José Eduardo dos Santos’ remains laid to rest

 Luanda - The remains of former President José Eduardo dos Santos are laid to rest in a tomb, specially built for this purpose in Republic Square in Luanda.

The final tribute to José Eduardo dos Santos, who died at the age of 79, last 8 July, in Barcelona, Spain, due to illness, was marked by a scenario of sadness, emotion and tears.

In the presence of the President of the Republic, João Lourenço, and other Heads of State, the ceremony included the reading of messages from the Angolan State, the family, the MPLA and the Eduardo dos Santos Foundation (FESA), as well as an ecumenical worship and music of two choir groups from the Catholic and Methodist churches.

The Minister of State and Head of the House of the President of the Republic, Adão de Almeida, hailed the heroic and glorious career of José Eduardo dos Santos "who dedicated his whole life to the noblest and greatest aspirations of the Angolan people ".

"The country forced him, from an early age, to dedicate himself to our land, to his land, to our people, to his people", he stressed.

According to the Minister of State, José Eduardo dos Santos performed with great pride and dedication the position of  President of the Republic between September 1979 and September 2017.

Elections 2022: CNE approves final tabulation report

Luanda- National Electoral Commission (CNE) approved this Monday (29) the minutes of the national tabulation of the final results of the general elections of 24 August.

The aforementioned final national minutes will be read, this Monday afternoon, by CNE president Manuel Pereira da Silva, according to his spokesman, Lucas Quilundo.

"The president of the CNE will, in a solemn ceremony, publicly present the minutes of the definitive tabulation of the results of the election", he said.

The plenary session for the approval of this document started around 10 pm on Sunday and ended around 4 am on Monday.

The approval of the minutes preceded the presentation of the report of the votes claimed, by the technical group of the National Scrutiny Centre.

In the country's 18 provinces, 11,153 votes were claimed, of which 7,925 were validated.

The validated votes were redistributed among the political parties, as follows: PHA 117, P-Njango 54, UNITA 2, 935, FNLA 168, CASA-CE 73, PRS 148 and MPLA 4, 360.

The province of Bengo claimed 270, Benguela 684, Bié 1, 207, Cabinda 351, Cuando Cubango 224, Cuanza Norte 223, Cuanza Sul 774, Cunene 256, Huambo 737, Huila 1, 047, Luanda 2, 362, Lunda Norte 539/all null, Lunda Sul 314, Malanje 514, Moxico 300, Namibe 119, Uíge 841 and Zaire 391 votes.

The latest provisional results give the victory to the MPLA, with 51.07 % (3,162,801 votes/124 MPs), followed by UNITA with 44.05% (2,727,885 / 90 MPs) and the PRS with 1.13 % (70,398 / 2 MPs).

The FNLA appears with 1.05% (65,223 / 2 MPs) and surprisingly the newcomer PHA with 1.01% (63,002 / 2 MPs).

CASA-CE with 0.75% (46,750) did not get any seat, as did the APN with 0.48% (29,740) and P-JANGO with 0.42% of the votes (26,268).

Mombasa gubernatorial candidate forgets ID to vote

 A Kenyan politician running for governor in Mombasa county, coastal region, had to wait for aides to bring his original ID to his polling station after he forgot it.

Abuswamad Shariff Nassir of Raila Odinga’s ODM party needed to produce the document to identify himself as a registered voter.

He was later allowed to vote at his Mvita constituency after producing the document.

His opponent, Hassan Sarai Omar, of William Ruto’s UDA party also voted in Mvita constituency.

The ongoing elections for eight elective seats are a test for Mr Odinga and Mr Ruto’s parties as they await the Supreme Court ruling on presidential election petitions.

Mombasa’s current governor Hassan Joho who has served two terms decried low voter turn-out after he voted.

Mombasa and Kakamega counties had their gubernatorial elections delayed because of a mix-up in ballot papers.

Kenya had its general elections on 9 August and 45 governors from across the country were sworn in on Thursday.

Hassan Sarai Omar is running for governor

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Moqtada al-Sadr, dominant Iraqi political leader, retires from politics

 One of Iraq’s most powerful figures, who has been at the centre of a long crisis over forming a government, says he is retiring from political life.

Moqtada al-Sadr, a firebrand Shia cleric with millions of followers, announced his decision on Twitter.

Hundreds of his supporters have been camped outside parliament for weeks after twice storming it in protest at the political deadlock.

His forces were prominent in fighting US troops after the 2003 invasion.

Mr Sadr’s announcement comes two days after he called for all parties and figures involved in political life following the US-led invasion of Iraq to quit.

His political alliance won the most seats in last October’s general election, but his MPs later resigned amid deadlock with a rival Shia bloc over the formation of the government.

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Gibraltar Is Officially A City – 180 Years Late

 Gibraltar can officially call itself a city, 180 years after it was first granted the status by Queen Victoria.

The British overseas territory had bid to become a city earlier this year as part of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

But when researchers looked through the National Archives, they found it had already been recognised as one in 1842.

The Rock has now had its status reaffirmed – Boris Johnson described it as a “huge accolade” celebrating its “rich history and dynamism”.

Gibraltar has been a British overseas territory since 1713, when it was ceded to Britain under a peace treaty signed following the War of the Spanish Succession.

A Jubilee competition saw 39 places apply to become cities and eight of them, including Doncaster, Bangor, and Dunfermline, ultimately granted the status.

City status is often associated with having a cathedral, university, or large population, but there are no set rules for it being granted – it’s awarded by the monarch on advice of ministers.

It brings little in the way of material benefits, although it can often provide a boost to communities by putting them on the map and is normally a source of pride for residents.

The government said Gibraltar had been omitted from official lists after being originally given the title by Queen Victoria, but it is not clear how this happened.

An updated record of the 81 places named as cities has now been published.

Gibraltar is one of only five outside the UK to be recognised. Hamilton in Bermuda, Jamestown in Saint Helena, and Douglas on the Isle of Man were already on the list, while Stanley in the Falklands Islands was among those named for the Jubilee this year.

Southend in Essex was also granted city status earlier this year following the murder of David Amess MP, who had represented the Southend West constituency since 1997 and had long campaigned on the issue.

Cabinet Office Minister Kit Malthouse said: “The cities in this list are incredibly rich with history and culture, and the local people of those areas are rightly very proud to see their city’s significance put to paper.

“I’m hopeful people based in these places, particularly the new cities, can reap the benefits of their home’s increased global standing and that it will attract more inward investment for local businesses.”

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SA railway bosses arrested over corruption charges

 Two former top officials from South Africa’s state-owned ports and freight rail company Transnet have been arrested by elite police unit The Hawks, for alleged corruption during former President Jacob Zuma’s time in office.

The high-profile arrests of Brian Molefe, who was the CEO, and Anoj Singh, who was the company’s chief financial officer, were made early on Monday morning.

Lawyers for Mr Anoj maintain his innocence, according to South Africa’s News 24 website.

Mr Molefe says he intends to plead not guilty, according to the same source.

Both parties have been linked to a multimillion-dollar fraud and corruption case in which a bribe was allegedly paid to an organisation to buy more than 1,000 trains.

The accused, who are currently appearing in court, are facing charges of fraud, corruption and money laundering.

It is alleged the controversial Gupta brothers, who are yet to be extradited from the UAE, received kickbacks from the deal.

They have previously denied allegations of corruption.

The arrests come after the judicial commission of enquiry led by Chief Justice Raymond Zondo heard incriminating evidence about how executives from various government-owned entities were involved in corruption.

The corruption allegedly benefited those close to former President Zuma who was ousted in 2018, as well as top officials of the ruling ANC party and private business people.

Earlier this year, several other high-profile people were arrested for their alleged involvement in the case.

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