Top stories from DAWNS Digest.
Senegalese Vote. And it Looks Like They Will Vote Again
Voting in the first round of Senegal’s contentious election concluded over the weekend. President Wade, who kind of illegally is standing for a third term,will likely have to try his chances in a second round of voting. “Wade’s re-election campaign team predicted the incumbent leader will win the first round of voting. But, analysts say, provisional results so far released by the electoral commission shows none of the presidential candidates, including the incumbent, will win the first round of the election. Several opposition candidates say they could form an alliance if none of them emerges victorious…Wade was booed Sunday as he cast his ballot in his home precinct. The incumbent leader was challenged by 13 other candidates, including Idrissa Seck and Macky Sall, both of whom served as prime minister under Wade.” (VOA http://bit.ly/wcvht1) Meanwhile, the African Union and West African regional bloc ECOWAS are suggesting a compromise if Wade is elected for another term. (VOA http://bit.ly/xPIblm)
Afghan Protests Rage On. Suicide Bombing at Airport
The country-wide Koran burning protests are now a week old. The Taliban seem to have used the popular rage to justify new attacks. “A Taliban suicide car bomber targeting NATO troops at an airport in eastern Afghanistan killed nine people on Monday, on a seventh day of violence over the burning of the Koran at a US airbase. The insurgents also said they were behind an attempt to poison foreign troops, as the death toll from unrest and protests that spread to even usually peaceful parts of the war-ravaged country hit about 40. Six civilians, an Afghan soldier and two local guards were killed in the bomb attack on the military base at Jalalabad airport, but NATO troops escaped unhurt. The Taliban said it was revenge for the Koran burning. “The foreign forces have insulted our religion and this attack was revenge,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told AFP. The hardliners also claimed that an “Afghan cook” working on their behalf poisoned the food of NATO troops at another base in the same province of Nangarhar.” (AFP http://bit.ly/yXujNM)