WARSAW – Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko has pardoned 30 people convicted for anti-government protests, his office said yesterday, four years after mass demonstrations gripped the Russian-allied country. Minsk carried out a massive crackdown on dissent after suppressing 2020 protests against Lukashenko, jailing hundreds of people and spurring a new wave of emigration. “Among the pardoned...
PARIS – With its ban of X, which went into effect on Saturday, Brazil joins a small club of countries to have taken similar measures against the social network, most of them run by authoritarian regimes. Beyond permanent bans, some nations have temporarily restricted access to X, formerly Twitter, which has often been used by...
JAKARTA – Pope Francis appealed yesterday for religious unity to counter extremism and intolerance, as the longest tour of the 87-year-old’s papacy got into full swing in Muslim-majority Indonesia. On the first full day of his four-nation trip to the Asia-Pacific, the pontiff zeroed in on the role all faiths can play on flashpoint security...
Gaborone – Botswana will hold general elections on 30 October, the president of the stable and diamond-rich southern African country announced on Tuesday. President Mokgweetsi Masisi, who is standing for a second five-year term, said in a televised address that 30 and 31 October would be public holidays to allow people to “vote in large...
JOHANNESBURG – A significant number of African youths are looking to leave because of unchecked corruption threatening their future. In a recent poll by the Johannesburg-based Ichikowitz Family Foundation, corruption is seen as the “single greatest hurdle” they face to achieve their potential and a better life. The poll studied people aged 18 to 24. ...
LAGOS – Nigeria’s Dangote refinery, Africa’s largest, has finally started producing petrol. The petrol is expected to hit the market in the next 48 hours, a game-changer for the oil-rich country that frequently faces gasoline shortages. The oft-delayed 650 000-barrel-a-day refinery built by Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote began producing diesel and aviation fuel in January,...
As Namibia approaches the 27 November elections, the question of a rerun for the presidential race is critical. This is possible since more votes might be split amongst political parties and independent candidates, those who stood on their own. The establishment of political parties such as the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) (a threat not...
Rudolf Gaiseb From the capital’s city centre to the four corners of the country, women and men, young and old, engage in small-scale trade along the streets and in open markets to make ends meet. This is the life of many Namibians who decided to work for themselves and their families by engaging in the...
Lahja Nashuuta Urban and Rural Development minister Erastus Uutoni has nullified the appointment of the strategic executive for finance at the Khorixas Town Council. He slashed the appointment of Jorgen /Urib on 22 August 2024, citing the council’s failure to comply with recruitment and selection regulations as per the Local Authorities Act. The Khorixas Town...
Lahja Nashuuta Namdia staff affiliated with the Mineworkers Union of Namibia have ignored the union’s instruction not to attend the company’s two-day transformative culture session held at Midgard Lodge near Okahandja. Beverley Coussement, Namdia spokesperson confirmed to New Era yesterday that all 21 staff attended the session, including the union members while the remaining five were unable...