|
 Mauritani government toppled
Mauritania's one-year civilian government has been toppled in a bloodless military coup. Soldiers arrested the north-west African country's first freely elected leader, President Sidi Ould Chiekh Abdallahi and shut down radio and television stations on Wednesday.
A state council has been formed to run the sprawling desert nation. The coup has been widely condemned, with the United Nations and African Union demanding the return of the constitutional government. Rising political tension in the country had recently led the president to sack four army commanders who then staged the coup. The military has been involved in nearly every government in Mauritania. Impeachment move on Musharraf
President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan faces the prospect of impeachment after ruling coalition parties agreed in principle to begin proceedings. Officials say a charge sheet outlining the president's position and performance will be prepared in a move expected to reignite political turmoil. The impeachment question had threatened to divide Pakistan's governing coalition. Musharraf has previously said he would rather resign than face impeachment. He has so far resisted pressure to quit since his political allies were defeated in February elections. President Musharraf seized power in a military coup in 1999. Under the constitution the president retains the power to dissolve parliament. Cholera outbreak in Philippines
A cholera outbreak on a remote island in the Philippines has killed 21 people, many of them children. A local Red Cross official said 60 others have been taken to hospital. The disease broke out more than a week ago among Manobo tribesman in an isolated area on the island of Mindanao. It took the Red Cross nine hours to reach the area. Poor sanitation has been blamed for the outbreak. Caracas crowds teargassed
Hundreds of people have demonstrated in the streets of the Venezualan capital, Caracas, against plans to ban nearly 300 mostly opposition politicians from standing for election. Riot police fired teargas at the protestors. The demonstrators say President Hugo Chavez is concentrating more power in his hands through the ban. Politicians blacklisted by the government stand accused of various misdemeanours in public office. None of them has been convicted of any crime. The ban has since been upheld by the Supreme Court. Regional and local elections are scheduled to be held in four months time. Brazil's middle class boom
A new study has shown that Brazil now has more middle class than poor people for the first time in its history. More than half of the country's 190 million people live in middle class families defined as having monthly revenues of between 750 and 3,200 US dollars. The data was collected by Brazil's Applied Economic Research Institute. The shrinking poor population is attributed to economic growth, a rising minimum wage and policies to encourage family farming. However an estimated 11 million Brazilians still live below the poverty line. Gorilla bonanza in Congo
A new census has shown that an estimated 125,000 endangered western lowland gorillas are living in the Republic of Congo. Researchers say this is double previous estimates. The census data was released by the Wildlife Conservation Society during the International Primatological Society Congress in Edinburgh. Researchers did not spot any gorillas in the latest census but based their estimates on the gorilla nests they found. Each gorilla makes a nest from leaves and branches to sleep in at night. Researchers attributed the increased numbers to successful long-term conservation management in the Congo, a food-rich habitat and the remote location.
 |
Subscribe to this comment's feed
