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Two people killed in Sudan rally over 2019 protest killings

At least two people have been killed and dozens wounded as Sudanese security forces cracked down on a rally that demanded justice for protesters killed during anti-government demonstrations two years ago, according to the army. Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok on Wednesday said he was “shocked” by the killings, calling it a “crime to use live bullets against peaceful protesters”. Hundreds gathered on Tuesday evening outside the army headquarters in the capital, Khartoum, at the site where thousands gathered in 2019 initially demanding the removal of then-President Omar al-Bashir and urging a transfer to civilian rule. The demonstration on Tuesday started shortly before iftar, the evening meal which breaks the fast during the holy month of Ramadan. It marked two years since the bloody dispersa...

Thai prosecutor indicts 18 over anti-government protests

A Thai prosecutor on Monday indicted 18 activists for their roles in anti-government rallies last year by a protest movement that has brought unprecedented challenges to the royal palace and military-dominated establishment. The youth-led movement sprang up last year calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, a former junta leader, and reform of the powerful Thai monarchy, breaking a longstanding taboo under the country’s lese majeste law. Those indicted included three prominent leaders charged with sedition and lese majeste during rallies in September, where tens of thousands escalated calls for monarchy reforms. The other 15 protesters face trial for sedition and breaching a ban on public assembly. “There is sufficient evidence that the accused have committed wrongd...

Ethiopia: From historic peace to the brink of war

As Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed replaces his army chief on Sunday amid an escalating conflict in the northern Tigray region, here are the key developments since Abiy came to power in 2018: First leader from biggest ethnic group In February 2018, prime minister Hailemariam Desalegn resigns after several years of anti-government protests. In April, Abiy is sworn in as premier, becoming the first leader from the Oromo ethnic group, Ethiopia’s largest. Ethnic divisions Oromos and the country’s second-biggest group, the Amharas, had fuelled the protest movement over perceived marginalisation at the hands of the ruling coalition, dominated by the Tigrayan group. But with the authoritarian coalition now dissolved, ethnic violence has emerged as a persistent problem under Abiy, regularly r...

Luis Arce secures big victory in Bolivia election

The result, which was a vindication to Evo Morales’s MAS party, also gave majorities in both houses of Congress. Leftist leader Luis Arce has won a smashing victory in Bolivia’s presidential election, a final official vote count released on Friday shows, providing vindication for the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) party of overthrown President Evo Morales. The Supreme Electoral Tribunal announced Arce won 55 percent of the votes against six rivals on the ballot, easily avoiding the need for a runoff. The runner-up was centrist former President Carlos Mesa with just less than 29 percent. Conservative Luis Fernando Camacho, one of the leaders of the protest movement that helped drive Morales out of the country a year ago, received only 14 percent of the vote. MAS also won majorities in bot...