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 India’s election kicks off Friday with nearly 1 billion voters It's the final countdown to the start of the world's largest election. Nearly 1 billion people are eligible to vote. Polling will be conducted in seven phases with a winner declared only on June 4th. A total of 970 million people are eligible to vote in the election – more than the populations of the US, European Union and Russia combined. There will be more than a million polling stations […] today18 April, 2024
insert_link Lifestyle In the age of cancel culture, shaming can be healthy for online communities – a political scientist explains when and how Public shaming can help uphold online community norms. bo feng/iStock via Getty Images By Jennifer Forestal, Loyola University Chicago “Cancel culture” has a bad reputation. There is growing anxiety over this practice of publicly shaming people online for violating social norms ranging from inappropriate jokes to controversial business practices. Online shaming can be a wildly disproportionate response that violates the privacy of the shamed while offering them no […] today17 April, 2024
insert_link Africa Tanzanians go to the polls in 2025: President Samia has changed the landscape, but Magufuli’s legacy persists By Nicodemus Minde, United States International University It’s been three years since the death of Tanzania’s president John Magufuli and the rise to power of current president Samia Suluhu Hassan. Magufuli was Tanzania’s fifth president. He came to power in 2015 and was re-elected in 2020 in a poll that was marred by controversy. Magufuli brought lasting changes to Tanzania’s political landscape during his six-year tenure. His […] today16 April, 2024
insert_link World India elections: ‘Our rule of law is under attack from our own government, but the world does not see this’ By Sandhya Fuchs, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam On a crisp winter morning in February 2023, I meet one of my South Delhi neighbours, a lawyer in India’s supreme court, in a local cafe. As an avid promoter of religious minority rights, known for his commitment to the principles of equality that were enshrined in the constitution after India gained independence in 1947, I am taken aback by the […] today15 April, 2024
insert_link Opinion Pieces After the euphoria of Nelson Mandela’s election, what happened next? Podcast By Gemma Ware, The Conversation and Thabo Leshilo, The Conversation It was a moment many South Africans never believed they’d live to see. On 10 May 1994, Nelson Mandela was inaugurated as president of a democratic South Africa, ending the deadly and brutal white minority apartheid regime. To mark 30 years since South Africa’s post-apartheid transition began, The Conversation Weekly podcast is running a special three-part podcast […] today11 April, 2024
insert_link Opinion Pieces What happened to Nelson Mandela’s South Africa? A new podcast series marks 30 years of post-apartheid democracy By Thabo Leshilo, The Conversation When Nelson Mandela stood in front of the Union Buildings in Pretoria in May 1994 as South Africa’s first democratically elected president, my country was brimming with optimism for its post-apartheid future. I was there and relieved at the prospect of an end to bloodshed. I had seen far too much violence and death in my five-year career as a journalist, covering the […] today11 April, 2024
insert_link World South Sudan opposition protests party registration fee hike South Sudanese opposition parties protested Monday at an "exorbitant" $50,000 fee to register ahead of the fragile country's first ever elections, branding it a slap in the face for democracy. The world's youngest nation is due to go to the polls by the end of the year under a 2018 peace deal, although the United Nations and others say key obstacles still need to be overcome if they […] today25 March, 2024
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 […] today22 March, 2024
