024 6
insert_link World US-Hungary relations strained over Biden’s dictatorship remark Bilateral ties between Hungary and the US have hit another low over U.S. President Joe Biden's remarks on the state of democracy in Hungary.Biden said Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban wants to run a "dictatorship," which has sparked outrage in Budapest. todayMarch 13, 2024 24
Oshiwambo ECN atula moilonga oshikonga osho ta shitu omukumo ovanyasha velishangife oukalata voku hoolola. Ocommisi yomahoololo mo Namibia (ECN) oya tula moilonga oshikonga sho maudifeko enasha noudemocry moshiwana, osho tashi tale keenghendabala doku twa omukumo ovanyasha vaka kufe ombinga momahoololo neudo. Ocommissi oya ulika nghene sha pumbiwa opo ovanyasha vatuwe omukumo woku lishangifa oukalata vomahoololo, pefimbo lomalishangifo oo kwa fanekiwa aka kufe ombinga okudja mo 03 June fiyo omomwedi wa August 2024. ECN oshivike sha dileko okwa yandja elombwelo shiivifo kutya, ova Namibia aveshe […] todayMarch 12, 2024 17