Congo’s army spokesman on Tuesday released the name of the third American involved in a foiled coup plot in Kinshasa, while family members in Utah gathered to mourn Christian Malanga, the eccentric leader of the brazen and ill-fated attack targeting the presidential palace over the weekend. Brig. Gen. Sylvain Ekenge told The Associated Press the third American was Taylor Thomson. …
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6 confirmed dead after vehicle slides off ferry, plunges into Nile River, authorities say
At least six Egyptian women died Tuesday after a vehicle carrying about two dozen people slid off a ferry and plunged into the Nile River just outside Cairo, authorities said. The accident, which happened in Monshat el-Kanater town in Giza province, also injured nine other passengers, the Health Ministry said in a statement. Giza is one of three provinces forming …
Read More »Americans in alleged Congo coup plot formed an unlikely band
Three Americans involved in a brazen weekend attack on Congo’s presidential palace formed an unlikely band under the leadership of eccentric opposition figure Christian Malanga, who dabbled in gold mining and used cars before persuading his Utah-born son to join in the foiled coup, according to officials’ description of events. Six people, including Malanga, were dead and dozens arrested, including …
Read More »Senegal's new prime minister criticizes French military presence in the West African country
Senegal’s new prime minister, who was freed from jail weeks before the presidential election earlier this year and propelled his party to victory, has criticized the French military presence in the West African country. Ousmane Sonko also criticized efforts by France and the West to promote values that he said didn’t fit with those held by Senegal and other African …
Read More »UN experts say South Sudan is close to securing a $13 billion oil-backed loan from a UAE company
U.N. experts say South Sudan is close to securing a $13 billion loan from a company in the United Arab Emirates, despite the oil-rich country’s difficulties in managing debts backed by its oil reserves. The panel of experts said in a report to the U.N. Security Council that loan documents it has seen indicate the deal with the company, Hamad …
Read More »What to know about South Africa's election that could see ruling party of 30 years deposed
South Africa’s election will determine how weary the country has become of the ruling African National Congress party that has been in power since the end of the apartheid system of white minority rule 30 years ago. President Cyril Ramaphosa and the ANC are struggling to keep their parliamentary majority and opinion polls predict that the party will likely receive …
Read More »Tunisian lawyers strike in protest, alleging torture of arrested colleague
Lawyers in Tunisia took to the streets on Thursday to protest a string of recent arrests that have convulsed the country over the past week and provoked international outcry. The demonstration in the North African country’s capital came days after two lawyers were arrested — one brusquely extracted from the bar association headquarters and the other needing to be hospitalized …
Read More »9 men accused of causing deadly Mediterranean shipwreck were not even crew, Greek defense team says
The legal defense team for nine Egyptian men due to go on trial in southern Greece next week accused of causing one of the Mediterranean’s deadliest shipwrecks said Thursday they will argue that Greece has no jurisdiction in the case, and insisted their clients were innocent survivors who have been unjustly prosecuted. The nine, whose ages range from early 20s …
Read More »Child soldiers used by Islamist group in Mozambique attacks, says Human Rights Watch
An Islamist group operating in Mozambique’s northern Cabo Delgado province used boys as young as 13 in attacks on a town last week and residents who were forced to flee the fighting recognized some of the child soldiers as their missing relatives, advocacy group Human Rights Watch said Wednesday. Al-Shabab, which is affiliated to the Islamic State group, has previously …
Read More »Former Gambian interior minister sentenced for crimes against humanity by Swiss court
Switzerland’s top criminal court on Wednesday convicted a former interior minister of Gambia for crimes against humanity and sentenced him to 20 years over his role in repression committed by the west African country’s security forces under its longtime dictator, a legal advocacy group said. Prosecutors had been seeking a life sentence for Ousman Sonko, Gambia’s interior minister from 2006 …
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