governing

Mnangagwa allies push for a term extension to 2030 as ZANU-PF factions split and opposition promises a legal fight.

Zimbabwe’s governing ZANU-PF has said it will begin a process to extend President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s term by two years, potentially keeping him in power until 2030.

The plan was endorsed on Saturday at the movement’s annual conference in the eastern city of Mutare, where delegates instructed the government to begin drafting legislation to amend the Constitution, Justice Minister and ZANU-PF legal secretary Ziyambi Ziyambi said.

Mnangagwa, 83, is constitutionally required to leave office in 2028 after serving two elected terms. Any change would require a constitutional amendment – and potentially referendums – legal experts say.

Delegates erupted in applause after the motion passed, reinforcing ZANU-PF’s pattern of securitised rule since independence in 1980. The party controls parliament, giving it significant leverage, though some insiders warn that a legal challenge would be likely.

Mnangagwa has previously insisted he is a “constitutionalist” with no interest in clinging to power. But loyalists have quietly pushed for a prolonged stay since last year’s disputed election, while rivals inside the party – aligned with Vice President Constantino Chiwenga – are openly resisting an extension.

Blessed Geza, a veteran fighter from the liberation war and a Chiwenga ally, has been using YouTube livestreams to condemn the push, drawing thousands of viewers. Calls for mass protests have gained little traction amid a heavy police deployment in Harare and other cities.

The president made no mention of the extension during his closing remarks at the conference. Chiwenga has not commented on Mnangagwa’s term extension bid or the protests.

Dire economic situation

Mnangagwa came to power in 2017 amid promises of democratic and economic reforms following the toppling of the longtime President Robert Mugabe.

Mnangagwa has presided over a dire economic collapse marked by hyperinflation, mass unemployment, and allegations of corruption. Critics accuse ZANU-PF of crushing dissent, weakening the judiciary, and turning elections into a managed ritual rather than a democratic contest.

Legal opposition figures have warned that any attempt to rewrite the Constitution will face resistance in court.

“We will defend the Constitution against its capture and manipulation to advance a dangerous unconstitutional anti-people agenda,” opposition lawyer Tendai Biti said in a statement on X.

Ten elderly activists – most in their 60s and 70s – were arrested in Harare on Friday for allegedly planning a protest demanding Mnangagwa’s resignation.

They were charged with attempting to incite “public violence” and remain in custody pending a bail hearing on Monday. Earlier this year, authorities detained nearly 100 young people in similar circumstances.

The renewed manoeuvring has exposed an accelerating power struggle inside ZANU-PF. One faction wants Mnangagwa to remain until 2030; another is preparing the ground for Chiwenga, the former army general who helped topple Robert Mugabe in the 2017 coup.

Indonesia has denied visas to Israel athletes ahead of the upcoming world championships in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation.

Gymnastics’ governing body has given a muted reaction to Indonesia’s announcement that it would block Israeli athletes from competing at the upcoming world championships in Jakarta.

“The FIG takes note of the Indonesian government’s decision not to issue visas to the Israeli delegation registered for the 53rd FIG Artistic Gymnastics, which will be held in Jakarta from 19-25 October, and recognizes the challenges that the host country has faced in organizing this event,” it said in a short statement on Friday

The statement did not threaten to take the event away from Indonesia, as stipulated in FIG statutes for cases where the host refuses to issue visas.

“The FIG hopes that an environment will be created as soon as possible where athletes around the world can enjoy sports safely and with peace of mind,” it said.

Indonesia’s decision to deny visas to the Israeli athletes came after their planned participation had prompted intense opposition in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation, which has long been a staunch supporter of Palestinians.

Israel is among 86 countries registered to compete at the worlds, with a team highlighted by 2020 Olympic gold medallist and defending world champion Artem Dolgopyat in the men’s floor exercise.

Now its participation is in doubt, even though the Israeli Gymnastics Federation said in July that it had been assured by Indonesian officials that it would be welcome at the worlds. That would have gone against Indonesia’s longstanding policy of refusing to host Israeli sports delegations for major events.

On Thursday, Indonesia’s senior minister of law, Yusril Ihza Mahendra, made it clear the Israeli team will not be allowed into the country, despite Israel and Hamas having agreed to a ceasefire.

“We respect every decision taken by the government with various considerations,” Indonesian Olympic Committee president Raja Sapta Oktohari told a news conference in Jakarta on Friday.

Indonesian Gymnastics Federation chairwoman, Ita Yuliati, said that she has briefed FIG president Morinari Watanabe about the decision and claimed “the FIG has expressed support”.

The gymnastics spat is the latest example of how the global backlash against Israel over the humanitarian toll of the war in Gaza has spread into the arenas of sports and culture.

Indonesia was stripped of hosting rights for football’s Under-20 World Cup in 2023, only two months before the start of the tournament, amid political turmoil regarding Israel’s participation.

Instead of disciplining Indonesia, FIFA awarded the country hosting rights to a different youth World Cup later that year, which Israel had not qualified for.

Indonesian football was seen to benefit from its leader Erick Thohir’s close ties with FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who, like Thohir, is a member of the International Olympic Committee.

Kim Jong Un claims no mistakes made in 80-year history of ruling party at event attended by Chinese and Russian leaders.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has declared the country’s global standing is growing stronger and promised to transform the country into an “affluent socialist paradise” during an event marking the 80th anniversary of the governing Workers’ Party of Korea, according to state media.

At a speech at May Day stadium in Pyongyang on Thursday, Kim said the party had not made “a single mistake or error” in its 80-year history, leading the country on a path of ascent riding on the wisdom and strength of the people, KCNA state news agency said on Friday.

“Today, we stand before the world as a mighty people with no obstacles we cannot overcome and no great achievement we cannot accomplish,” he said, KCNA reported.

North Korea has long been one of the most isolated and insular nations in the world, suffering economic difficulties while building up its nuclear weapons capabilities.

Friday’s events follow Kim’s visit to Beijing last month for China’s 80th anniversary of its World War II victory, standing with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin at a massive military parade in his first public appearance on the multilateral diplomatic stage.

United States President Donald Trump suggested that Russian, Chinese and North Korean leaders were conspiring against the United States as they gathered in Beijing, saying “no one even had this in their thoughts”.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote to China’s leader Xi Jinping at the time: “Please give my warmest regards to Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un, as you conspire against The United States of America.”

KCNA did not name the guests attending Thursday’s events. Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Vietnamese leader To Lam and Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev had arrived in Pyongyang to attend anniversary celebrations, state media had reported.

Mass games and art performances were held at the stadium, with Kim accompanied by guests whom the large crowd gathered greeted with cheers “that shook the capital’s night sky”, KCNA said.

Al Jazeera’s Jack Barton, reporting from Seoul, said according to a South Korean government adviser, North Korea was “no longer the most isolated state in the world”.

“The message here is also … that he has consolidated his power at home and now increasingly on the international stage,” Barton added.

Kim talks tough on US and promises to build a ‘socialist paradise’

Kim said that North Korea has been pushing for the simultaneous development of nuclear weapons and the economy to cope with “growing nuclear war threats by the US imperialists”, according to state media.

“Our party and government are still coping with our adversaries’ ferocious political and military moves of pressure by pursuing harder-line policies, holding fast to firm principles and employing brave, unflinching countermeasures,” Kim said.

“This is powerfully propelling the growth of the progressive camp against war and hegemony.”

Last month, Kim Jong Un had suggested that he is open to talks with the US if Washington stops insisting that his country give up its nuclear weapons.

“If the United States drops the absurd obsession with denuclearising us and accepts reality, and wants genuine peaceful coexistence, there is no reason for us not to sit down with the United States,” Kim said in late September.

Kim on Friday also expressed confidence in overcoming difficulties and drastically improving the economy in the near future. “I will surely turn this country into a more affluent and beautiful land and into the best socialist paradise in the world,” Kim said.

The North Korean leader also held talks with Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Thursday, praising the two countries’ “friendly and cooperative relations”.

Kim praised Li’s visit as “showing the invariable support and special friendly feeling towards the WPK and the government and people of the DPRK” as well as Beijing’s efforts to maintain “traditional DPRK-China friendly and cooperative relations and further develop them”, KCNA reported.

Gov. Gavin Newsom answering the Republican redistricting power-grab in Texas with a plan of his own is a powerful example of how Golden State Democrats are standing up to President Trump and firing up their base. But while the partisan fireworks draw attention, California Democrats are also quietly offering a different kind of model for the national party that may prove more meaningful in the long run. They’re not just resisting Trump; they’re actually governing.

Forget what you think you know about California and its lefty Democrats. They’re inching to the center, meeting voters where they are, and it’s improving people’s lives.

Just look at San Francisco, long seen as a dysfunctional emblem of failed progressive governance.

The city’s new mayor, Daniel Lurie, a nonprofit leader and philanthropist, has shaken off left-wing taboos and focused on delivering results. Instead of defunding the police, he’s hiring more officers and cracking down on shoplifting and drug crimes. Instead of demonizing the business community, he’s partnering with them. He’s also reforming zoning laws to make it easier to build more housing, which should ease the city’s affordability crunch and the homelessness crisis. Lurie has been in office less than a year, but already crime is plummeting and his approval rate has reached 73%.

National Democrats can find a lesson here: Voters care about results, not just empathy and ideology.

In Sacramento, Newsom and legislative Democrats are taking a similar tack, with a stubborn focus on affordability and the courage to stare down opposition, even in their own coalition. For example, the Legislature recently reformed the California Environmental Quality Act, a well-intentioned 50-year-old law that had been twisted to obstruct construction projects, clean energy development and public transportation. This angered some powerful environmental activists, but it will ultimately help bring down costs for housing and energy.

CEQA reform is emblematic of California’s new, more balanced approach on some thorny issues, like energy and climate. The state recently announced that two-thirds of its power now comes from clean energy sources — a major achievement. At the same time, Newsom and the Legislature agreed to a package of bills that will increase oil drilling while extending the state’s cap-and-trade program. Together, the package can reduce energy costs for Californians and strengthen our state’s chances of reaching carbon neutrality by 2045. Some environmental justice advocates and climate purists oppose the deal, but it’s an example of how to make progress in the long term while addressing affordability in the short term.

Immigration is another example: Newsom and other leading California Democrats continue to stand up to the Trump administration’s inhumane immigration policies, including suing to stop the deployment of troops to Los Angeles. But they also recently passed a budget that pulls back on costly plans to provide health insurance to all low-income undocumented immigrants.

This reflects the new California model: principled resistance and pragmatic governance. The results speak for themselves. The Golden State recently surpassed Japan to become the fourth-largest economy in the world.

Democratic leaders are making these moves because they are listening to voters who consistently say that the high cost of living is their top concern.

In 2024, these concerns contributed to a surprising number of Californians abandoning Democrats, even with Kamala Harris, the state’s former U.S. senator and attorney general, on the ticket. Trump flipped 10 counties and boosted his support in 45. Since 2016, 72% of California counties have gotten redder, including many with heavy Latino populations.

Democrats are paying attention and are wisely changing course. Being responsive to voter concerns doesn’t have to mean sacrificing core values, but it does require new approaches when the old ways aren’t working.

Karen Skelton (whose father is a political columnist for the Los Angeles Times) is a political strategist, having worked in the White House under Presidents Clinton and Biden and at the United States Departments of Energy, Transportation and Justice.

In 2024, Argentina’s far-right President Javier Milei launched an economic overhaul that slashed public spending, gutted state institutions and triggered massive protests.

The government dubbed it “chainsaw economics”. Critics say it’s deepening poverty and pushing the country into chaos, while Milei continues to make headlines for bizarre behaviour, including claims he takes political advice from his dead dog’s clones.

So who is really running Argentina – and at what cost?

Mehdi Hasan goes head-to-head with Diana Mondino, who served as Milei’s foreign minister before being abruptly fired. She defends the president’s policies, brushes off Milei’s personal attacks, and distances herself from his more extreme views, including his support for organ sales and his insults towards the late Pope Francis.

Joining the discussion are:
Matias Vernengo – Economics professor at Bucknell University and former official at Argentina’s Central Bank
Maxwell Marlow – Director of public affairs at the Adam Smith Institute
Martina Rodriguez – Member of the Argentina Solidarity Campaign and the Feminist Assembly of Latin Americans

While the World Cup will dominate Griffin’s early days, come the autumn the RFU’s governance reform will return to the headlines.

After a tumultuous period last season, when RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney survived a vote of no confidence, her role will focus on helping English rugby evolve.

“I do believe that all parts of the game want us to evolve and improve our governance,” she said.

“That’s really, really important – and a lot of that is in response to societal changes. The world doesn’t stand still, and neither can we.

“It won’t move as fast as people maybe think it should, but then I don’t think that’s a problem.

“We won’t have another major governance review, probably for another 10 years or more. So it’s really, really important – I’d rather get this right.”

The results of the governance review will go to the RFU Council in the autumn but work on giving more devolved power to different regions could come sooner.

Having visited clubs across England in her previous roles with the RFU, she wants the union to become more agile and responsive to each region’s needs.

“I think people want to have more influence over conversations and decisions that are being made regionally,” she said.

“One solution for Cumbria is not the same as the solution for Hampshire. We’ve been working on this for several years in terms of how we can make those decisions, particularly around the growth of rugby at more local levels.

“We have to move on with that regionalisation, and the governance has to be aligned with that. You can’t do everything all at once. So we very much want to get the regionalisation under way in the next season.”

He has been dubbed the “Dutch Donald Trump”.

Geert Wilders has pulled his Party for Freedom (PVV) out of the coalition that governs the Netherlands in a row over immigration policy.

It has plunged the NATO ally into political turmoil and new elections.

After years in opposition, the PVV won the most votes in 2023 by tapping into rising populism in Europe with promises to reduce immigration.

Wilders has pushed for a 10-point plan that calls for the militarisation of Dutch borders as well as the repatriation of all Syrian nationals – something his coalition partners rejected.

Before resigning, Prime Minister Dick Schoof labelled Wilders’s actions “irresponsible”, coming at a critical time for Europe.

So was this a reckless or strategic move by Wilders?

And will it deepen uncertainty in the region, only weeks before a NATO summit in The Hague?

Presenter:

Tom McRae

Guests: 

Henk van der Kolk – Professor of electoral politics at the University of Amsterdam

Zoe Gardner – Independent researcher covering migration policy

Pieter Cleppe – Editor-in-chief at BrusselsReport.eu

The WRU had continually insisted maintaining four professional sides on an equal footing was at the heart of its long-term strategy that was launched in 2024.

The governing body say that was their preference from the outset, but the system will not return to the model “given seismic changes in the rugby landscape”.

The WRU now says it has taken “the difficult but necessary decision” to issue the formal two-year notice to terminate the current PRA agreement, in particular, to proceed with its debt refinancing with its bank, NatWest.

They say it was not a decision that was taken lightly, however “given the WRU’s duties to the game in Wales as a whole, the broader performance, financial and strategic needs of the game must take precedence”.

“When I announced the headline strategy back in July 2024, I said one thing is for certain, given the challenges facing rugby in Wales and globally, there will be times when we need to adjust our course,” said Tierney.

“We must seize this opportunity. Our continued aim is to build a resilient and world-class structure that will support Welsh rugby’s next generation and beyond.”

The Professional Rugby Board (PRB) is the organisation set up to represent the four professional sides and the WRU.

“The next phase of consultation, as always, will be conducted with the best interests of the whole of Welsh rugby at its heart,” said PRB chair Malcolm Wall, who is also a WRU board member.