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☆ Equatorial Guinea orders crackdown on sex in government offices after videos leaked
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-06 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Equatorial Guinea on Tuesday ordered a crackdown on sex in government offices after private videos leaked on social media appeared to show a senior finance ministry official having sex with several women in various places, including his office. The government said it was taking action because the videos had denigrated the tiny Central African country’s image. Equatorial Guinea has been ruled by the same president for decades and the scandal has been shaking the government since the videos first emerged last week. The women featured in the videos appeared to include wives of other powerful government figures and other family members, local media said. President Teodoro Obiang has ruled Equatorial Guinea, a nation of some 1.7 million people on the west coast of Central Africa for 45 years and is the world’s longest-serving president.

Persons: Nguema Obiang Mangue, Teodoro Obiang Organizations: Reuters, Supreme Locations: Equatorial Guinea, Guinea, Central Africa

☆ Equatorial Guinea cracks down on sex in government offices after leaked videos
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-05 | by ( Story Reuters | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Reuters —Equatorial Guinea on Tuesday ordered a crackdown on sex in government offices after private videos leaked on social media appeared to show a senior finance ministry official having sex with several women in various places, including his office. The government said it was taking action because the videos had denigrated the tiny Central African country’s image. Equatorial Guinea has been ruled by the same president for decades and the scandal has been shaking the government since the videos first emerged last week. The women featured in the videos appeared to include wives of other powerful government figures and other family members, local media said. President Teodoro Obiang has ruled Equatorial Guinea, a nation of some 1.7 million people on the west coast of Central Africa for 45 years and is the world’s longest-serving president.

Persons: Nguema Obiang Mangue, Teodoro Obiang Organizations: Reuters, Supreme Locations: Equatorial Guinea, Guinea, Central Africa

☆ Tunisia heads to the polls with a fading reputation as the Arab Spring’s only success story
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-06 | by ( Associated Press | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Not long ago, Tunisia was hailed as the Arab Spring’s only success story. He advanced to a runoff promising to usher in a “New Tunisia” and hand more power to young people and local governments. Seventeen potential candidates filed paperwork to run and Tunisia’s election authority approved only three: Saied, Zouhair Maghzaoui and Ayachi Zammel. That includes the 83-year-old leader of Tunisia’s most well organized political party Ennahda, which rose to power after the Arab Spring. People stand in line outside a polling station during the presidential election in the capital Tunis, Tunisia, on October 6, 2024.

Persons: Press — Tunisians, Kais Saied, El, Ben Ali —, Zouhair Maghzaoui, Saied, Saied’s, Zouhair, Ayachi, Jihed Abidellaoui, Rached Ghannouchi, party’s, Abir, Ennahda —, Tunisians, Zoubeir Souissi, Yassine Mahjoub, who’ve, Tunisia won’t Organizations: Press, Abid, Authorities, Reuters, Free Destourian Party, World Bank, European Union, Today, International Monetary Fund, Reuters Economic, Tunisia's, Independent Authority, Elections, Getty, Initiative, Saied Locations: TUNIS, Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Tunis, Europe, Saharan Africa, Africa, AFP, ”, Iran, Russia, Saied, Israel

☆ Khartoum: Women and girls subjected to widespread sexual violence by warring parties, HRW report finds
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-29 | by ( Christian Edwards | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Of those, 18 had provided direct care to a total of 262 survivors of sexual violence, aged from 9 through 60. The RSF has also pillaged medical supplies, according to the report, and some fighters “have on occasion perpetrated acts of sexual violence” against healthcare providers. One healthcare provider recalled being told not to report instances of sexual violence to the UN. CNN has previously reported on the RSF’s campaign of killings, enslavement and sexual violence, conducted behind a curtain of secrecy. The report added that the UN Security Council should call on the warring parties to end sexual violence and impose targeted sanctions against the commanders and perpetrators responsible for the atrocities.

Persons: “, Women ”, , ”, Laetitia Bader, shivering –, ’, HRW Organizations: CNN, Rapid Support Forces, Human Rights Watch, Sudanese Armed Forces, SAF, United Nations, Women, HRW, AFP, Getty, UN Locations: Sudan, Khartoum, Darfur, Sudan’s, Africa, Gedaref, AFP

☆ Niger: Inmates escape prison holding militants
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-12 | by ( Story Reuters | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

Reuters —Niger’s interior ministry said it had ordered search units to be on alert after inmates escaped on Thursday from the high-security Koutoukale prison whose inmates include Islamist militants. The ministry statement did not say how many prisoners had escaped Koutoukale, which lies 50 km (30 miles) northwest of the capital Niamey, or how they had done so. The prison’s inmates include detainees from the West African country’s conflict with armed groups linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State and suspected Boko Haram insurgents. Local authorities imposed an overnight curfew in the urban commune of Tillaberi, which is in the same region as the prison, but did not give further details. Thousands have been killed in the insurgencies and more than three million displaced, fueling a deep humanitarian crisis in some of the world’s poorest countries.

Persons: Boko, al Organizations: Reuters, West, Islamic Locations: Niamey, al Qaeda, Islamic State, Tillaberi, Niger, Mali

☆ The world’s future energy wars will be fought under the sea
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-26 | by ( Angela Dewan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

The technology to store renewable energy for long periods hasn’t quite been mastered, either. The interconnector would send renewable energy both east and west, taking advantage of the sun’s diurnal journey across the sky. The transatlantic interconnector is still a proposal, but networks of green energy cables are starting to sprawl across the world’s sea beds. They are fast becoming part of a global climate solution, transmitting large amounts of renewable energy to countries struggling to make the green transition alone. Not all of them carry renewable power exclusively — that’s sometimes determined by what makes up each country’s energy grid — but new ones are typically being built for a green energy future.

Persons: there’s, ”, Simon Ludlam, “ We’ve, we’ve, Fadel Senna, Paul Ellis, Biden, Laurent Segalen, Energy’s Ludlam, “, you’ve, you’re, Trump, Dmitry Peskov, George Dyson, Dyson, Morten Kruger, Frank Schneider, Alberto Rizzi, ” Rizzi Organizations: London CNN, Etchea Energy, Getty, Burbo, Sun Cable, Initiative, NATO, European Council, Foreign Relations, United, European Union Locations: New York, California, Britain, Europe, North America, Canada, France, East Coast, United States, Paris, Belgium, Norway, Netherlands, Denmark, Morocco, Moroccan, Ouarzazate, AFP, English, New Brighton, Australia, Singapore, India, Saudi Arabia, Asia, East, Beijing, London, Russia, China, Germany, Ukraine, Finland, Sweden, Baltic, Western Europe, North, Russian, Aqaba, Jordan, Taba, Egypt, Red, America, EU

☆ This solo traveler drove from London to Lagos in a Peugeot 107
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-08 | by ( Tamara Hardingham-Gill | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —On January 24, content creator Pelumi Nubi, who grew up in London, set off on a solo drive from the UK capital to Lagos, Nigeria in her beloved purple Peugeot 107. In order to ensure that her vehicle would be suitable for the 10,000-kilometer journey, Nubi had it specially modified, adding a bed and a kitchen facility inside. However, the journey wasn’t without its challenges, some more serious than others. Bigger pictureNubi, seen in Kenya before undertaking her London to Lagos challenge, hopes that her travels will inspire us to pursue their dreams. While she believes that she’s now the first Black solo female traveler to have driven from London to Lagos, Nubi isn’t hugely interested in such titles and says that this was never her goal.

Persons: Pelumi Nubi, “ It’s, ”, Nubi, Omololu Olurinde, Kunle, she’d, Omololu, I’ve, ‘ Lumi, “ She’s, she’s, “, it’s, ” Nubi, It’s, Lumi, Nubi isn’t Organizations: CNN, Sunday, Peugeot, Osprey Locations: London, Lagos, Nigeria, France, Morocco, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Nigerian, West Africa, Namibia, Ghana, Lake Como, Italy, Spain, Paris, Mauritania, ”, Gambia, Guinea, Bissau, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Togo, Benin, Kenya, Yamoussoukro, South Africa

☆ Africa’s Youngest President Takes Office, Promising ‘Systemic Change’
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-02 | by ( Ruth Maclean | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Still reeling from a whirlwind campaign, young people in Senegal threw jackets over their worn election T-shirts on Tuesday to attend the inauguration of an opposition politician who went from political prisoner to president in less than three weeks. Their new leader, Bassirou Diomaye Faye — at 44, Africa’s youngest elected president — took the oath of office promising “systemic change,” and paying homage to the many people killed, injured, and imprisoned in the yearslong lead-up to the West African country’s election. “I will always keep in mind the heavy sacrifices made so as to never disappoint you,” Mr. Faye said, addressing a vast auditorium in which African heads of state and dignitaries sat at the front. From the back, hundreds of supporters of Mr. Faye and his powerful backer, the opposition leader Ousmane Sonko, shouted for joy. It was the culmination of months of drama, after the former president, Macky Sall, canceled the election with just weeks to go, citing irregularities at the constitutional council — and then, under intense domestic and international pressure, agreed to hold it after all.

Persons: Bassirou Diomaye Faye —, Africa’s, —, “, Mr, Faye, Ousmane Sonko, Macky Sall Organizations: West Locations: Senegal

CNN —Former Senegalese Prime Minister Amadou Ba has conceded defeat to leading opposition figure Bassirou Diomaye Faye in the western African country’s presidential elections. “I wish him lots of success and success for the well-being of the Senegalese people,” he added. Several opposition candidates in Sunday’s election conceded defeat to Faye earlier. Faye was also congratulated early Monday by another presidential candidate, Khalifa Sall. Official results will be announced by Saturday at the latest, according to an official from Senegal’s Autonomous National Electoral Commission.

Persons: Amadou Ba, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, Bassirou Diomaye Diakhar Faye, “, Macky Sall, Faye, Ba, Futurs Médias, Anta Babacar Ngom, ”, Faye “, Khalifa, . Ba, kickstart, Ousmane Sonko, Sonko, Sall, – Organizations: CNN —, Senegalese, Saturday, Senegal’s, Electoral Commission Locations: Ba, Senegal, .

☆ Young Opposition Candidate Wins Senegal’s Presidential Election
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-25 | by ( Ruth Maclean | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

With the concession of his main rival, a young political outsider backed by a powerful opposition figure has won a surprise outright victory in Senegal’s presidential election only 10 days after being released from jail. Bassirou Diomaye Faye is the anointed candidate of Senegal’s popular and controversial opposition politician Ousmane Sonko. Mr. Faye’s main rival, the governing party candidate Amadou Ba, conceded in a statement congratulating his rival on Monday for winning in the first round. Mr. Faye, who celebrated his 44th birthday on Monday, will become the West African country’s youngest ever president. “I wish him a lot of success, for the well-being of the Senegalese people,” Mr. Ba said in a statement released Monday afternoon that addressed Mr. Faye as president.

Persons: Bassirou Diomaye Faye, Ousmane Sonko, Faye’s, Amadou Ba, Faye, “, Ba Organizations: African country’s

☆ Zimbabwe leader and wife sanctioned by US for alleged corruption and human rights abuse
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-05 | by ( Nimi Princewill | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa and first lady Auxillia have come under a slate of new US sanctions imposed that also targeted senior government officials accused of corruption and human rights abuses. Incumbent President Mnangagwa, 81, who was the speaker of the Zimbabwean parliament in 2003, was among 76 high-ranking officials hit by the US sanctions at the time. And as long as members of Corporate Zimbabwe are under sanctions, we are under sanctions,” he added. His wife, Auxillia Mnangagwa, was also sanctioned for her alleged complicity in corruption. Mnangagwa, nicknamed “The Crocodile,” succeeded authoritarian leader Mugabe in 2017 after helping to orchestrate the coup that ousted him.

Persons: CNN —, Emmerson Mnangagwa, Auxillia, Constantino Chiwenga, Oppah Muchinguri, Washington “, Robert Mugabe, Mnangagwa, Wally Adeyemo, Joe Biden, Nick Mnangagwa, Mnangagwa’s, “, Farai Marapira, ” Marapira, ” Mnangagwa, “ Mnangagwa, Auxillia Mnangagwa, ”, Mugabe Organizations: CNN, Defense, Washington, Treasury, US Treasury Department, Corporate Locations: Zimbabwe, Corporate Zimbabwe

CNN —Senegal’s outgoing president Macky Sall Friday said he would hold presidential elections “as soon as possible” one day after the West African country’s constitutional council ruled against his decision to postpone elections. “The head of state will conduct necessary consultations to hold the presidential election as soon as possible,” the statement added. Sall was under pressure to react once the top court Thursday rejected his bid to delay elections until the end of the year. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) urged all parties in Senegal to comply with the constitutional council’s decision. “No to presidential election postponement”, said another released opposition leader Aboubacar Djamil Sané of the PASTEF Party, who had been imprisoned for seven months.

Persons: CNN —, Macky Sall, “, ”, Sall, Babacar Gueye, Thursday’s, Pierre Goudiaby Atépa, Ousmane Sonko, ” Sonko, Cheikh Oumar Diagne, Diagne, Aboubacar Djamil Organizations: CNN, Constitutional Council, French, RFI, West African States, “, Senegalese, Truth, PASTEF Party Locations: Republic, Senegalese, Senegal

☆ Senegal Must Hold Election After All, Top Court Rules
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-15 | by ( Ruth Maclean | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Senegal’s constitutional court ruled on Thursday that a national election that had been postponed by the president must take place as soon as possible, throwing the West African country’s political future into fresh doubt. The court, the country’s highest, said that while it is now impossible to hold an election in 10 days’ time — the vote had initially been planned for Feb. 25 — the balloting should be held by the earliest feasible date. Less than two weeks ago, President Macky Sall issued a decree indefinitely postponing the balloting, pending an investigation into corruption allegations in the constitutional court. Just a couple days later, the country’s Parliament decided to delay the vote by nearly 10 months, setting Dec. 15 as the date. But the court’s ruling on Thursday declared the law passed by Parliament to be against the Constitution and ordered that Mr. Sall’s decree delaying the election be canceled.

Persons: Macky Sall, Sall’s

☆ Senegal’s President Calls Off a National Election. His Critics Call It a Coup.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-03 | by ( Ruth Maclean | Mady Camara | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Senegal’s president has canceled the election for his replacement three weeks before voting was set to take place, saying that a dispute between the legislative and judicial arms of government over accusations of corruption needed to be resolved first. Speaking on Saturday afternoon from the presidential palace in Dakar, Senegal’s capital, his words live-streamed on his social media platforms, President Macky Sall said that the dispute between the West African country’s national assembly and its constitutional court had reached a crisis point, and that he was repealing the decree convening the electoral body, effectively postponing elections. But his opponents said he was essentially carrying out a coup d’état, and accused him of treason. “For the first time in its history, Senegal has just suffered a coup d’état,” Ousmane Diallo, a researcher with Amnesty International, posted on X. After the country’s constitutional council published lists of approved candidates for the election, some of them were found to have been approved despite holding dual nationality, something presidential candidates are not allowed in Senegal.

Persons: Macky Sall, “, ” Ousmane Diallo Organizations: West African, Amnesty International Locations: Dakar, Senegal’s, Senegal

☆ Ten countries and territories saw severe flooding in just 12 days
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-16 | by ( Jessie Yeung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

Hong Kong CNN —September started with a typhoon that ripped through Hong Kong, uprooting trees and flooding the city. People walk past houses destroyed by heavy rain and flooding in Derna, Libya, on September 13, 2023. Elsewhere in Europe, a separate storm – Storm Dana – saw torrential rain across Spain, damaging homes and killing at least three people. Esam Omran Al-Fetori/Reuters An aerial view of the devastation after flooding caused by Storm Daniel on September 15. Abdullah Mohammed Bonja/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images This satellite photo shows the extent of Derna's flooding on September 12.

Persons: Hong Kong CNN —, ”, Jung, Eun Chu, Esam Omran, Chu, they’ve, Storm Daniel, Angelos Tzortzinis, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Theodoros Skylakakis, “, Megala, Giannis Floulis, Dana –, Cross, Martin Griffiths, Ciaran Donnelly, Amr Alfiky, Ayman Al, Zohra Bensemra, Yousef Murad, Muhammad J, Abdullah Doma, Ahmed Elumami, Jamal Alkomaty, Abdullah Mohammed Bonja, Omar Jarhman, Ali Al, Saadi, Haikui –, Saola, Haikui, Maria Clara Sassaki, Rick Cinclair, Phil Klotzbach Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, UN, City University of Hong, Getty, Greek, CNN, International Committee, International Rescue, United Arab Emirates, Reuters Volunteers, Reuters, Elalwany, Anadolu Agency, Reuters Workers, Planet Labs PBC, AP, AFP, CNN Brasil, Worcester Telegram, Gazette, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, of Atmospheric Science, Colorado State University Locations: Hong Kong, Libya, City University of Hong Kong, Derna, Europe, Greece, Palamas, AFP, Megala Kalyvia, Turkey, Istanbul, Bulgaria, Spain, Libyan, Shahhat, Asia, Taiwan, China, Shenzhen, Americas, Brazil, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazilian, United States, Nevada, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Leominster , Massachusetts, El

☆ ‘We knew ahead of time’: A decade of turmoil left Libya unprepared for natural disasters
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( Nadeen Ebrahim | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Split between two rival administrations since 2014 and having failed to hold presidential elections, Libya faces an uphill battle when it comes to severe natural disasters. Planet Labs PBC/AP Planet Labs PBC/AP Satellite images show Derna, Libya on September 2, before the flooding, left, and after the dams collapsed, right. Responding to criticism regarding lack of preparedness by the LNA, Al-Mismari said that in such situations, 50% of the responsibility falls on authorities (LNA) and 50% falls on citizens. Turkey, which backs the Tripoli government, also said it is mobilizing personnel and supplies to assist authorities in eastern Libya. Tamer Ramadan, head of international Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in Libya, told CNN Tuesday that the issue of rival governments in Libya does not affect their operation.

Persons: Storm Daniel, Khalifa Haftar –, ”, Anas El Gomati, Moammar Gadhafi, Abdulhamid Dbeibeh, Haftar, Jalel Harchaoui, ‘, ’, Harchaoui, Gomati, Osama Hamad, Osama Aly, ” Aly, “, Al Hurra, Jamal Alkomaty, ” Harchaoui, Ahmed al, Mismari, Al, ” Gomati, there’s, Ramadan, ” Ramadan Organizations: CNN, Planet Labs PBC, AP Planet Labs PBC, AP, ISIS, Libya –, Sadeq Institute, NATO, Libyan National Army, Royal United Services Institute, Emergency, Ambulance Service, Twitter, Analysts, United Nations, United, United Arab Emirates, Civil Protection Department, Federation of Red, Red Crescent Societies Locations: Libya, Split, Libyan, Derna, Greece, Morocco, “, Tripoli, Benghazi, “ Libya, London, Cyrenaica, tatters, Derna’s, Al, Italy, Egypt, Russia, United Arab, Algeria, Turkey

CNN —Yevgeny Prigozhin turned the Wagner Group from a shadowy band of mercenaries into a feared military powerhouse operating across multiple countries on three continents. The kind of clear chain of command that is common in traditional military does not exist in Wagner, which makes Prigozhin’s demise a potentially existential problem for the group. Members of Wagner group sit atop of a tank in a street in the city of Rostov-on-Don, on June 24, 2023. A Russian military delegation went to the Libyan city of Benghazi this week to meet with Haftar, who has been supported by Wagner for several years. He said the cracks in the foundations of West African and Central African countries that have leaned on the Wagner Group for support could begin to emerge now.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, ”, Natasha Lindstaedt, “ It’s, ” Lindstaedt, – Wagner, Dmitriy Utkin, Valeriy Chekalov –, “ Wagner, Russia ” Wagner, Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin, “, ” Wagner, Huseyn Aliyev, –, ” Aliyev, Aliyev, Lindstaedt, Putin, Stringer, Yevgeny Progozhin, Khalifa, Haftar, Yevkurov, ” Oluwole, there’s, ” Prigozhin, Christopher O, Ogunmodede, couldn’t, Sergey Lavrov Organizations: CNN, Wagner, University of Essex, Russia, University of Glasgow, Kremlin, Ministry of Defense, Prigozhin's Press Service, Russian Ministry of Defense, Kommersant, UK Ministry of Defense, Getty Images Security, Russian, Central African, Forces, Reuters, Libyan, Central Africa, Institute for Security Studies, Central, Wagner Group, Politics, Russia’s Locations: Moscow, Russia, Russia’s, Russian, United States, Ukraine, Africa, Middle, Bakhmut, Rostov, AFP, Syria, St . Petersburg, Mali, Crimea, Central African Republic, Mozambique, Libya, Libyan, Benghazi, West African, “, Mali …

☆ US women’s World Cup domination has ended. But the nation remains a global talent factory
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | by ( Jessie Yeung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

The US women’s team has been historically dominant, winning four World Cups (and four Olympic gold medals). UK-born US national team defender Antonee Robinson in action for Fulham in the Premier League on May 8, 2023. Warren Little/Getty ImagesHistory of US women’s dominanceThe civil rights law Title IX, passed in 1972, is one major reason why the US women’s team is so strong, experts say. Sarina Bolden represents the Philippines at the FIFA Women's World Cup on July 25, 2023. Haiti's Noa Ganthier holds a phone for a selfie in Brisbane Stadium, Australia, at the Women's World Cup on July 21, 2023.

Persons: Antonee Robinson, Sergiño Dest, Tim Weah, –, George Weah –, ”, Gijsbert Oonk, Warren Little, IX, Leander Schaerlaeckens, ” Schaerlaeckens, Oonk, It’s, Schaerlaeckens, “, Sarina Bolden, Catherine Ivill, Bolden, she’d, ” Noa Ganthier, I’ve, ” Danielle Etienne, Derrick Etienne, Haiti's Noa Ganthier, Dan Peled, Nigeria’s, Elkeson Organizations: CNN, Washington DC, US, Fulham, FC Barcelona, West African country’s, Sport, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Olympic Games, Premier League, Soccer, Marist College, International, Erasmus University, FIFA, Haiti, Haitian, Haiti’s men’s, men’s Locations: California, Seattle, Philippines, United States, America, Haiti, Jamaica, United Kingdom, Netherlands, US, Liberia, England, Brazil, Spain, Argentina, Europe, American, Florida, father’s, Virginia, Brisbane, Australia, Mexico, Asia, China, Vietnam

☆ Fact Check-No evidence Niger coup leaders told US to keep its aid for its own homeless
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

“The United States of America threatens to withhold aid to Niger due to the military takeover […] Niger Military says they should keep their aid and give it to their millions of Homeless people in the United States,” reads part of an Aug. 1 Instagram post that gained over 9,000 likes in two hours (here). U.S. officials have said cutting aid is a possibility if the military takeover continues. Per the report, U.S. law on foreign aid prohibits providing most aid where an elected leader has been deposed via a coup d’etat or decree. France and the European Union have already cut off financial aid, Reuters reported on Saturday (here). As of Aug. 2, there is no evidence Niger’s military leaders publicly said the United States should “keep their aid” in response to American threats to cut ties amid the African country’s military coup.

Persons: Joe Biden, ”, Mohamed Bazoum, John Kirby, Biden, Tiani, “, Read Organizations: U.S, ., Homeless, Facebook, Reuters, Department, White House, European Union Locations: Niger, West, United States, America, U.S, Washington, France

CNN —A Somali sports official was suspended for nepotism on Wednesday after a viral video showed an apparent novice runner skipping across the finish line in last place at an international competition. The video, which circulated widely on Wednesday, showed Nasro Abukar Ali competing in the third heat of the first round of the women’s 100-meter race at the International University Sports Federation’s (FISU) Summer World University Games in China. She finished in 21.81 seconds – more than 8 seconds slower than the second-last runner, and more than 10 seconds behind the winner of the heat. “What happened today was not representative of the Somali people,” he said in Somali, Forbes reported. The Summer World University Games are ongoing in Chengdu, southwestern China.

Persons: Nasro Abukar Ali, Ali, sluggishly, “, disheartening, “ It’s, Khadijo Aden Dahir, Dahir, Sports Mohamed Barre Mohamud, Forbes, Mohamud, ” Organizations: CNN, International University Sports Federation’s, Games, Twitter, Ministry of Youth, Sports, Somali Athletics Federation, Somali National Olympic, Youth, Association of Somalia Universities, Somali University Sports Association, Athletics Federation of, ” CNN, East African country’s Sports Ministry, Somali National Olympic Committee, World Athletics, World Locations: China, Somalia, Somali, Athletics Federation of Somalia, Chengdu

CNN —A Niger general, Abdourahamane Tiani, appeared on state television as the country’s new leader following a military coup that sparked international condemnation. Tiani said in the broadcast that Wednesday’s coup was motivated by both the desire to “preserve our homeland” in a context of a “deteriorating security situation,” and poor economic and social governance. French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday that the coup was “deeply dangerous for Niger and the whole region,” and called for Bazoum’s release. However, a senior official loyal to Bazoum has suggested there is discord among coup leaders. The aide spoke on condition of not being identified because of the security situation.

Persons: Abdourahamane Tiani, Tiani, “, Mohamed Bazoum’s, Abdourahamane, ” Bazoum, Mahamadou Issoufou, insurgencies, Emmanuel Macron, Macron, –, Catherine Colonna, Bazoum, ”, they’ve, United Nations Linda Thomas, Greenfield, Bazoum “, Moussa Faki Mahamat, Mahamat, General Antonio Guterres, Maj, Amadou Abdramane, ” Abdramane Organizations: CNN, African, AFP, Télé, Getty, Nigerien, Union, Bazoum, National Council for, ECOWAS, United Nations, African Union Commission, RIA Novosti, UN Locations: Niger, France, Télé Sahel, Sahel, AFP, Mali, Burkina Faso, United States, Papua New Guinea, Niamey

☆ In a Bid to Curb Migrants, Europe Strikes a Deal With Tunisia
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Monika Pronczuk | More About Monika Pronczuk | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS — The European Union has struck a deal with Tunisia to try to stem the number of migrants crossing the Mediterranean, amid heated debate over the fallout of the bloc’s migration policies, including a shipwreck last month that was the deadliest in years. will provide a broad package of support for the North African country’s embattled economy. Tunis, the capital, is a major port city less than 130 nautical miles from the Italian island of Sicily, and even closer to smaller Italian islands. That makes Tunisia not just a source of migrants itself but also a major transit stop for sub-Saharan Africans who are trying to reach Europe. Tunisian authorities have come under fire for alleged rights abuses of sub-Saharan migrants, including rounding up hundreds of them and abandoning them at the desert border with Libya with no food or water.

Organizations: The European Locations: BRUSSELS, Tunisia, Europe, African, Tunis, Sicily, Libya

☆ The $2 billion Rwandan airport that could help African aviation take off
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Jack Bantock | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

For RwandAir CEO Yvonne Manzi Makolo, the problem of connectivity presents the “biggest challenge” to the African aviation industry. Pascal Pavani / AFP via Getty ImagesSolutionsBut solutions are touching down, starting with the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM). First proposed in 2018, if implemented the policy would create a single market for African aviation, facilitating the free movement of people, goods, and services. What is missing is the willingness of states to really implement it.”There is hope for a bright new future in African aviation. Because of scale, they can then open up the African continent a lot more.

☆ What Is Happening in Sudan? The Fighting Explained
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Nicholas Bariyo | Gabriele Steinhauser | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Photo: El Tayeb Siddig/ReutersA rivalry between Sudan’s top two generals erupted into warfare on April 15, pitting the East African country’s military against a state-sponsored militia called the Rapid Support Forces. The military is using jet fighters to strike RSF positions, many in densely populated areas, while both factions are engaging in street battles using guns and artillery fire. Tens of thousands of Sudanese have fled their homes, while millions are trapped with diminishing supplies of food and water. Why is there fighting in Sudan? Two years later, they toppled a civilian transitional government that was meant to lead the country toward democratic elections.

☆ Exclusive: Evidence emerges of Russia’s Wagner arming militia leader battling Sudan’s army
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Nima Elbagir Gianluca Mezzofiore Tamara Qiblawi Barbara Arvanitidis | Nima Elbagir | Gianluca Mezzofiore | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

London CNN —The Russian mercenary group Wagner has been supplying Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) with missiles to aid their fight against the country’s army, Sudanese and regional diplomatic sources have told CNN. Haftar has backed the RSF, sources say, although he denies taking sides. That day, Russia airdropped surface-to-air missiles to Dagalo’s militia positions in northwest Sudan, according to regional and Sudanese sources. For years, Dagalo has been a key beneficiary from Russian involvement in Sudan, as the primary recipient of Moscow’s weapons and training. Egypt has a long-standing relationship with Burhan and has privately backed him in the power struggle, according to Sudanese and regional diplomatic sources.

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