[AFRICANEWS] The ally President Felix Tshisekedi returns to a role he has led before. Vital Kamerhe, speaker of the national assembly from 2006-2009, was elected Wednesday to the same position, ending months of bickering and a threat by the President to dissolve parliament.
A veteran of Congolese politics, the 65-year-old became allies with Tshisekedi in 2018, when he withdrew his candidacy for president.
His Union for the Congolese Nation party also played a key role in helping Tshisekedi in dismantle a coalition with his predecessor Joseph Kabila in 2020.
But Kamerhe who served as Tshisekedi's chief of staff was soon arrested and sentenced to 20 years in jail for embezzlement. In 2022, he was acquitted on appeal and released.
In 2023, Kamerhe returned to Tshisekedi's cabinet as minister of the economy just in time for the election in which Tshisekedi won a second term as president.
His election as speaker of parliament paves way for the formation of a new government.
[AFRICANEWS] Former Zambian President Edgar Lungu is accusing President Hakainde Hichilema and the Zambia Police Inspector General of plotting to arrest and detain him without justification.
In a Facebook post on Wednesday, May 22, Lungu said the police are preparing to arrest him at night from his home in Lusaka.
"...the police are under instructions to arrest me in the dark of the night any day by surprise!" the post read.
This follows Lungu's controversial suggestion of a possible government change before the 2026 elections, seen by many as a threat. His statement has been condemned by political opponents and civil society groups.
Police Chief Graphael Musamba stated that Lungu will be summoned to explain his "inciting" remarks. Local media report that the police are taking Lungu’s statement seriously and are investigating.
Lungu's claims of house arrest and police harassment have raised concerns about democracy and human rights ...not to be confused with individual rights, mind you... in Zambia. Lungu, a vocal critic of President Hakainde Hichilema’s government, alleges persecution.
The Patriotic Front, Lungu's party, accuses the government of silencing opponents and calls for the release of Lungu and detained party members.
He had retired from politics after losing the presidency to Hakainde Hichilema in 2021.
The former leader has been accusing the government of victimizing him and members of his Patriotic Front (PF) party to block his return to politics.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] On May 23, the UN General Assembly approved a draft resolution submitted by Germany and Rwanda on the “genocide in Srebrenica.” Fortunately, absolutely nothing the UN Generally Assembly does matters.
Representatives of 84 countries voted in favor, and 19 countries voted against, including Russia, China, Belarus, Hungary and Cuba. Representatives of 68 countries abstained from voting.
Russia previously spoke out against the adoption of this resolution. On May 23, the Russian permanent representative to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, called the voting results disgraceful and noted that the initiators of the resolution were pushing the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina towards confrontation.
As Regnum reported, on May 5, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the draft resolution on the events in Srebrenica submitted by Germany and Rwanda to the UN General Assembly was being promoted with the goal of “breaking the Serbs.” The project involves condemning only one side, Lavrov noted. Russia has previously blocked similar draft resolutions in the UN Security Council, the minister recalled.
On April 30, Nebenzya stated that the draft resolution violated the Dayton Agreement. The possible adoption of the initiative would have a disastrous effect on Bosnia and Herzegovina and could lead to destabilization of the entire Balkan region, he said. Nebenzya stressed that the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina must independently come to a consensus regarding their history.
Over the past year, the Serbian entity within Bosnia and Herzegovina has faced unprecedented pressure due to its refusal to impose anti-Russian sanctions, give up its powers to Sarajevo and join NATO, noted IA Regnum columnist Bogdan Kis in his article. This pushes the President of the Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik and his circle to serious actions that the collective West does not like, but brings the republic closer to a historic decision, the expert emphasized.
On May 23, Dodik announced that within 30 days the republic would present a project for the peaceful division of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Serbian people can no longer live in Bosnia and Herzegovina in its current form, Dodik emphasized.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] On May 22, another magnetic storm covered the Earth. Its strength according to the internationally accepted K-index indicator is not very high and reaches 4 (out of 9 possible) points. However, the storm is expected to last for a long time, and it could negatively affect the operation of power grids, satellite systems and other technologies.
A special blow threatens residents of Primorye, reports UssurMedia news agency.
Experts predict that the geomagnetic storm will end on May 25. For four days, the atmosphere will absorb bursts of solar energy. As a result, weather-sensitive people may experience headaches, muscle pain, and general weakness.
The previous magnetic storm was recorded in early May. Its power was 9 points, which is why it was recognized as a record in the 21st century. Residents of some southern regions could even observe the northern lights, which were unusual for this area.
The K-index, an indicator of geomagnetic activity, was introduced in 1938. It represents the deviation of the Earth's magnetic field over a three-hour interval - from 0 to 9 points.
[BBC] President Emmanuel Macron has described rioting in the French-Pacific territory of New Caledonia as an "unprecedented insurrection movement" that no-one saw coming.
During a tour of police headquarters in the capital Nouméa on Thursday, he said the coming days and weeks would be difficult, but Paris would "go until the end" to restore calm.
Six people, including two police officers, have been killed and hundreds more wounded in riots, looting and arson triggered by a controversial electoral reform.
New Caledonia, a group of islands between Australia and Fiji, has been a French territory since the 19th Century. Tensions have been high for some time between the central government in Paris and indigenous Kanaks who make up about 40% of the tiny archipelago.
Kanak protesters fear that a new law giving voting rights to French residents who have lived there for more than 10 years will dilute the influence of the indigenous population.
However, the violence that began on 13 May is the worst unrest seen there since the 1980s.
A state of emergency has been imposed and President Macron has said that a 3,000-strong force deployed from France will remain - even during the Paris Summer Olympics if required.
Arriving in Nouméa after a 24-hour flight from Paris, President Macron said he wanted the return of peace, calm and security "as quickly as possible".
He paid respects to the victims of the riots, as he met local political and business leaders.
The summit included separatist leaders, who said beforehand that they hoped it could "breathe new life" into discussions with France.
Police have held 269 people since the violence began on 13 May, and New Caledonia is currently under a state of emergency.
But Mr Macron hinted that the emergency status could be lifted in the coming days, saying: "I personally believe that the state of emergency should not be extended".
New Caledonia has a population of about 300,000 people, including 112,000 indigenous Kanaks.
Under the 1998 Nouméa Accord, France agreed to give the territory more political autonomy and to limit voting in provincial and assembly elections to those who were residents then.
More than 40,000 French nationals have moved to New Caledonia since.
Last week, the National Assembly in Paris proposed granting voting rights to French residents who have lived in the territory for 10 years.
Because this requires a change to the constitution, the measure faces further hurdles.
The Nouméa agreement allowed for three referendums on the country's future. Independence was rejected in all instances.
The first two showed slim majorities for remaining part of France. The third, in December 2021, was boycotted by pro-independence parties because it was held during the Covid pandemic.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
