Moscow / AFP Russia gears up for parliamentary elections on September 18 in the grips of its longest economic crisis since President Vladimir Putin took charge in 2000. Despite falling incomes and rising poverty, parties loyal to the Kremlin strongman look set to dominate the vote yet again. What role is the crisis playing in the vote and can …

  Brasília / AFP Fresh off his predecessor’s impeachment, Brazilian President Michel Temer is launching reforms meant to save the tanking economy, but his austerity plan risks triggering backlash — including among his allies. The center-right president was sworn in on August 31 to serve out the rest of predecessor Dilma Rousseff’s term, after she was removed from office on charges …

  Lusaka / AFP Zambian President Edgar Lungu called for national unity in his inauguration speech on Tuesday, as a defeated opposition candidate dismissed the ceremony as “illegal and unconstitutional”. Lungu, who first took power last year, won the August 11 election by around 100,000 votes but his opponent Hakainde Hichilema has alleged that the result was riddled with fraud. …