Thirty years at the top for Paul Biya - and no sign of stopping

This month marks the 30th anniversary of Cameroonian President Paul Biya’s rise to power. While his supporters claim Biya has brought the country stability and peace, many of their countrymen disagree. Around 70% of young workers are stuck in low-income jobs, while formal employment has represented less than 10% of the labour force since the 1990s. Biya is 79 years old and yet there isn’t an obvious candidate to replace him at the helm.

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29/03/2013 - KOREAN PENINSULA

North Korea's latest threats: credible or empty?

Ever since North Korea's third nuclear test and the subsequent UN sanctions imposed on Pyongyang last month, its leader Kim Jong-un has stepped up the bellicose rhetoric. He has now issued dire warnings to both South Korea and the United States, going further than his father ever did. But are these threats to be taken seriously?

29/03/2013 - SPAIN

Seville squatters seek government support

In Spain, the "corrala" phenomenon is fast becoming a way of life, and is a direct consequence of the bursting of Spain's property bubble. Dozens of indebted and evicted families have decided to squat in empty buildings repossessed by banks and pension funds that the institutions have been unable to sell on. These squatters are demanding housing as a basic human right.

28/03/2013 - IVORY COAST

Attacks on rural villages spark fears of increasing violence

Two successive attacks within little over a week in western Ivory Coast have fanned fears of renewed tensions between government troops and militia leaders loyal to ousted former President Laurent Gbagbo. Thousands living in Blolequin, the largest town nearest the violence, have decided to flee. Two rural villages were burned in the fighting. Many farmers have lost much of their crops and now live in fear of further attacks.

28/03/2013 - LATVIA

Latvians flee country's financial crisis in search of work

Latvia was hard hit by the 2008 financial crisis. Over 10 percent of the population has left in the past decade alone in a bid to escape poverty, unemployment and budget cuts. Some 400 villages in the country are now actually in danger of being wiped off the map. Latvia has since returned to growth and reduced its deficit, but many still aren't seeing the benefits. Those Latvians who fled abroad are not rushing to come back.

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26/03/2013 - USA

US Supreme court re-opens gay marriage debate

The US Supreme Court is set to re-open the debate on the issue of gay marriage. Over the next two days, the highest court in America will look at the ban on same-sex weddings in the state of California (which briefly allowed gays to get married, before changing the law), but also the Defence of Marriage Act, which prevents same-sex couples from enjoying the same federal rights and benefits as their heterosexual counterparts.