AfricaNews: UN, AU commit to strategically review peace operations

According to report, the United Nations and the African Union have jointly committed to review the way peace operations are conducted to challenge the new forms of warfare.

This was announced by the U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at a joint press conference on Wednesday with the African Union Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat after signing a new partnership agreement at the UN Headquarters in New York.

“We are witnessing, in Africa, as around the world, changes in the security situation that force us to have a strategic review of the way peace operations take place. We no longer have only the traditional peacekeeping operations,” Guterres said.

“We are indeed creating the conditions for an enhanced coordination of our activities at all levels,” he added.

"We are witnessing, in Africa, as around the world, changes in the security situation that force us to have a strategic review of the way peace operations take place. We no longer have only the traditional peacekeeping operations."

Mahamat lauded the sustainable development, peace and security agreement saying it will help produce better results between the two organisations.

The AU Chairperson earlier attended the United Nations- African Union (UN-AU) Annual Conference.

The framework is expected to align the Agenda 2063 of the African Union for sustainable development and the United Nation’s Agenda 2030.

“There are lots of positive success stories that need to be fully in our own narrative as a UN about Africa and in our cooperation with the African Union … I would also like to underline that in relation to human rights, to good governance, there was a total identity of points of view that will allow us to work together very strongly,” Guterres concluded.

The two leaders earlier discussed situations in Libya, Mali, the Central African Republic, and Somalia, as well as the activities of the Boko Haram terrorist group.

AfricaNews: UN, AU commit to strategically review peace operations

According to report, the United Nations and the African Union have jointly committed to review the way peace operations are conducted to challenge the new forms of warfare.

This was announced by the U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at a joint press conference on Wednesday with the African Union Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat after signing a new partnership agreement at the UN Headquarters in New York.

“We are witnessing, in Africa, as around the world, changes in the security situation that force us to have a strategic review of the way peace operations take place. We no longer have only the traditional peacekeeping operations,” Guterres said.

“We are indeed creating the conditions for an enhanced coordination of our activities at all levels,” he added.

"We are witnessing, in Africa, as around the world, changes in the security situation that force us to have a strategic review of the way peace operations take place. We no longer have only the traditional peacekeeping operations."

Mahamat lauded the sustainable development, peace and security agreement saying it will help produce better results between the two organisations.

The AU Chairperson earlier attended the United Nations- African Union (UN-AU) Annual Conference.

The framework is expected to align the Agenda 2063 of the African Union for sustainable development and the United Nation’s Agenda 2030.

“There are lots of positive success stories that need to be fully in our own narrative as a UN about Africa and in our cooperation with the African Union … I would also like to underline that in relation to human rights, to good governance, there was a total identity of points of view that will allow us to work together very strongly,” Guterres concluded.

The two leaders earlier discussed situations in Libya, Mali, the Central African Republic, and Somalia, as well as the activities of the Boko Haram terrorist group.

BBCNews: Cut-back crew for ISS launch

According to report, there was an empty third seat on the Soyuz capsule which blasted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Thursday.

Nasa astronaut Jack Fischer, 43, and Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin, 58, lifted off at 1:13pm local time (0713 GMT).

But Russia is scaling back its staff on the ISS until a long-delayed space laboratory is sent to the outpost in 2018.

AfricaNews: 3,900 tonnes of election materials distributed nationwide in the DRC

United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) has airlifted 3,900 tonnes of election materials to 15 election centres around the country to be distributed to 107 satellite stations.

The distribution, that started in October, 2016, was at the request of the country’s Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) in December 2015, the UN said Wednesday at a press conference.

“As I speak, a helicopter is making a final rotation between Kinshasa and Kasongo Lunda in Kwango province. This ends the MONUSCO air operation to support the ongoing revision of the electoral register,” UN Communications Coordinator in the DRC, Florence Marchal was quoted by local media Radio Okapi.

Four cargo aircrafts and 16 helicopters transported equipment including office kits, record materials, voter cards and generators from Kinshasa to the rest of the country, Marchal explained.

"As I speak, a helicopter is making a final rotation between Kinshasa and Kasongo Lunda in Kwango province. This ends the MONUSCO air operation to support the ongoing revision of the electoral register."

The Electoral Commission has come under pressure last year to complete the voter registration process ahead of the earlier slated November 2016 election date.

The Commission explicitly stated that they were unable to meet the election deadline due to lack of resources. A court extended the mandate of President Joseph Kabila whose term expired in December last year.

A peace agreement was reached for a unity government after series of protests by the opposition who called on Kabila to step down.

The election is expected to be held before the end of the year.

AfricaNews: UN alarmed by Burundi militia chants to 'impregnate or kill' opponents

According to report, the United Nations has raised alarm over chants by the youth wing of Burundi’s ruling party CNDD-FDD calling for opponents to be impregnated or killed.

The chants captured on video and circulating on social media shows over a hundred young men from the Imbonerakure militia at a rally in the Ntega commune of the Kirundo province in northeast Burundi repeatedly chanting “make opponents pregnant so that they can give birth to Imbonerakure”.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein on Tuesday described the incident as worrying.

“The grotesque rape chants by the young men […] are deeply alarming – particularly because they confirm what we have been hearing from those who have fled Burundi about a campaign of fear and terror by this organized militia,” he said in a statement.

OHCHR noted a statement by the ruling party condemning the chanting but added that reports indicate the similar rallies have been organized by senior government officials across the country.

“[The] condemnation is meaningless if, instead of a putting a stop to such events, senior Government officials continue to take part in such rallies … Such blatant and brazen hate speech and incitement to violence must not be tolerated, nor encouraged,” Zeid warned.

The video in question also shows another group repeatedly shouting about 19 times that the opponents “should die”, OHCHR noted.

Over 400,000 people have fled Burundi over the last two years fearing for their safety, the UN estimates.

AfricaNews: 17 more mass graves discovered in central DR Congo-UN

                                  Exhumed human skulls

According to report, 17 more mass graves have been discovered in central Democratic Republic of Congo.

Investigators from the United Nations said on Wednesday they found the graves in Kasai region, bringing the total found since August last year to 40.

Recent clashes in central Kasai between soilders and members of a local militia known as Kamuina Nsapu, have left dozens dead including the killing of two UN workers of Swedish and American origin.

The UN human rights office said in a statement that Congolese soilders killed at least 114 people including 41 children.

Zeid Ra’ad al- Hussein, UN human rights chief, warned that if Congo’s government doesn’t investigate the violence effectively, he will urge the International Criminal Court or another outside entity do it.

On Monday, DRC’s government said it had returned the body of Kamuina Nsapu, the deceased former leader of the local militia in a bid to end months of violence in Kasai.

Congo’s Interior Ministry added that the late rebel leader had appointed Jacques Kabeya Ntumba as the new head.

AfricaNews: Zimbabwe okays payment of school fees with livestock, labour

According to AfricaNews.com, Cash-strapped Zimababwe has assented to the payment of school fees by parents using livestock or labour for the schools.

Primary and Secondary Education Minister Dr Lazarus Dokora said over the weekend that school authorities should be flexible and not turn away pupils because their parents have no money to pay tuition fees.

“Our schools have to be flexible and ensure those who do not have money to pay fees can work. For example, if there is a builder in the community, he/she must be given that opportunity to work as a form of payment of tuition fees,” he told local newspaper Sunday Mail.

This was further elaborated by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr Sylvia Utete-Masango who was quoted by the newspaper saying payment using livestock is reserved for rural areas while those in towns and cities can pay by working for the school.

"Our schools have to be flexible and ensure those who do not have money to pay fees can work. For example, if there is a builder in the community, he/she must be given that opportunity to work as a form of payment of tuition fees."

his option raised divergent views from parents while the country’s teachers’ association called for a change in the policy.

“I do not think that it’s sustainable with regards to parents in urban areas … so many parents have outstanding balances. Therefore, I am trying to imagine those 1 000-plus parents coming to work at a school … Why spend time doing manual labour at a school when they can go there to look for a good job?” Zimbabwe Teachers’ Association secretary-general John Mlilo was quoted.

This development follows the recent tabling of a bill in parliament to direct banks to accept livestock as collateral for cash loans to informal businesses.

The Movable Property Security Interests bill, if passed, will allow livestock and household appliances to be acceptable as collateral after evaluation and registration by the central bank.

Cash shortages hit Zimbabwe last year after the government threatened to grab all foreign companies operating in the country under the Indigenisation and Empowerment Law.

Banks in Zimbabwe were compelled to reduce withdrawal bank limits for customers to as low as US$40 per day per individual.

This has led to hundreds of ordinary Zimbabweans sleeping outside banks daily to get the much needed cash.

Zimbabweans and other Africans took to Twitter to express their opinions about the livestock-for-school-fees plan.

View image on Twitter

 Follow

Atulinda Allan @Atulinda_Allan

May Robert Mugabe of #Zimbabwe live longer... All kids have to study... U need a goat not money for fees #EducationInAfrica

8:21 PM - 16 Apr 2017

 
•  33 Retweets
 
•  33 likes

Gracealone @funatjie

So when the government says you can pay school fees with goat's in Zimbabwe, will they build a large kraal 4 all the goats @702Aubrey

11:29 PM - 16 Apr 2017

 
•  11 Retweet
 
•  11 like

IOver 4,000 Ivorian schoolgirls pregnant in 2016-2017 academic year - report

According to AfricaNews.com, 4,471 schoolgirls in primary and secondary school were found pregnant in the Ivory Coast during the 2016-2017 academic year.

A report published early this year by the Ivorian Ministry of National and Technical Education says the girls are between the ages 13 and 17 years old and were forced to drop out of school due to their condition.

The figure is an improvement from the 2015-2016 academic year that recorded 5,900 cases, and 6,800 cases in the 2014-2015 academic year.

The alarming levels of pregnancies among school going girls have resulted in several sensitization programmes launched by the Ivorian government and civil society organisations to educate the youth about sexual and reproductive health.

In developing countries, 7.3 million girls under the age of 18 give birth each year, according to the 2016 UNFPA State of World Population report.

In Ivory Coast, the adolescent birth rate is 135 per 1,000 girls aged 15 to 19.

BBCNews: Bastia vs Lyon match abandoned

                                Bastia play on the French island of Corsica

According to BBC report, a match between French Ligue 1 sides Bastia and Lyon was abandoned after home fans invaded the pitch in Corsica.

Kick-off was delayed by 55 minutes, as Bastia fans tried to attack visiting Lyon players during their warm-up.

Stewards held off fans while players were rushed down the tunnel and a gate closed behind them.

Lyon were then persuaded to start the match - having initially refused - before further incident caused the abandonment at half-time.

The Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP), which governs France's professional leagues, will meet on Thursday to decide what action to take.

It called on Bastia to issue stadium bans to the fans responsible, adding: "The LFP condemns with the greatest firmness the incidents which took place before the game and at half-time of the Bastia-Lyon game."

Trouble began before the match as Lyon's players, including former Manchester United forward Memphis Depay, came out on the pitch to warm up.

Their goalkeeper Mathieu Gorgelin found himself caught in the middle of a group of pitch invaders before the players were directed back to the dressing room.

Lyon defender Jeremy Berthod said: "Bastia fans kicked balls into Gorgelin's goal. He and Memphis tried to move them out of the way before being attacked by many SC Bastia fans.

"The players then huddled together. They and the staff are very shocked. The moment it happened, none of them wanted to come out of the dressing room and play this match."

It has been a difficult week for Lyon, with crowd trouble before their Europa League game with Besiktas on Thursday.

Fans clashed before their quarter-final first leg in France, with kick-off delayed by 45 minutes as a result. Lyon went on to win 2-1.

Lyon face four Uefa charges from that game, for the setting-off of fireworks, blocking stairways, insufficient organisation and a pitch invasion after a late winning goal.

Bastia were made to close part of their stadium for three matches after a group of supporters shouted racist insults at Nice striker Mario Balotelli during a 1-1 draw in January.

CNN News: Colbert gets in on the Melania Trump interviews

Actress Laura Benanti came back to "The Late Show" with her spot-on Melania Trump impression to spoof a CNN interview with the GOP nominee's wife.
Source: CNN

CNN News: Rescuers battle rough seas to save hundreds of stranded migrants By Hilary Clarke and Hilary McGann

 Ships from the humanitarian organization Migrant Offshore Aid Station approach a boat with migrants in the Mediterranean Sea on April 15.

According to CNN report, rescue workers have been battling for more than 24 hours in a bid to save as many as 1,800 migrants stranded on boats off the coast of Libya, according to charities leading the operation.

The Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS) said in a statement they "believe there have been deaths," but it is not clear how many people have drowned.

So far rescuers have pulled 453 people to safety, but were forced to suspend the operation overnight with their rescue vessel the Phoenix running at full capacity.

The charity's founder, Christopher Catrambone, said yesterday: "Nobody has ever seen anything like what we are witnessing this weekend."

He later described in a tweet carrying a dead child on board the ship at Easter.

"There were 8-10 people dead on board but the situation is not finished yet," said Michael Buschheuer, founder of Sea-Eye, another rescue charity based off the coast of north Africa.

"At the moment, many boats will not get found, they will get lost. Definitely, on our boat there were about 10 (drowned), but maybe there are 300, I have no idea. It is still ongoing."

"Around us are another 400 people -- many of them woman and children -- in small rubber boats and small wooden boats," Pauline Schmidt, a press officer with another charity Jugend Rettet who is on board the Iuventa rescue ship, said in an email to CNN.

"Not all of them wear life jackets. No vessel nearby that can provide help to us. Also around 5 more rubber boats coming northwards in our direction. We are not able to navigate anymore due to the high amount of persons on board."

Earlier this week the International Organization for Migration said nearly 32,000 migrants and refugees entered Europe by sea in 2017 through 9 April, with over 80% arriving in Italy and the rest in Spain and Greece. The organization said 554 drowned making the crossing.

As the rescue effort continued, bad weather was complicating matters further, MOAS said in a tweet. All three charities said that calls for help to the Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Center in Rome had not yet been answered.

Separately, Medicins Sans Frontieres and Italian authorities said they had successfully brought to shore 649 migrants in the southern Italian port of Reggio di Calabria.

Another boat carrying 72 migrants landed this morning at the nearby seaside resort of Melito Porto Salvo.

"There were Somalis, Afghans, Syrians and Bangladeshis on board. We will taken them first to be registered with the police and then they will be taken on buses to reception centers" said Francesco Campolo, senior officer with the Italian state police in Reggio di Calabria told CNN.

Some 6,000 migrants were rescued by the Italian coast guard on Friday and Saturday alone according to Italian newspapers -- as people smugglers in Libya took advantage of calm seas to launch boats.

CNN News: Formerly conjoined twins now in recovery

CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta has been following the story of conjoined twins Jadon and Anias and had a chance to catch-up with their parents. 

Source: CNN

CNN News: 9-year-old boy races to catch baby brother

A young boy is being praised a hero for racing to catch his baby brother as he fell from a changing table. 

Source: CNN

AfricaNews: Nigeria --- Nigeria’s oil production falls to 1.2 million barrels

According to report, Nigeria’s crude oil production has fallen from 2 million barrels per day to as low as 1.27 million barrels per day.
This comes amid the shutdown of two major export grades.

According to direct communication with the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the country produced 1.269 million barrels per day last month.

The 13 members OPEC cartel, in its new released monthly oil market report for the month of April, said Nigeria recorded the biggest decline of 157,000 barrels per day in March.

Few days after Italy’s Eni lifted force majeure on Brass River crude oil exports from Nigeria in February, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources,. Ibe Kachikwu, said crude-oil production had risen to two million bpd.

However, early March, Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited (SNEPCo) shut down the Bonga field to enable it commence turnaround maintenance on it, a development that has reduced oil production and exports.

According to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) at the Forcados terminal alone, about 300,000 bpd to 330,000 bpd were shut in since February 2016 following the force majeure declared by the SPDC.

In October last year, Shell resumed export of crude oil from the Forcados terminal following repairs, but the production wells were shut-in again due to the shutdown of the Trans Forcados Pipeline on November 9, 2016 as a result of sabotage on the 48-inch crude export line.

While Nigeria had consistently been Africa’s largest oil exporter, its loadings have fallen below those of Angola several times over the past year as it dealt with militant attacks on oil infrastructure in the Niger Delta.

The NNPC said in its latest monthly report that the Federal Government’s engagement with the Niger Delta militants had continued to enhance production.

According to the corporation, areas much affected by the militant activities are the onshore and shallow water assets, where government’s share is high. Hence, sustained security of onshore and shallow water locations remains a priority to restore production to peak levels.

AfricaNews: Central African Republic ---- Uganda troops announce withdrawal from the CAR

                                   Ugandan troop

According to Press Agency, the Ugandan army has announced its withdrawal from the Central African Republic (CAR).

The announcement was made during a meeting with the local authorities in the region, this comes less than three weeks after the decision of the United States to put an end to the activities of Joseph Kony.

The commander of the Ugandan troops said the withdrawal should take place during May next year, according to a timetable that has not been communicated.

The Ugandan army was deployed to the east of the CAR in 2009 as a result of a resolution of the African Union. Its objective was to put an end to the atrocities of the Lord resistance Army who had fled to Uganda.

A group that monitors LRA activities, The Resolve initiative, says the group is still a threat to civilians and cautions against drawing down troops prematurely.

The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) was founded in northern Uganda and is led by a Ugandan native called Joseph Kony but the group no longer has any presence in Uganda. It comprises a mix of Ugandans and fighters from other countries. Kony has been indicted for war crimes and many of his followers were forcibly recruited as children.

Years of joint US-African Union efforts to destroy the LRA have been stymied by the group’s guerrilla tactics and its propensity to retreat into harsh terrain and unstable or ungoverned areas. Several years ago Kony was rumored to be hiding in the Kafia enclave, a disputed territory occupied by the Sudanese army.

BBCNews: North Korea nuclear: US 'working with China' on response

The BBC's John Sudworth, in Pyongyang, explains what may happen next

According to BBC, the US and China are working on a "range of options" on North Korea, the US top security adviser has said, as tensions mount over the country's nuclear and missile programmes.

Lt Gen HR McMaster told ABC News there was consensus with China that this was a situation that "could not continue".

The comments come after a failed missile test launch by North Korea and a massive military parade.

President Trump had earlier said China was "working with us" on the issue.

Beijing, Pyongyang's biggest ally, has come under pressure from Washington to exert more pressure on its neighbour.

Sunday's comments appear to be the first confirmation that both countries are working together on how to deal with the North Korean issue.

Gen McMaster, who was in the Afghan capital, Kabul, said the latest launch "fits a pattern of provocative and destabilising and threatening behaviour".

"The president has made clear that he will not accept the United States and its allies and partners in the region being under threat from this hostile regime with nuclear weapons," he said.

North Korea displayed its military capabilities during a huge parade in Pyongyang

"I think there's an international consensus now, including the Chinese and the Chinese leadership, that this is a situation that just can't continue."

President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed North Korea during a meeting last week. Mr Xi offered co-operation on "communication and co-ordination", the BBC's Robin Brant in Shanghai reports.

• All about North Korea's missile programme
• In pictures: Pyongyang parade (with pom-poms)

Earlier on Sunday, South Korean and US military officials said a North Korean missile had detonated soon after launch. The US Pacific Command said it believed it to be a ballistic missile.

Investigations were continuing, but one unnamed US official said it was unlikely to have been an intercontinental (ICBM) missile.

Ballistic missiles follow high trajectories and are initially powered and guided, but fall to their target under gravity. ICBMs follow a sub-orbital trajectory, others stay within the atmosphere.

North Korea's aim is to be able to put a nuclear warhead on an ICBM that can reach targets around the world.

Pyongyang has claimed to have miniaturised nuclear warheads for use on missiles, though experts have cast doubt on that given the lack of evidence.

The state has already conducted five nuclear tests and a series of missile launches in contravention of UN resolutions.

It has suffered test failures in the past but they have not deterred its development programme.

Meanwhile, US Vice-President Mike Pence is on a 10-day tour of Asia intended to reassure allies of US commitment to their security.

In the South Korean capital, Seoul, Mr Pence called the failed launch a "provocation". He is set to discuss North Korea with acting President Hwang Kyo-ahn.

"You can feel the ground shake," John Sudworth at Saturday's parade

UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson meanwhile issued another warning to North Korea after its failed missile launch.

"They must stop these belligerent acts and comply with UN resolutions," he said.

On Friday, China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi warned that the situation in the region was escalating, and that "conflict could break out at any moment".

Adding to the tension in the Korean peninsula, a US aircraft carrier group is steaming towards the region.

BBCNews: Turkey referendum: Erdogan wins vote to expand presidential powers

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan: "Decision made by the Turkish public is a historic moment"

According to BBC, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has narrowly won a referendum to expand presidential powers, which could keep him in office until 2029.

With 99.45% of ballots counted, the "Yes" campaign had won 51.37% and "No" 48.63%, and the electoral board called victory for "Yes".

Erdogan supporters say replacing the parliamentary system with an executive presidency will modernise the country.

Turkey's two main opposition parties said they would challenge the results.

The Republican People's Party (CHP) demanded a recount of 60% of votes. They criticised a decision to accept unstamped ballot papers as valid unless proven otherwise.

As jubilant Erdogan supporters rallied in the big cities, pots and pans were banged in Istanbul by opponents of the referendum, in a traditional form of protest.

Three people were shot dead near a polling station in the south-eastern province of Diyarbakir, reportedly during a dispute over how they were voting.

The European Commission called on the Turkish authorities in a statement to "seek the broadest possible national consensus" when implementing the constitutional reforms.

• Erdogan's Turkey: The full story

• Turkey referendum: Key reactions

Lingering doubts: BBC's Mark Lowen in Ankara

They are rejoicing into the night here outside the headquarters of the governing AK party (AKP), confident in the victory claimed by President Erdogan.

He and his government say more than 51% of voters have backed the constitutional reform but the opposition has cried foul, claiming massive irregularities over invalid votes and vowing to challenge the result at the supreme electoral board.

Mr Erdogan said the clear victory needed to be respected. In a typically rabble-rousing speech, he proposed another referendum on reinstating the death penalty, which would end Turkey's EU negotiations.

But this has not been the resounding win he wanted and doubts will linger over its legitimacy. It was hoped this vote might bring Turkey stability but that still seems some way off.

• Critics abroad fear Erdogan's reach

• The day a Turkish writer's life changed

Death penalty next?

"Today... Turkey has taken a historic decision," Mr Erdogan told a briefing at his official Istanbul residence, the Huber Palace. "With the people, we have realised the most important reform in our history."

He called on everyone to respect the outcome of the vote.

The president also said the country could hold a referendum on bringing back the death penalty.

He usually gives triumphant balcony speeches, the BBC's Mark Lowen notes, but this was a muted indoors address.

Deputy Prime Minister Veysi Kaynak admitted the "Yes" vote had been lower than expected.

What's in the new constitution?

The draft states that the next presidential and parliamentary elections will be held on 3 November 2019.

The president will have a five-year tenure, for a maximum of two terms.

• The president will be able to directly appoint top public officials, including ministers
• He will also be able to assign one or several vice-presidents
• The job of prime minister, currently held by Binali Yildirim, will be scrapped
• The president will have power to intervene in the judiciary, which Mr Erdogan has accused of being influenced by Fethullah Gulen, the Pennsylvania-based preacher he blames for the failed coup in July
• The president will decide whether or not impose a state of emergency

'French-style system'

Mr Erdogan says the changes are needed to address Turkey's security challenges nine months after an attempted coup, and to avoid the fragile coalition governments of the past.

The new system, he argues, will resemble those in France and the US and will bring calm in a time of turmoil marked by a Kurdish insurgency, Islamist militancy and conflict in neighbouring Syria, which has led to a huge refugee influx.

Critics of the changes fear the move will make the president's position too powerful, arguing that it amounts to one-man rule, without the checks and balances of other presidential systems such as those in France and the US.

They say his ability to retain ties to a political party - Mr Erdogan could resume leadership of the AKP he co-founded - will end any chance of impartiality.

Some protesters banged pots and pans in the Turkish capital after the results were announced

CHP deputy leader Erdal Aksunger said he believed there had been irregularities in the count: "Many illegal acts are being carried out in favour of the 'Yes' campaign right now.

"There is the state on one side and people on the other. 'No' will win in the end. Everybody will see that."

The pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) also challenged the vote.

Critics abroad fear Erdogan's reach

The day a Turkish writer's life changed

Emergency rule

Many Turks already fear growing authoritarianism in their country, where tens of thousands of people have been arrested, and at least 100,000 sacked or suspended from their jobs, since a coup attempt last July.

The campaign unfolded under a state of emergency imposed in the wake of the failed coup.

Academic voices her fears for her country

Mr Erdogan assumed the presidency, meant to be a largely ceremonial position, in 2014 after more than a decade as prime minister.

Under his rule, the middle class has ballooned and infrastructure has been modernised, while religious Turks have been empowered.

Relations with the EU, meanwhile, have deteriorated. Mr Erdogan sparred bitterly with European governments who banned rallies by his ministers in their countries during the referendum campaign. He called the bans "Nazi acts".

Turkey's dominant president

The ultranationalists who could sway Erdogan