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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

☆ 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

☆ 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

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 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 reopens borders three days after military coup
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Gabonese military appear on television as they announce that they have seized power following President Ali Bongo Ondimba's re-election, in this screengrab obtained by Reuters on August 30, 2023. Gabon 1ere/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsDAKAR, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Gabon reopened its borders on Saturday, an army spokesman said, three days after closing them during a military coup in which President Ali Bongo was ousted. Military officers led by General Brice Oligui Nguema seized power on Wednesday, placed Bongo under house arrest and installed Nguema as head of state, ending the Bongo family's 56-year hold on power. Coup leaders have come under international pressure to restore civilian government but said last night that they would not rush to hold elections. Bongo was elected in 2009, taking over from his late father Omar, who came to power in 1967.

Persons: Ali Bongo Ondimba's, Ali Bongo, General Brice Oligui Nguema, Bongo, Omar, Jyoti Narayan, Cooper, Edward McAllister, Tomasz Janowski, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Reuters, REUTERS, Rights, Military, Thomson Locations: Gabonese, Gabon, Handout, West, Central Africa, Guinea, Chad, Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, Bengaluru, Dakar

☆ 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

☆ 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

☆ 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

☆ 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

☆ 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

☆ Equatorial Guinea president wins re-election, VP says on Twitter
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

DAKAR, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Equatorial Guinea's President Teodoro Obiang Nguema has won re-election with 95% of the Nov. 20 vote, his son Vice President Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue said on Twitter on Saturday. "The definitive results prove us right again," the vice president tweeted. The West African country of around 1.5 million people has had only two presidents since independence from Spain in 1968. Obiang has always been elected with more than 90% of the vote in polls that international observers have questioned. Critics say Obiang has done little to drag the country out of poverty despite great personal wealth.

☆ Equatorial Guinea ruling party wins 99% of votes - early election results
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Equatorial Guinea's President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo attends the plenary session of the Paris Peace Forum, France November 12, 2019. Ludovic Marin/Pool via REUTERS/File PhotoDAKAR, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Preliminary election results released by Equatorial Guinea's government on Monday showed the ruling party winning over 99% of votes counted so far in presidential, legislative, and municipal elections held on Sunday. The tiny, authoritarian, oil-producing Central African state is run by President Teodoro Obiang, the world's longest-ruling head of state, who is seeking to extend his 43 years in office. Early, partial results showed Obiang's ruling Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea (PDGE) and coalition with 67,012 votes out of 67,196 counted so far. Reporting by Nellie Peyton; Editing by Estelle Shirbon and Emelia Sithole-MatariseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ World's longest-standing president seeks to extend 43-year rule
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

DAKAR, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Equatorial Guinea votes on Sunday in a general election in which President Teodoro Obiang Nguema, the world's longest-standing president, is expected to extend his 43-year rule at the helm of the tiny oil-producing West African nation. Voters will also cast ballots to elect 100 members of parliament for the lower house, 55 of the country's 70 senators, and local mayors. "The presidential election is completely devoid of suspense," said Maja Bovcon, a senior Africa analyst at risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft. "The closure of the borders and the harassment and arrests of opposition supporters have been paving the way for the extension of Obiang's 43-year rule," she said. Reporting by Bate Felix; Editing by Cooper Inveen and Frances KerryOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Equatorial Guinea president to run again to extend 43-year rule
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( Edward Mcallister | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

DAKAR, Sept 23 (Reuters) - The world's longest-standing leader, President Teodoro Obiang of Equatorial Guinea, will run for office again in November elections, his party announced on Friday, likely extending a 43-year tenure that began when he snatched power in a 1979 coup. The rule of Obiang, 80, has been marked by torture of political opponents, sham elections, and corruption, rights groups and foreign powers say. Under him, the West African country has become increasingly reclusive and reliant on oil and gas, which provide about three quarters of state revenues. The money lines the pockets of those close to the president while the majority of the nation lives in poverty, rights groups say. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Edward McAllister; editing by Diane CraftOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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