President Abdelaziz Bouteflika of Algeria resigned on Tuesday, ending weeks of speculation and confrontation. He followed the announcement with an emotional farewell letter to the Algerian people that recounted the successes of his long tenure but asked their forgiveness for his failings too. “Soon, Algeria will have a new president,…
President Abdelaziz Bouteflika of Algeria postponed the nation’s April 18 election on Monday, and said in a statement that he would no longer run for re-election after serving four terms. State news agency Algeria Press Service shared Bouteflika’s message with the nation, following the 82-year-old leader’s return from medical treatment…
Reports from Switzerland suggest Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika may be headed home after two weeks of medical care, a trip that’s kept him outside of a country in turmoil over his bid for a fifth term. Agence France Presse shared video late Sunday afternoon that showed the same convoy that…
President Abdelaziz Bouteflika issued a statement Sunday seeking to reassure an Algeria in turmoil that he hears the concerns of thousands of protesters, and will remain a candidate in upcoming elections but then institute reforms and shepherd a transition to new leadership. “The commitments I make before you will, of…
President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan declared a year-long state of emergency on Friday, in an address that also announced his decision to dissolve his federal cabinet and local governments. He also called on Sudanese lawmakers to defer any constitutional amendments that would allow him to remain in office for a…
Young Algerians took to the streets on Friday to protest the possibility of a fifth term for President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the ailing 81-year-old who has been Algeria’s leader since 1999. The marches in Algiers, Oran, Sidi Bel Abbès and beyond featured signs and slogans to oppose another term for the…
Russia’s foreign ministry has confirmed that “private security firms” are indeed working in Sudan, but spokeswoman Maria Zakharova downplayed their role in ongoing Sudan protests as irresponsible reporting on the part of Western news outlets. “We are informed that some employees of Russian private security firms, who have no relation…
The Qatar-based Al Jazeera media outlet confirmed Tuesday that the Sudanese government had pulled the credentials of three of its journalists covering weeks of economic and political unrest. Correspondents Osama Ahmed and Ahmed Alrehaid, along with photojournalist Badawi Bashir, have been barred despite earlier approval from the Sudanese Press and…
President Emmerson Mnangagwa returned to Zimbabwe to deal with the nation’s protests and political crisis, skipping a trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland that followed his official visits to Russia and Eastern Europe. The president defended his decision to raise fuel prices – the proximal cause of…
Zimbabwe’s security forces said Saturday that they’re not the ones responsible for a week of violent crackdowns on protesters and opposition political leaders in the economically troubled nation. Rather, it was “fake police,” and criminals and imposters in stolen military uniforms who brutalized civilians. The explanation was offered during a…
This isn’t the first time that Zimbabwe’s Pastor Evan Mawarire has been arrested. It’s not even the first time he’s been arrested for leading an economic protest because of gas prices and fuel shortages. Even as he appeared in court yet again Thursday morning in Harare, it’s clear that the…
Activists in Sudan say that more than 200 government websites have been shut down by the Anonymous group, in retaliation for Khartoum’s violent actions against Sudanese protesters. The main Sudanese government site, along with local and regional governments and various official agencies, remained inaccessible early Wednesday and had been for…
The protests aren’t just for yellow vests anymore. Now a Tunisian grassroots group has launched its “gilet rouge” movement, saying it’s the only way to save the nation eight years after the Tunisian Revolution of December 2010. Citing their disappointment in Tunisia’s economic situation, including high prices, unemployment and corruption,…
Opposition leaders in Togo on Sunday confirmed their opposition to the planned December 20 legislative elections, and their resolve to continue protests after at least two people died in clashes on Saturday. Jean-Pierre Fabre and the Coalition of 14 (C14) political opposition accused the government of President Faure Gnassingbé of…
The “Gilets Jaunes” movement across France, a grassroots political opposition that takes its name from the yellow vests worn at protests, brought Paris to a standstill on Saturday as clashes and teargas filled the air – but France proper isn’t the only place seeing yellow-vest protests. The movement has taken…