YAOUNDE (Reuters) - Polls opened in Cameroon on Sunday for an election widely expected to extend the 36-year rule of President Paul Biya and confirm his place as one of Africa’s last multi-decade leaders.
Victory would usher in a seventh term for the 85-year-old and see him stay until at least the age of 92, bucking a tentative trend in Africa where many countries have installed presidential term limits. The only current African president to have ruled longer is Equatorial Guinea’s Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo.
Looming over the polls is a secessionist uprising in the Anglophone Northwest and Southwest regions that has cost hundreds of lives and forced thousands to flee either to the French-speaking regions or into neighboring Nigeria. Ghost towns remain, where the few who have stayed say they are afraid to go out and vote.
The odds, and history, are against the opposition, including the main candidate, Joshua Osih of the Social Democratic Front. In 2011, Biya won with 78 percent of the vote in an election that the U.S. Department of State described as “flawed” and “marked by irregularities.”
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Filibuster_HK
2018-10-7 19:06:53
Pompeo's trip 'better than the last time': U.S. official
SEOUL (Reuters) - A U.S. official said on Sunday that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s trip to North Korea was “better than the last time” but further efforts were needed.
The official, who was part of Pompeo’s delegation, indicated some progress was made during the visit, which included a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, but added: “It’s going to be a long haul.”
Pompeo says U.S., North Korea continue to make progress toward denuclearization
SEOUL (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo held two hours of talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang on Sunday and said the two sides continued to make progress toward denuclearization.
Kim and Pompeo met for about two hours, including lunch at the Paekhwawon, or 100 Flowers Garden, a prestigious state guesthouse, according to a pool report.
The brief trip, his fourth since March, was initially planned in late August but called off at the last minute by U.S. President Donald Trump who blamed lack of progress.
“It’s a very nice day that promises a good future for both countries,” Kim said, speaking through an interpreter, as he sat down at the lunch table with Pompeo.
Filibuster_HK
2018-10-8 20:23:18
Chill in the air as Pompeo meets Chinese counterparts in Beijing
BEIJING (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Chinese Foreign Minister and State Councillor Wang Yi aired their grievances in the open on Monday during a brief visit to Beijing by Washington’s top diplomat, amid worsening relations.
While the exchange included typical diplomatic pleasantries, and the two officials emphasized the need for cooperation, their remarks before journalists at the start of their meeting at Beijing’s Diaoyutai State Guest House were unusually pointed.
“Recently, as the U.S. side has been constantly escalating trade friction toward China, it has also adopted a series of actions on the Taiwan issue that harm China’s rights and interests, and has made groundless criticism of China’s domestic and foreign policies,” Wang said at a joint appearance with Pompeo.
Wang also urged the United States to stop selling arms to Taiwan and to cut off official visits and military ties with the self-ruled island Beijing claims as its own, according to a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement.
Pompeo, who was briefing Wang following his visit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said, “The issues that you characterized, we have a fundamental disagreement.
“We have great concerns about the actions that China has taken, and I look forward to having the opportunity to discuss each of those today because this is an incredibly important relationship.”
Filibuster_HK
2018-10-8 20:24:13
Pompeo says North Korea ready to let inspectors into missile, nuclear sites
SEOUL (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Monday North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was ready to allow international inspectors into the North’s nuclear and missile testing sites, one of the main sticking points over an earlier denuclearization pledge.
Pompeo, who met Kim during a short trip to Pyongyang on Sunday, said the inspectors would visit a missile engine test facility and the Punggye-ri nuclear testing site as soon as the two sides agree on logistics.
The top U.S. diplomat also said both sides were “pretty close” to agreement on the details of a second summit, which Kim proposed to U.S. President Donald Trump in a letter last month.
Kremlin: North Korea's Kim invited to Russia, no details of possible visit yet
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian officials have invited North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to visit Russia, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday, adding the time and place had yet to be agreed.
Kim Jong Un is expected to visit Russia soon, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said also on Monday.
Filibuster_HK
2018-10-8 20:25:30
Jair Bolsonaro: Far-right candidate wins first round of Brazil election
A far-right candidate, Jair Bolsonaro, has won the first round of Brazil's presidential election.
He will face the left-wing Workers' Party candidate, Fernando Haddad, in the second round on 28 October after he failed to win the 50% of valid votes needed to win outright.
With almost all the votes counted, Mr Bolsonaro had 46% and Mr Haddad 29%.
Opinion polls conducted before the election predicted that in a second round the two candidates would be tied.
Mr Bolsonaro's once insignificant Social Liberal Party (PSL) is poised to become the largest force in Congress following legislative elections held alongside the presidential vote, in what analysts have described as a seismic shift in Brazilian politics.
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Filibuster_HK
2018-10-8 20:26:21
Romania marriage poll: Referendum to ban gay unions fails
A referendum to establish a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage in Romania has failed - after only a fifth of voters bothered to turn out.
Romanians were being asked whether they wanted the constitution changed to specify that marriage can only be between a man and a woman.
But just 20.4% of eligible voters cast ballots - short of the 30% needed.
The result may come as a surprise, as a poll on Friday indicated support for the change was as high as 90%.
Mihai Gheorghiu, president of the pro-referendum Coalition for Family, told the BBC ahead of the vote they were trying "to protect, at a constitutional level, the definition of marriage - between one woman and one man".
But after two days of voting, it seems the No campaign's strategy - to boycott the vote in the hope the turnout fell below the 30% needed to validate the referendum - was successful.
The low turnout comes despite the support of the powerful Orthodox church, and the unusual step by the government of extending the vote to two days instead of one.
Bosnian Serb nationalist leader Milorad Dodik has won his community's seat on Bosnia-Herzegovina's three-person presidency, election officials say.
Mr Dodik, who has close links with Russia, has urged Bosnian Serbs to secede, saying Bosnia has failed.
The main Bosnian Muslim party, the SDA, said its candidate Sefik Dzaferovic would be the Muslim representative.
Croat voters returned centrist Social Democrat Zelijko Komsic to their presidential seat.
Turnout for Sunday's vote was 53%, election commission president Branko Petric told reporters.
If officially confirmed, Mr Dodik will take turns as head of state with the two other winners.
The three-member collective presidency - Croat, Bosnian Muslim (Bosniak) and Serb - was established as part of the US-brokered 1995 Dayton peace deal that ended the war in which 100,000 people died.
The country is still split into two entities - the Serb Republic (Republika Srpska) and the Muslim-Croat Federation.
Filibuster_HK
2018-10-8 22:37:37
Macron seeks to regain footing with French cabinet reshuffle
PARIS (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron will reshuffle his cabinet this week after the resignation of his interior minister, as allies press for a broad rejig to draw a line under a tumultuous few months.
Prime Minister Edouard Philippe could submit his government’s resignation to Macron as early as Monday, French media reported. Macron would then ask Philippe to form a new government, on which parliament, dominated by Macron’s ruling party, would hold a vote of confidence.
Macron has seen his popularity slump as voters grow frustrated with a leader seen increasingly as arrogant and out of touch, and are impatient with the sluggish pace of economic growth and job creation.
The departure of Gerard Collomb against Macron’s wishes exposed chinks in the armor of a president who has sought to lead with a tight grip on decision-making but who lacks political experience, having never previously held elected office.
Filibuster_HK
2018-10-9 21:31:15
Second Skripal poisoning suspect identified by Bellingcat
The second Russian suspected of the attempted murder of former double agent Sergei Skripal was a military doctor for Russia's military intelligence agency GRU, investigative group Bellingcat said Tuesday.
"Bellingcat can now report that it has conclusively identified the second suspect, who traveled to Salisbury under the alias Alexander Petrov," Bellingcat said.
The group said the real name of the man identified by UK prosecutors as Alexander Petrov was in fact Alexander Yevgenyevich Mishkin.
Mishkin was awarded Russia's highest state award by President Vladimir Putin, likely for activities "either in Crimea or in relation to [former Ukrainian President Viktor] Yanukovich," Bellingcat said citing witness testimony from the suspect's hometown.
Filibuster_HK
2018-10-9 21:32:22
Bulgaria arrests suspect in murder of TV journalist Viktoria Marinova
Bulgarian police on Tuesday arrested a "Romanian citizen of Ukrainian descent" in connection to the murder of Bulgarian broadcast journalist Viktoria Marinova.
Marinova's body was found in a park in the northern town of Ruse. Her body showed signs of strangulation and rape.
Marinova died from blows to the head and suffocation, according to a regional prosecutor. The 30-year-old worked as a broadcast journalist for a local station. She had recently hosted investigative journalists on her show who were reporting on misuse of EU funds by Bulgarian authorities.
Police don't believe the murder was linked to her work.
Filibuster_HK
2018-10-9 21:34:22
Poland should quit U.N. migration pact, minister says
WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland’s interior minister is recommending Warsaw quits a U.N. migration pact before its final approval as it may encourage more illegal migrants, the ministry said on Tuesday.
Hungary has already announced it will not sign up to the Global Compact For Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, which was approved in July by all 193 U.N. member nations except the United States, which pulled out last year.
The pact, due to be adopted in December, addresses issues including why people migrate, how to protect them and how to integrate them into new countries.
Poland, along with Hungary and Czech Republic, has taken a tough stand against resettling migrants, putting it at odds with the European Union, but striking a chord with voters by arguing that irregular immigration threatens European stability.
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Filibuster_HK
2018-10-9 21:34:56
Jamal Khashoggi: Turkey to search Saudi consulate
Turkey says it will conduct a search of Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul over the missing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
The country's foreign ministry said Saudi Arabia was "open to co-operation" and a requested search of the building could now go ahead as part of the investigation.
Mr Khashoggi was last seen visiting the consulate last week and Turkey says he may have been murdered there.
Saudi Arabia denies the suggestion.
It says the journalist left the consulate shortly after arriving, while Turkey says he was not seen leaving the building.
The country has demanded Saudi Arabia prove he left - despite not giving evidence of the claim he was killed inside.
Filibuster_HK
2018-10-9 21:35:23
Cameroon vote counting continues, opposition declares victory
For a moment the uproar was deafening at the party headquarters of the Cameroon Renaissance Movement (MRC) in Yaounde on Monday, October 8. Standing amidst dozens of journalists and scores of party supporters, the crowd cheered as party leader Maurice Kamto declared himself the winner of the presidential election. "We've reached our goal. I have received a clear mandate from the Cameroonian people," said Kamto, who was one of seven opposition candidates who ran against Cameroon's longtime president Paul Biya.
Meanwhile, vote counting is still underway and the electoral body had initially announced that the full tally could take until October 22. Only the Constitutional Council can declare the results, Paul Atanga Nji, minister of the territorial administrations, announced. Cameroon's labor minister and secretary general of the ruling party, Gregoire Owona accused Kamto of breaking the law. "It's totally illegal," he said. "Kamto was not even represented at all the polling stations. It was impossible for him to count all the votes," he added.
On polling day, Sunday, October 9, around 6.6 million people were expected to go tot he polls. A number of local news outlets did publish preliminary results from some of the polling stations, but official results are not out yet.
This, however, did not keep the crowd at the MRC office from celebration. "Of course we have the results," said Etienne Fotso, a party member. "There were 24,000 polling stations. We were represented in all of them and we now have results from 20,000 of them," he alleged.
Filibuster_HK
2018-10-9 22:20:22
Nikki Haley has resigned as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations
Tensions bubbled up between Haley and Trump in April when Vice-President Mike Pence hired a long-time Haley aide and Republican pollster as his national security adviser, prompting speculation that Haley and Pence were forging a political alliance, White House advisers said. The aide, Jon Lerner, who was planning to split his time between working for Haley and Pence, withdrew his name from consideration after backlash from within the White House.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cameroon-election/cameroon-goes-to-the-polls-as-biya-seeks-to-extend-36-year-rule-idUSKCN1MH00D
YAOUNDE (Reuters) - Polls opened in Cameroon on Sunday for an election widely expected to extend the 36-year rule of President Paul Biya and confirm his place as one of Africa’s last multi-decade leaders.
Victory would usher in a seventh term for the 85-year-old and see him stay until at least the age of 92, bucking a tentative trend in Africa where many countries have installed presidential term limits. The only current African president to have ruled longer is Equatorial Guinea’s Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo.
Looming over the polls is a secessionist uprising in the Anglophone Northwest and Southwest regions that has cost hundreds of lives and forced thousands to flee either to the French-speaking regions or into neighboring Nigeria. Ghost towns remain, where the few who have stayed say they are afraid to go out and vote.
The odds, and history, are against the opposition, including the main candidate, Joshua Osih of the Social Democratic Front. In 2011, Biya won with 78 percent of the vote in an election that the U.S. Department of State described as “flawed” and “marked by irregularities.”