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☆ Counting the cost of contagion fears from Africa coups
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Libgeorge Marc Jones | Marc Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Gabon coup leader General Brice Oligui Nguema is sworn in as interim president during his swearing-in ceremony, in Libreville, Gabon, September 4, 2023. The putsch not only sent Gabon's bonds tumbling 10%, but also hit those issued by a number of other countries including neighbouring Cameroon, as jittery investors scanned for who might be next. The apparent coup trend is adding to other major concerns deterring many investors from Africa - a wave of debt crises, tense geopolitics and an extreme vulnerability to climate change. "Nearly all markets in that region are paying some price in terms of rising cost of debt," said Sergey Dergachev, portfolio manager at Union Investment. There have been scores of coups and attempted coups in recent decades including in Thailand, Ecuador, Egypt and Turkey.

Persons: General Brice Oligui Nguema, Stringer, Sergey Dergachev, Paul Biya, Macky Sall, Denis Sassou Nguesso, Eamon Aghdasi, Fitch, Moody's, Thailand's, Ravi Bhatia, Bongo, Simon Quijano, Evans, Libby George, Marc Jones, Karin Strohecker, Emelia Sithole Organizations: REUTERS, UNDP, Union Investment, Investors, Reuters, General Assembly, Burkina, P Global, Reuters Graphics, Monetary Fund, Central, CFA, Peace, Thomson Locations: Gabon, Libreville, Africa Mali, Guinea, Africa, Cameroon, Mali, Thailand, Ecuador, Egypt, Turkey, crackdowns, Senegal, Congo Republic, New York, Niger, Burkina Faso, Kenya

CNN —The military leaders who staged a coup in Gabon have freed ousted president Ali Bongo Ondimba and he is now allowed to travel abroad, a junta spokesperson said Wednesday. Bongo has reportedly been held in house arrest since the coup in the Central African nation in late August. “Given his state of health, the former President of the Republic Ali Bongo Ondimba is free to move about. It’s not immediately clear if Bongo will leave Gabon following his release by the junta. If the ousted president leaves, he is likely to go to France where the Bongo family has a portfolio of luxury real estate.

Persons: Ali Bongo Ondimba, Bongo, “, Republic Ali Bongo Ondimba, Ulrich Manfoumbi, Gen, Brice Oligui Nguema, Abdou Abarry, …, ”, swirled, Omar Bongo, ” Bongo’s, Nguema, ” Nguema, It’s Organizations: CNN, United Nations Regional Office, Central, Gabonese Locations: Gabon, Central African, Republic, Central Africa, Libreville, Morocco, Bongo, France, United States

☆ Fitch places Gabon on 'rating watch negative' following coup
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Soldiers of the Republican Guard stand on their armed pick-up in a street in Libreville, Gabon August 30, 2023 REUTERS/Scott Ngokila Acquire Licensing RightsSept 5 (Reuters) - Credit ratings agency Fitch said on Tuesday it has placed Gabon on "rating watch negative" (RWN), citing high political uncertainty in the Central African nation following a military coup last month. Fitch placed Gabon's 'B-' Long-Term Foreign-Currency and Local-Currency Issuer Default Ratings on RWN in an unscheduled review. It said the coup may have weakened Gabon's financial prospects by hurting the operational capacity of institutions responsible for its treasury and debt management, and also affecting the country's access to regional debt markets. "We assume Gabon will rely more on the regional market for financing at higher interest costs as the coup heightens the market's nervousness," Fitch said. The credit ratings agency added that a resumption of the country's IMF programme was also now unlikely.

Persons: Scott Ngokila, Fitch, Ali Bongo, Bongo, Pushkala, Shailesh Organizations: Republican Guard, REUTERS, Central, IMF, Thomson Locations: Libreville, Gabon, Central, West, Bengaluru

☆ Central African Republic President Meets Gabon Junta Leader for Talks
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( Sept. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Wilfried ObangomeLIBREVILLE (Reuters) - Central African Republic President Faustin Touadera held closed-door talks with Gabon's junta-appointed leader in Libreville on Tuesday in the wake of the main regional bloc's condemnation of the Aug. 30 coup. Central African bloc ECCAS has suspended Gabon's membership, but has so far stopped short of imposing sanctions in response to the non-violent military ouster of President Ali Bongo - West and Central Africa's eighth coup in three years. In a possible sign some internal political forces are rallying around the new authorities, the leader of Gabon's main opposition alliance, Albert Ondo Ossa, said he had spoken with Nguema on Tuesday. Military officers seized power shortly after Bongo was announced as its winner - a result they annulled and said was not credible. Apart from one video appeal for international support, little has been heard from Bongo since he was placed under house arrest during the coup.

Persons: Wilfried Obangome, Faustin Touadera, Ali Bongo, Brice Oligui Nguema, Bongo, Touadera, Nguema, Gabon's, Albert Ondo Ossa, Alessandra Prentice, Leslie Adler Organizations: Wilfried Obangome LIBREVILLE, Reuters, African, Gabon's, Central, Military Locations: Libreville, Gabonese, Gabon, Ondo

☆ Gabon coup leader sworn in as interim president in scene of jubilation
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-04 | by ( Gerauds Wilfried Obangome | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Gabon coup leader General Brice Oligui Nguema is sworn in as interim president during his swearing-in ceremony, in Libreville, Gabon, September 4, 2023. State TV showed images of a cheering crowd and armoured personnel carriers firing into the sea to mark the moment. PLEDGE TO RETURN POWER TO CIVILIANSNguema reiterated that his administration would organise free and fair elections, though he gave no timetable. "After this transition ... we intend to return power to civilians by organising new elections that will be free, transparent, credible and peaceful," he said. The coup had drawn cheering crowds onto the streets of the capital Libreville but condemnation from abroad.

Persons: General Brice Oligui Nguema, Gerauds Wilfried Obangome, Bongo, Ali Bongo, Nguema, Nellie Peyton, Karin Strohecker, Alessandra Prentice, Estelle Shirbon, Peter Graff, Christina Fincher Organizations: REUTERS, Central Africa LIBREVILLE, Gabon's, Central, State, Central African, United Nations, African Union, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Gabon, Libreville, West, Central, of Gabon

☆ Gabon coup leader will not rush to elections despite mounting pressure
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Trucks carrying industrial equipments wait because of the closure of the border after the coup in Gabon, in the border town of Kye-Ossi, Cameroon August 31, 2023. The officers placed Bongo under house arrest and installed Nguema as head of state, ending the Bongo family's 56-year hold on power. "Going as quickly as possible does not mean organising ad hoc elections, where we will end up with the same errors," he said. Gabon's election commission said after the election that Bongo had been re-elected with 64% of the vote, while Ondo Ossa secured almost 31%. It said it will impose sanctions on the coup leaders if they do not restore constitutional order.

Persons: Danga, Nguema, Gabon's, Ali Bongo, General Brice Oligui Nguema, Bongo, Alexandra Pangha, Albert Ondo Ossa, Noureddin Bongo Valentin, Ian Ghislain Ngoulou, Bongo Valentin, Bongo's, Mohamed Bazoum, Ondo Ossa, Pangha, Wilfried Obangome, Sonia Rolley, Libby George, Juliette Jabkhiro, Edward McAllister, Anait Miridzhanian, Sofia Christensen, Frances Kerry, Peter Graff, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: REUTERS, Monday, Military, Central Africa's, Central African, ECCAS, United Nations, African Union, BBC, Nguema, Gabon, Timothe, Ondo, Security, Thomson Locations: Gabon, Kye, Ossi, Cameroon, Monday LIBREVILLE, Libreville, Republic, France, United States, State, Guinea, Chad, Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, Ondo

☆ Gabon coup: How France's neo-colonial empire in its former territories is disintegrating
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( Stephanie Busari | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

A torn campaign billboard shows ousted Gabon President Ali Bongo Ondimba in Libreville on August 31, 2023. AFP/Getty ImagesPropping up ‘democratic dictators’Whilst the international community has condemned the coup in Gabon, it has not attracted the same vehement criticism that last month’s coup in Niger did. French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said France was watching the coup d’etat in Gabon “with the utmost attention.”It presents a challenge to France. Large crowds supporting the coup gathered Sunday near the French military base in Niamey, with demonstrators displaying signs demanding French troops withdraw. “The systems of government that former French colonies have, which were imposed by Paris are no longer fit for purpose.

Persons: Leon, Charles de Gaulle, Gaulle, Bongo, jubilation, General Brice Oligui Nguema –, Bongo’s, Nourredin Bongo Valentin, ”, Ali Bongo Ondimba, ’, Oluwole, Elisabeth Borne, Chris Ogunmodede, that’s, Paul Biya, Ogunmodede, ” Ogunmodede, …, ” Ojewale, “, Ndongo Samba Sylla, Emmanuel Macron, Macron Organizations: CNN, Military, Gabonese, Agence France, Presse, Gabon, Getty, Institute of Security Studies, autocrats, Central African, CFA, Banque de France, “, Macron Locations: Gabon, France, Gabon’s, Libreville, AFP, Niger, Gabonese, West, Central Africa, Mali, Senegal, Dakar, ”, Niamey, Paris, Congo Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, Switzerland, Africa, Russia, Commonwealth, Togo, Macron France, Nigeria, “ Africa

☆ African leaders work on response to Gabon military coup ousting President Bongo
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, the current chair of West African bloc ECOWAS, said on Wednesday he was working closely with other African leaders to contain what he called a "contagion of autocracy" spreading across Africa. Senior officers in Gabon announced their coup before dawn on Wednesday, shortly after an election body declared that Bongo had comfortably won a third term after Saturday's vote. The coups also showed the limited leverage of African powers once the military takes over. Military leaders elsewhere have also resisted international pressure, such as in Mali. The African Union, former colonial power France, the United States, Canada and Britain have all expressed concern about the coup.

Persons: Ali Bongo, Bongo, Bola Tinubu, General Brice Oligui Nguema, Omar, Josep Borrell Organizations: Economic, Central African States, West, ECOWAS, Military, African Union Locations: Gabon, West, Central Africa, Nigerian, Africa, Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Chad, Niger, Libreville, France, United States, Canada, Britain, European

☆ Gabon military coup: What to know about the overthrow of the Bongo dynasty
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Jessie Yeung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

International leaders have expressed concern and condemnation of the coup, some warning their citizens in Gabon to shelter in place. The military’s power grab began Wednesday, shortly after Gabon’s election authority said Bongo had been re-elected president following last weekend’s election. People celebrate following a military coup in Libreville, Gabon, on August 30. Coups in Africa were rampant in the early postcolonial decades, with coup leaders offering similar reasons for toppling governments: corruption, mismanagement and poverty, according to political analyst Remi Adekoya. The Gabon coup has been widely criticized by other African nations and in the West.

Persons: –, Ali Bongo Ondimba, Ali Bongo, Bongo, ”, president’s, Noureddin Bongo Valentin, Brice Oligui Nguema –, Bongo’s, Oligui, Gerauds Wilfried Obangome, “, Brice Oligui Nguema, there’s, Omar Bongo, Gabon's, Omar Bongo Ondimba, Nicolas Sarkozy, Frederic SOULOY, Ali Bongo’s, Remi Adekoya, Moussa Faki Mahamat, Ali, General Antonio Guterres, Guterres, Matthew Miller Organizations: CNN, Agence France, Presse, ” Residents, Bongo PDG, Reuters, Gabonese, Gabon Wednesday, African Union, ” United Nations, US State Department Locations: African, Gabon, Libreville, Ayong, Gabonese, Dakar, Senegal, Span, France, United States, Paris, Africa’s, Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Chad, Niger, Tunisia, Africa, West, United Kingdom, Spain

☆ Gabon awaits next move from junta after coup ousts President Bongo
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Gaetan M-Antchouwet Acquire Licensing Rights Read moreDAKAR, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Gabon on Thursday awaited the next move by its new military junta one day after it overthrew the government, named a new leader and detained long-standing President Ali Bongo in his residence. The coup is the eighth in West and Central Africa since 2020, and the second - after Niger - in as many months. Gabon, an OPEC member, is a major oil and manganese producer whose ousted president also made strides to protect vast Gabon's pristine forests and endangered elephants. But Bongo's popularity had worn thin amid claims of corruption, sham elections, and a failure to spend more of Gabon's oil revenues on the country's poor. Bongo took over in 2009 on the death of his father Omar, who had ruled since 1967.

Persons: Ali Bongo, Gaetan M, Bongo, Omar, Edward McAllister, Anait Miridzhanian, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: Military, United Nations, African, African Union and France, Thomson Locations: Port Gentil, Gabon, DAKAR, West, Central Africa, Niger, Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Chad, Libreville, African Union

☆ Who is Brice Oligui Nguema, the general named as Gabon's transition leader?
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Aug 30 (Reuters) - Gabon's military junta named General Brice Oligui Nguema as transition leader on Wednesday, following the apparent ouster of President Ali Bongo. The elite force is in charge of protecting the president, his family and other high-profile figures. ANTICORRUPTION MANDATEShortly after he took on the new role in 2019, Nguema launched an operation named "clean hands" to crack down on alleged state-led embezzlement. The Bongo family has ruled oil-rich Gabon for over half a century. In an interview with French newspaper Le Monde on Wednesday, Nguema said people in Gabon were frustrated with their government.

Persons: General Brice Oligui Nguema, Ali Bongo, Bongo, Nguema, Gerauds Wilfried Obangome, Ingrid Melander, Anait, Sofia Christensen, Matthew Lewis Organizations: Republican Guard, Thomson Locations: Gabon's southeasternmost, Haut, Republic of Congo, United States, Gabon, Libreville, Paris, Johannesburg

☆ Gabon army officers say they have seized power after election in oil-rich country
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( Gerauds Wilfried Obangome | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The officers said on television channel Gabon 24 that they represented all Gabonese security and defence forces. They said the election results were cancelled, all borders were closed until further notice and state institutions were dissolved. Military officers have also seized power in Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso and Chad. "If this is confirmed, it is another military coup which increases instability in the whole region," said the European Union's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell. Bongo, 64, succeeded his father Omar as president in 2009 and was re-elected in a disputed election in 2016.

Persons: Ali Bongo Ondimba's, Ali Bongo, Bongo, Elisabeth Borne, insurgencies, Josep Borrell, Albert Ondo Ossa, Omar, Eramet, Alessandra Prentice, Sofia Christensen, Raju Gopalakrishnan, Nellie Peyton, Simon Cameron, Moore, Edmund Blair Organizations: Reuters, REUTERS Acquire, Central African, OPEC, French, Military, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Gabonese, Centre, Wednesday, Thomson Locations: Gabonese, Gabon, Handout, LIBREVILLE, Libreville, France, West, Central Africa, Niger, Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Chad . Niger

☆ Explainer: What do we know about the Gabon military coup?
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The opposition had denounced the Aug. 26 vote as fraudulent, which Bongo's campaign denied. Reuters Graphics Reuters GraphicsWHO IS ALI BONGO AND WHY WAS HE OUSTED? If successful, the Gabon coup would end the Bongo family's 56-year grip on power. It remains unclear how long the transition promised by the military would be or what exactly the officers are planning. Military officers have also seized power in Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso and Chad, and most recently in Niger, erasing democratic gains since the 1990s.

Persons: Gerauds Wilfried Obangome, Ali Bongo's, Bongo, Noureddin Bongo Valentin, Ali Bongo, Omar Bongo, Brice Oligui Nguema, Anait, Alessandra Prentice, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: REUTERS, Military, Central African, Gabonese, Reuters Graphics Reuters, WHO, ALI, Monde, Thomson Locations: Libreville, Gabon, GABON, autocrats, Morocco, West, Central Africa, Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Chad, Niger, Gabonese

☆ Reaction to Gabon army officers announcing coup
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Below are reactions to what appeared to be the eighth military coup in West and Central Africa since 2020. FRENCH GOVERNMENT SPOKESPERSON OLIVIER VERAN"We condemn the military coup and recall our commitment to free and transparent elections." EU HIGH REPRESENTATIVE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND SECURITY POLICY JOSEP BORRELL"If this is confirmed, it is another military coup which increases instability in the whole region. RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESPERSON MARIA ZAKHAROVA"Moscow has received with concern reports of a sharp deterioration in the internal situation in the friendly African country. U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTONIO GUTERRES"The Secretary-General is following the evolving situation in Gabon very closely.

Persons: Gerauds Wilfried Obangome, Ali Bongo, Moussa Faki Mahamat, BOLA TINUBU'S, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GENERAL PATRICIA SCOTLAND, OLIVIER VERAN, WANG WENBIN, Bongo, JOSEP BORRELL, MARIA ZAKHAROVA, JOHN KIRBY, It's, GENERAL ANTONIO GUTERRES, Nellie Peyton, Sofia Christensen, Alexander Winning, Sharon Singleton, Andy Sullivan Organizations: REUTERS, Central African, AU, H.E, WEST, BLOC ECOWAS, GENERAL, Commonwealth Secretariat, MINISTRY, EU HIGH, Thomson Locations: Libreville, Gabon, West, Central Africa, Gabonese Republic, Republic, NIGERIA, African Union, CHINA, China, Central African Republic, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Moscow

☆ Gabon Military Officers Say They Are Seizing Power
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( Declan Walsh | More About Declan Walsh | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A group of senior military officers appeared on television in the oil-rich Central African nation of Gabon early Wednesday and announced they were seizing power, hours after the incumbent president, Ali Bongo Ondimba, was declared to have won a third term in office. There was no immediate reaction from Mr. Bongo or the government. Bursts of gunfire could be heard in the capital, Libreville, shortly after the broadcast ended, Reuters reported. “We have decided to defend the peace by putting an end to the current regime,” one of the officers said on the Gabon 24 station. If it succeeds, the coup would be the latest in an extraordinary run of military takeovers in Western and Central Africa — at least nine in the past three years, including one in Niger last month.

Persons: Ali Bongo Ondimba, Bongo Organizations: Reuters, Central Africa — Locations: Gabon, Libreville, Western, Central, Niger

☆ Recent coups in West and Central Africa
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

BURKINA FASOIn January 2022, Burkina Faso's army ousted President Roch Kabore, blaming him for failing to contain violence by Islamist militants. Doumbouya became interim president and promised a transition to democratic elections within three years. CHADIn April 2021, Chad's army took power after President Idriss Deby was killed on the battlefield while visiting troops fighting rebels in the north. Deby's son, General Mahamat Idriss Deby, was named interim president and tasked with overseeing an 18-month transition to elections. But the coup leaders clashed with the interim president, retired colonel Bah Ndaw, and engineered a second coup in May 2021.

Persons: Gerauds Wilfried Obangome, Ali Bongo, Mohamed Bazoum, Abdourahamane Tiani, Burkina Faso's, Roch Kabore, Colonel Paul, Henri Damiba, Captain Ibrahim Traore, Mamady Doumbouya, Alpha Conde, Conde, Doumbouya, Idriss Deby, General Mahamat Idriss Deby, Assimi Goita, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, Bah Ndaw, Goita, Hereward Organizations: REUTERS, Islamic, West, ECOWAS, Chadian, Mali's West, Thomson Locations: Libreville, Gabon, West, Central Africa, NIGER, Niger, al Qaeda, Islamic State, Mali, Burkina, BURKINA FASO, GUINEA, CHAD, N'Djamena, MALI

☆ Gabonese military officers announce they have seized power
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A group of senior Gabonese military officers appeared on national television in the early hours of Wednesday and said they had taken power, minutes after the state election body announced President Ali Bongo had won a third term. Appearing on television channel Gabon 24, the officers said they represented all security and defense forces in the Central African nation. Loud sounds of gunfire could be heard in the capital Libreville, a Reuters reporter said, after the television appearance. "In the name of the Gabonese people ... we have decided to defend the peace by putting an end to the current regime," the officers said. As one officer read the joint statement, around a dozen others stood silently behind him in military fatigues and berets.

Persons: Ali Bongo Organizations: Gabonese, OPEC Locations: Gabon, Central African, Libreville, Gabonese

CNN —A group of military officers claiming to represent “defense and security forces” in Gabon announced on Wednesday they had seized power in the African nation, according to a televised address circulating on social media. In the broadcast, the military officer said the election results would be voided and the country’s borders would be closed until further notice. Bongo’s long ruleEarlier on Wednesday, Gabon’s election body said Bongo had won the presidential election with 64.27% of the vote, after a delay-plagued general election that the opposition denounced as fraudulent. The elder Bongo came into power in 1967, seven years after the country’s independence from France. Ahead of the election, the non-profit Reporters Without Borders condemned the Gabonese government for obstructing foreign press coverage of the event.

Persons: ”, Ali Bongo, “, Bongo, Albert Ondo Ossa, Omar Bongo, Ondo, Bongo’s Organizations: CNN, Gabon24, Twitter, Senate, National Assembly, Constitutional, Economic, Social, Environmental Council, Reuters, Union, Borders, United Nations, Gabonese Locations: Gabon, Gabonese, Libreville, West, Central Africa, Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Chad, Niger, Ondo, France

☆ Gabon President Ali Bongo wins third term after disputed election
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Gabon's President Ali Bongo Ondimba addresses the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. Headquarters in New York City, U.S., September 21, 2022. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLIBREVILLE, Aug 30 (Reuters) - President Ali Bongo has won a third term in the presidential election with 64.27% of the vote, the Gabonese Election Centre (CGE) said on Wednesday, after a delay-plagued general election that the opposition has denounced as fraudulent. Announcing the result in the early hours, CGE head Michel Stephane Bonda said Bongo's main challenger, Albert Ondo Ossa, had come in second place with 30.77%. Bongo's team have rejected Ondo Ossa's allegations of electoral irregularities. Reporting by Gerauds Wilfried Obangome; Writing by Alessandra Prentice; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Gerry DoyleOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Ali Bongo Ondimba, Brendan McDermid, Ali Bongo, Michel Stephane Bonda, Bongo's, Albert Ondo Ossa, Bongo, Gerauds Wilfried Obangome, Alessandra Prentice, Clarence Fernandez, Gerry Doyle Organizations: United Nations General Assembly, REUTERS, Rights, Gabonese Election, Thomson Locations: U.N, New York City, U.S, Rights LIBREVILLE, Ondo, Central African

☆ Ali Bongo: who is Gabon leader ousted in military coup?
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/2] A still image from video shows Gabon President Ali Bongo being interviewed in Libreville, Gabon, September 24, 2016. Following a stroke, his fitness to rule was questioned, sparking a failed coup in 2019 as he convalesced in Morocco. Before sitting down for a televised interview with Reuters after his 2016 election win, Bongo removed a large silver watch and several gold rings. When Bongo won a 2016 election, accusations of vote meddling stoked public anger amid a period of low crude prices and belt-tightening. In 2019, a military coup was foiled, with the coup plotters citing a lack of information following Bongo's stroke in 2018.

Persons: Ali Bongo, Bongo, Michael Jackson, Omar, Junior, Alain Bernard Bongo, Ali, Keen, Britain's Prince Charles, Alessandra Prentice, Edward McAllister, Edmund Blair Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Omar's, WikiLeaks, International Monetary Fund, Thomson Locations: Gabon, Libreville, autocrats, Morocco, French, Congo Republic, France, U.S

☆ Gabon to vote as president Bongo seeks to extend 56-year family dynasty
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-26 | by ( Gerauds Wilfried Obangome | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Gabon's President Ali Bongo Ondimba addresses the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. Headquarters in New York City, U.S., September 21, 2022. These include the introduction of a single ballot that requires voters to pick a presidential candidate and lawmaker from the same party. Bongo's camp has positioned him as the firm favourite to win the race, although there has been no reliable polling. His main threat comes from joint opposition candidate Albert Ondo Ossa, 69, an economics and management professor who has campaigned on the need for change and better economic opportunities. I am convinced that this year there will be changeover in Gabon", said pensioner Alain Moussavou at the opposition rally.

Persons: Ali Bongo Ondimba, Brendan McDermid, Ali Bongo's, Bongo, Remadji Hoinathy, Hoinathy, Albert Ondo Ossa, Alain Moussavou, Alessandra Prentice, David Gregorio Our Organizations: United Nations General Assembly, REUTERS, Rights, Security Studies, Ondo, Thomson Locations: U.N, New York City, U.S, Rights LIBREVILLE, Africa, Bongo, Libreville, Gabon

LONDON/JOHANNESBURG, July 25 (Reuters) - Gabon launched what is set to be Africa's first debt-for-nature swap on Tuesday, with a plan to buy up at least $450 million of its government debt and switch it to an eco-friendly blue bond. The February 2031 maturity rose 2.203 cents to 83.702 cents and November 2031 maturity jumped 2.129 cents to 83.573 cents, compared to Gabonese government's offer to buy back the bonds for 85 cents per $1 of the bond. ,The 2025 maturity rose 1.194 cents to 95.4 cents, also still below the offer price of 96.75 cents.. Ecuador pulled off a record $1.1 billion debt-for-nature swap in May, freeing up $18 million annually for the next 20 years for conservation of the Galapagos Islands. The African Development Bank and European Investment Bank are interested in providing credit guarantees.

Persons: Marc Jones, Rachel Savage, Gerauds Wilfried Obangome, Karin Strohecker, Ed Osmond, Tomasz Janowski Organizations: London Stock Exchange, Republic, Industry, U.S . International Development Finance Corporation, African Development Bank, European Investment Bank, Bank of America, Thomson Locations: JOHANNESBURG, Gabon, Gabonese, Ecuador, Belize, Galapagos, Sri Lanka, Indian, Libreville

☆ Gabon President Bongo to run for re-election in August
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LIBREVILLE, July 9 (Reuters) - Gabon President Ali Bongo will run for re-election in August, he said on Sunday, in a bid to extend his family's 56-year grip on power in the Central African country. "Because nothing matters more than your success, I am announcing today that I am a candidate", Bongo told a small crowd of cheering supporters. Bongo, 64, has been president of the oil-producing nation for two seven-year terms since succeeding his father Omar, who died in 2009 after ruling since 1967. Bongo's re-election bid was thrown into doubt when he suffered a stroke in October 2018 and was flown to Morocco for medical treatment. Reporting by Gerauds Wilfried Obangome; Writing by Edward McAllister; Editing by Hugh LawsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Ali Bongo, Bongo, Omar, Bongo's, Gerauds Wilfried Obangome, Edward McAllister, Hugh Lawson Organizations: Thomson Locations: LIBREVILLE, Gabon, Central, Morocco

In the video, a Central African Republic rebel fighter says "the French want to drive Wagner out of Africa". Russia and Wagner have a track record of media manipulation and disinformation, which Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin has admitted to. The European Union sanctioned Wagner in February for alleged rights abuses and spreading disinformation, including in Africa. The foreign ministry unit doesn’t promote or generate fake news, the two diplomats said. However, the foreign ministry unit, and the broader strategy, will face an uphill battle to convince people in Africa that France has changed, seven analysts and diplomats said.

Persons: Ibrahim Traore, Vincent Bado, Wagner, Catherine Colonna, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Emmanuel Macron, Macron, Maria Zakharova, Meta, Anne, Sophie Ave, Lakhta, Prigozhin, Viginum, Faustin, Archange Touadera, “, Michael Shurkin, I'm, Jean Gaspard Ntoutoume Ayi, John Irish, Elizabeth Pineau, Bate Felix, Michel Rose, Frank Jack Daniel Our Organizations: REUTERS, Russia, Central, Facebook, Kremlin, Reuters, Quai D'Orsay, Vigilance, Protection, European Union, West, Central African, Twitter, Democratic, Internet Research Agency, Meta, Global, National Union, Gabonese, Thomson Locations: Burkina, French, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, Russia, PARIS, DAKAR, Central African Republic, France, Russian, Africa, Paris, France's, Ukraine, Moscow, Central, West Africa, Quai, Kinshasa, Mali, Sahel, Europe, Democratic Republic of the Congo, DRC, U.S, Togo, Libreville, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Dakar

☆ Thirty years on, Zambia mourns national team killed in plane crash
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Mark Gleeson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The bulk of the team were experienced internationals, fancied to emerge top of their final round qualifying group and secure a first-ever World Cup final appearance at the 1994 tournament in the United States. Engine failure after takeoff from Libreville caused the plane to crash into the sea, killing all on board including the coaches, support staff and crew. A year after the crash, the team were surprise finalists at the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations in Tunisia, losing 2-1 to Nigeria. Twenty years after the disaster, Zambia finally won the African title - in Gabon, site of the crash. Just days before the final, players threw flowers into the sea at the beach where the bodies had washed up.

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