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☆ The rare African mask at the center of a fierce multimillion-dollar legal battle
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-05 | by ( Claudia Covilla | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The Fourniers sold their mask in September of 2021 to a second-hand dealer for 150 euros, court documents show. The mask is an extremely rare artifact of great spiritual value to the Gabonese people, Betoe Bi Evie told CNN. It was through this information that the dealer was able to deduce the origins of the mask, Mansat Jaffré, the lawyer, told CNN. “We think he (the dealer) already had an idea at the back of his head, and that he knew the mask was rare,” Mansat Jaffré told CNN. However, as the Ngil mask at the center of the ongoing trial wasn’t held in a public collection, Gabon cannot demand its restitution from France.

Persons: Fournier, Fournier’s, René, Victor Edward Maurice Fournier, Frédéric Mansat Jaffré, ”, “, Mr Fournier’s, Olivia Betoe Bi Evie, Betoe Bi Evie, Betoe, Evie, Jaffré, Mansat Jaffré, Solange Bizeau, weren’t, Emmanuel Macron, Omar Tall, Mali –, wasn’t Organizations: France CNN, CNN, Gabonese, BFMTV, ”, Senegal’s Museum of Black Civilizations, restitutions Locations: Paris, France, Central Africa, Gabonese, Gabon, ”, Gabonese State, Africa, Saharan Africa, restituted, Benin, Senegal, Chad, Madagascar, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Mali

First launched in 2000, the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) grants exports from qualifying African countries duty-free access to the United States - the world's largest consumer market. African countries are pushing for an early 10-year extension without changes to reassure businesses and investors. A recent push in the U.S. Senate is aiming to pass a quick AGOA renewal. 'FORWARD-LOOKING VISION'Over $10 billion worth of African exports entered the United States duty free last year under the programme. More than 80% of duty-free non-petroleum AGOA exports, for example, have come from just five countries - South Africa, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar and Ethiopia - in recent years.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Jonathan Ernst, Joe Biden's, Biden, Blinken, Katherine Tai, Cyril Ramaphosa, Harriet Ntabazi, We've, Ntabazi, Carien du, Tannur Anders, Alexander Winning, Nick Macfie Organizations: Hamas, Joint Base Andrews, REUTERS, U.S . Senate, United States Congress, United, U.S . International Trade Commission, U.S . Trade, U.S ., Central African, Thomson Locations: Israel, Gaza, Washington, East, Asia, Joint Base Andrews , Maryland, U.S, JOHANNESBURG, United States, Africa, China, Johannesburg, South Africa, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Ethiopia, Gabon, Niger, Uganda, Central African Republic, AGOA, Carien du Plessis

☆ US to Evict Gabon, Niger, Uganda and Central African Republic From Trade Program
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( Oct. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden said on Monday that he intends to end the participation of Gabon, Niger, Uganda and the Central African Republic in the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) trade program. Biden said he was taking the step because of "gross violations" of internationally recognized human rights by the Central African Republic and Uganda. He also cited Niger and Gabon's failure to establish or make continual progress toward the protection of political pluralism and the rule of law. "Despite intensive engagement between the United States and the Central African Republic, Gabon, Niger, and Uganda, these countries have failed to address United States concerns about their non-compliance with the AGOA eligibility criteria," Biden said in a letter to the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. Biden said he intends to terminate the designation of these countries as beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries under the AGOA, effective Jan. 1, 2024.

Persons: Joe Biden, Biden, Jasper Ward, Matthew Lewis Organizations: WASHINGTON, Central African, U.S . House, Representatives Locations: Gabon, Niger, Uganda, Central African Republic, United States, U.S, Washington

☆ US to evict Gabon, Niger, Uganda and Central African Republic from trade program
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Ken Cedeno Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON, Oct 30 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden said on Monday that he intends to end the participation of Gabon, Niger, Uganda and the Central African Republic in the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) trade program. Biden said he was taking the step because of "gross violations" of internationally recognized human rights by the Central African Republic and Uganda. He also cited Niger and Gabon's failure to establish or make continual progress toward the protection of political pluralism and the rule of law. "Despite intensive engagement between the United States and the Central African Republic, Gabon, Niger, and Uganda, these countries have failed to address United States concerns about their non-compliance with the AGOA eligibility criteria," Biden said in a letter to the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. Biden said he intends to terminate the designation of these countries as beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries under the AGOA, effective Jan. 1, 2024.

Persons: Janet Yellen, Joe Biden, Antony Blinken, Walter E, Ken Cedeno, Biden, Jasper Ward, Matthew Lewis Organizations: Africa, Food Security, Food Systems, Washington Convention Center, Washington , D.C, REUTERS, Rights, Central African, U.S . House, Representatives, Thomson Locations: Washington ,, Gabon, Niger, Uganda, Central African Republic, United States, U.S, Washington

☆ Wife of Gabon's Deposed Leader Ali Bongo Jailed - AFP
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-12 | by ( Oct. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: 1 min

(Reuters) - The wife of Gabon's deposed leader Ali Bongo has been jailed, the AFP news agency said in a post on social media platform X on Thursday, citing a lawyer. Gabon army officers seized power on Aug. 30, annulling an election minutes after an announcement that President Ali Bongo had won, which they said was not credible. Bongo, in power since 2009, had succeeded his father Omar Bongo, who ruled for 42 years.

Persons: Gabon's, Ali Bongo, annulling, Bongo, Omar Bongo Organizations: Reuters, AFP Locations: Gabon

☆ Gabon coup: US suspends aid program
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-27 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

Reuters —The United States is holding back assistance that might aid the government of Gabon following last month’s coup, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement released by the US State Department on Tuesday. The move is in line with steps taken by Economic Community of Central African States, the African Union, and other international partners. Army officers in Gabon seized power on Aug. 30, annulling an election minutes after an announcement that President Ali Bongo had won, which they said was not credible. A 24-month transition to elections in Gabon would be “reasonable” after last month’s coup, junta-appointed Prime Minister Raymond Ndong Sima was quoted as saying by French news agency AFP earlier this month. The African Union suspended Gabon’s membership following the coup.

Persons: Antony Blinken, ” Blinken, annulling, Ali Bongo, Bongo, Raymond Ndong Sima Organizations: Reuters, US State Department, Economic Community, Central, African Union, Army, AFP Locations: United States, Gabon, Central African States, Central

☆ 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

☆ DR Congo, Mauritania and Mozambique qualify for Cup of Nations finals
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-09 | by ( Mark Gleeson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

CAPE TOWN, Sept 9 (Reuters) - The Democratic Republic of Congo, Mauritania and Mozambique qualified for the next Africa Cup of Nations finals with wins on Saturday, but the games were overshadowed by the earthquake in Morocco that killed more than 1,000 people. The Gambia and Congo teams had to evacuate their hotel rooms when the quake hit on Friday and spent the night sleeping next to their respective hotel swimming pools. Mozambique booked their place earlier on Saturday with a last-gasp 3-2 home win over Benin in Maputo. On top of hosts Ivory Coast and Saturday's successful trio, the other finalists are Algeria, Angola, Burkina Faso, the Cape Verde Islands, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia and Zambia. Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Ken FerrisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Pierre, Emerick, Jean Noel Amonome, Theo Bongonda, Saturday's, Mark Gleeson, Ken Ferris Organizations: Democratic, Africa, Nations, U.S . Geological, Reuters, Confederation of African Football, DR, Belgium, Congolese, Clesio, Ivory Coast, Thomson Locations: CAPE, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mauritania, Mozambique, Morocco, Liberia, Gambia, Congo, Marrakech, The Gambia, Ivory Coast, DR Congo, Sudan, Gabon, Kinshasa, Mayele, Benin, Maputo, Senegal, Burundi, Cameroon, Namibia, Algeria, Angola, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde Islands, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia, Zambia, Cape Town

☆ Gabon Military Says Deposed President Is ‘Free’ to Travel Overseas
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( Abdi Latif Dahir | More About Abdi Latif Dahir | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Ali Bongo Ondimba, who was deposed as president of Gabon last week in a coup that ended his family’s decades-long grip on power in the central African nation, is no longer subject to house arrest and is free to leave the country, the ruling military junta has said. Mr. Bongo’s health has long been a concern after he suffered a stroke five years ago and was often seen walking with a cane. The military said in a statement read on national television on Wednesday night that he would be allowed to travel overseas for medical care. The announcement from the military came two days after the leader of the coup, Gen. Brice Oligui Nguema, a cousin of the ousted leader and the head of the elite Republican Guard that was tasked with guarding him, was sworn in as Gabon’s new leader. After taking oath on Monday, General Nguema promised to hold free and fair elections but did not indicate when or how they would take place.

Persons: Ali Bongo Ondimba, Brice Oligui Nguema, General Nguema Organizations: Republican Guard Locations: Gabon

☆ 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

CNN —The leader of Gabon’s military junta, Gen. Brice Nguema, was sworn in as interim president by the country’s constitutional court during a televised ceremony Monday. Last week, Nguema led a coup that ousted President Ali Bongo Ondimba, a military takeover that appears to have truncated the Bongo family’s decades-long dominance over Gabonese politics. Celebrations also broke out across the tiny nation with thousands of supporters expressing solidarity with the military. Nguema, a former bodyguard for Omar Bongo, was swiftly installed as a transitional leader. He was inaugurated as interim president on Monday amid a military parade and cheers from his civilian supporters.

Persons: Brice Nguema, Nguema, Ali Bongo Ondimba, Bongo, Omar Bongo, It’s, ”, Albert Ondo Ossa Organizations: CNN, Getty, ” Reuters Locations: Central, AFP, Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Chad, Niger, Tunisia, Gabon, Gabonese

☆ 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

☆ 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

As the all-powerful ruler of oil-rich Gabon, Ali Bongo Ondimba had two passions, music and forests, that forged powerful ties across the world. An accomplished musician, Mr. Bongo recorded a disco-funk album and lured James Brown and Michael Jackson to Gabon. As president, he built a music studio at his seaside palace and played improv jazz to foreign diplomats at state dinners. More recently, Mr. Bongo allied with Western scientists and conservationists, entranced by both the paradisiacal beauty of Gabon, an Arizona-sized country covered in lush rainforest and teeming with wildlife, and by his commitment to protecting it. But to his own people, Mr. Bongo, 64, embodied a family dynasty, founded by his father, which had dominated Gabon for 56 years — until this week, when it came crashing down.

Persons: Ali Bongo Ondimba, Bongo, James Brown, Michael Jackson, . Bongo Locations: Gabon, an Arizona

☆ 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

☆ 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

☆ 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

☆ 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

☆ 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 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

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

☆ 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 Joins Blue Bond Wave With $500 Million Debt Refinancing
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-15 | by ( Will Horner | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

Gabon completed mainland Africa’s first-ever “debt-for-nature swap” Tuesday, refinancing $500 million of its debt and earmarking $163 million in savings for marine conservation, the latest in a burgeoning list of “blue bond” deals. In their place, Gabon issued a $500 million blue bond which matures in 2038. The coupon on the new blue bond was priced at 6.097%, lower than the coupons on the repaid bonds which were between 6.625%-7%. TNC says its blue bond deals have provided $400 million toward conservation efforts. Bank of America, which served as sole initial purchaser, structuring agent and bookrunner on the Gabon deal, declined to reveal its transaction fees.

Persons: Gabon’s, Bond, ”, Ali Bongo Ondimba, TNC wasn’t, Scott Nathan, TNC, Will Horner Organizations: —, Sustainable Business, Moody’s Investors Service, U.S . International Development Finance Corporation, Conservancy, Greenpeace, Bank of America Locations: Gabon, Africa, U.S, Belize, Seychelles, Barbados, Ecuador, Galápagos, william.horner

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