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Senegal’s President Faye dissolves opposition-dominated parliament

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Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye on Thursday announced he had dissolved the opposition-dominated parliament and set new legislative elections for November 17.

“I have dissolved the National Assembly to ask the sovereign people for the institutional means that would allow me to give substance to the systemic transformation that I promised them,” Faye said on national television.

Today, more than ever, the time has come to open a new phase in our term,” the 44-year-old head of state said.
Faye swept to a presidential victory in March 2024 on a promise of radical change for the West African nation.

Along with his Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko, Faye ran on a ticket of sovereignty and leftist pan-Africanism, raising the hopes of young people in a country where three-quarters of the population is under 35.

But government action has so far been hampered by the lack of a majority in parliament.

According to Senegal’s constitution, Faye could dissolve the opposition-dominated parliament from September 12 and call early legislative elections, which could give him the majority needed to implement his policy agenda.

In his address, Faye said “the pledge of a frank collaboration with the parliamentary majority.. was an illusion”.

“It has decided to turn its back on the people to pursue its cult of obstruction, thereby blocking the project for which I was elected,” he said.

He cited, in particular, the management of public finances under his predecessor Macky Sall, alleging “wilfully hidden excesses” of spending.

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Ugandan leader Yoweri Museveni, 80, seeking reelection in 2026

Museveni said he is seeking reelection to grow the country to a “$500 billion economy in the next five years.”

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• Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni/ Reuters

KAMPALA, June 29 (Reuters) – Ugandan leader Yoweri Museveni has confirmed he intends to contest in next year’s presidential election, potentially extending his rule in the east African country to nearly half a century.

In a post on the X platform late on Saturday Museveni said he had “expressed my interest in running for… the position of presidential flag bearer,” for his ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party.

The 80-year-old has been ruler of Uganda since 1986 when he seized power after leading a five-year guerrilla war.

The ruling party has changed the constitution twice in the past to allow Museveni to extend his rule, and rights activists have accused him of using security forces and patronage to maintain his grip on power.

He denies the accusation.

Museveni said he is seeking reelection to grow the country to a “$500 billion economy in the next five years.”

Uganda’s GDP currently stands at about $66 billion, according to the finance ministry.

The country will hold its presidential election next January, when voters will also elect lawmakers.

Museveni’s closest opponent will be pop star-turned-politician Bobi Wine who came second in the last presidential election in 2021 and has already confirmed his intention to run in 2026.

Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, rejected the 2021 results, saying his victory had been stolen through ballot stuffing, intimidation by security forces and other irregularities.

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South African Court Halts Burial of Former Zambian President Mid-Ceremony

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In a dramatic turn of events, a South African court has intervened to halt the burial of a former Zambian president, president Edgar Lungu, temporarily suspending the proceedings mid-ceremony.

Lungu, who died on June 5 while seeking medical care in South Africa, was a rival of President Hakainde Hichilema, who wanted to lead a state funeral for his predecessor in Zambia.

Lungu’s family opposed the plans and blocked his body from being repatriated, saying he would not have wanted Hichilema at his funeral.

Zambia in turn filed a lawsuit seeking to stop the burial in South Africa.In a ruling delivered as Lungu’s widow and other mourners were already gathered in the church, a Gauteng region High Court judge said that, after an agreement between the parties, “respondents undertake not to proceed with the funeral or burial of the late president”.

The case will be heard on August 4, he said, in a decision that was carried by national broadcaster SABC — which also showed live images of people gathered for the service for Lungu, president from 2015 to 2021.

The adjournment “is extending the pain, the grief, that the family and the people are going through”, Zambian lawmaker Chanda Katotobwe, part of the delegation present at the memorial service, told SABC News.

The cause of the former president’s death at age 68 was not announced. He had been receiving specialised treatment in a clinic in Pretoria, his Patriotic Front party said.

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Cargo ship carrying 3,000 vehicles, including 800 EVs, sinks in the Pacific Ocean

The shipping company said that the cargo ship had sunk on June 23.

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A cargo ship that caught fire earlier this month in the Pacific Ocean has sunk, its manager has said.

MINT reports that The Morning Midas, which was left abandoned as it caught fire, was carrying about 3,000 vehicles, among which around 800 were electric vehicles.

Electric vehicles contain lithium-ion batteries, which are generally safe but can overheat and ignite if damaged.

The shipping company said that the cargo ship had sunk on June 23.

Zodiac Maritime in a statement further said that the damage caused by the fire was compounded by heavy weather, and subsequently water entered inside the vessel, causing it to sink.

Credit: MINT

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