PRESIDENT TINUBU DISPATCHES ENVOY TO NIGER.
The Chairman of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, President Bola Tinubu, has dispatched a delegation to Niger Republic with a mandate to expeditiously resolve the current political impasse in the country.
The action was in line with the resolution reached at the end of the extraordinary summit of the ECOWAS held last weekend in Abuja.
According to a statement the by Special Adviser to the President, Ajuri Ngelale, the delegation, headed by former Nigerian Head of State, retired General Abdulsalami Abubakar, left for Niamey following a briefing by President Tinubu at the State House in Abuja.
The former Nigerian Head of State is joined in the delegation by the Sultan of Sokoto, Sa'ad Abubakar III and the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Omar Touray.
The President has also sent a separate delegation led by Ambassador Babagana Kingibe to engage with the leaders of Libya and Algeria on the Niger crisis.
Briefing the two delegations, President Tinubu charged them to engage all stakeholders robustly with a view to doing whatever it takes to ensure a conclusive and amicable resolution of the situation in Niger for the purposes of African peace and development rather than a move to adopt the geopolitical positions of other nations.
Speaking after the meeting, retired General Abdulsalami Abubakar said the delegation would meet the coup leaders in Niger to present the demands of the ECOWAS leadership.
NIGER PRESIDENT MOHAMED BAZOUM CALLS ON UNITED STATES FOR HELP AFTER COUP.
Niger's ousted President Mohamed Bazoum has urged the United States and "entire international community" to help "restore constitutional order" after last week's coup.
In an opinion piece in the Washington Post, President Bazoum said he was writing "as a hostage".
He also warned that the region could fall further under Russian influence, via the Wagner Group which already operates in neighbouring countries.
Niger's West African neighbours have threatened military intervention.
On Thursday, the coup leaders announced they were withdrawing the country's ambassadors from France, the US, Nigeria and Togo.
Macron Suffers New Africa Setback With Niger Coup
The coup in Niger represents a major setback for French President Emmanuel Macron, raising questions about France's military presence in the country but also the future of his wider strategy in Africa.
The coup against Niger's President Mohamed Bazoum is the third such putsch in the region in as many years, following similar actions in Mali and Burkina Faso in 2021 and 2022 that forced the pullouts of French troops.
But the Niger coup is particularly bruising for Macron after he sought to make a special ally of Niamey, and a hub for France's presence in the region after the Mali coup.
The situation presents Macron with a string of dilemmas as he retreats to the French presidential Mediterranean residence of Fort Bregancon for a summer holiday that is set to be dominated by the crisis.
UNITED STATES CHARTERS PALNE TO EVACUATE AMERICANS FROM COUP-HIT NIGER-REPUBLIC.
The United States has chartered a plane to evacuate its non-essential personnel from coup-hit Niger.
According to State Department, the flight, which is also open to American citizens wishing to leave the West African country, is scheduled to depart Friday afternoon from Niamey, if all things go right.
It added that consular services in Niger had begun contacting several hundred registered US citizens to ascertain whether they planned to stay or leave the fragile nation, a week after President Mohamed Bazoum was deposed by his own guard and a military junta installed.
ZIMBABWE OPPOSITION SUPPORTER KILLED AHEAD OF RALLY.
An opposition supporter in Zimbabwe, Tinashe Chitsunge has been killed while travelling to an election rally.
According to the main opposition Citizens Coalition for Change, the death comes during an increasingly contentious and violent campaign period.
Its spokesperson Fadzayi Mahere said Tinashe Chitsunge was among a group of supporters who were assaulted and stoned as they headed to a rally in Glen Norah, a suburb of the capital, Harare.
Pictures posted on social media appeared to show a man in jeans lying on the ground in a pool of blood with the party's yellow T-shirts covering his head.
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ETHIOPIA HEAD OF AMHARA REGION WANTS MORE FEDERAL HELP.
The head of northern Ethiopia's turbulent Amhara region has called for intervention by the federal government as violence intensifies and spreads.
In a letter published by state-affiliated media, Yilkal Kefale said the security situation in Amhara was "difficult to control within the regular law enforcement mechanisms".
The statement differs in tone from his remarks a day ago when he had called for dialogue.
Activists linked with the Fano militia group which is fighting against the army in several areas have criticised Yilkal's remarks as attempts to provide justification for the involvement of the military in the region which are already fighting the militia.
ERITREAN PROTESTERS STORM FESTIVAL IN SWEDEN.
Eritrean anti-government protestors have stormed a pro-government festival in the Swedish capital, Stockholm.
There are reports that several hundred people broke through a police barrier and destroyed festival marquees.
Police in Sweden say no-one was injured.
Eritrea is a deeply divided country in terms of those who support President Isaias Afwerki and those who see him as a cruel dictator.
DONALD TRUMP PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO ELECTION CONSPIRACY CHARGES.
Former President Donald Trump has pleaded not guilty to historic charges of leading a criminal conspiracy that sought to defraud the American people by overturning the 2020 election.
Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, entered his plea during a brief hearing at the same Washington courthouse where hundreds of his supporters have been convicted and sentenced for their roles in January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol.
"Not guilty," Trump said after magistrate judge Moxila Upadhyaya read the charges — and potential maximum prison sentences — in the 45-page indictment brought by special counsel Jack Smith.
Shortly before leaving his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club for the flight to Washington, Trump defiantly doubled down on his baseless claim that the election was "stolen."
Trump is expected to enter a plea of not guilty at a hearing before magistrate judge Moxila Upadhyaya.
He is likely to be fingerprinted but not have a mugshot taken.
POPE TELLS YOUTHS TO TACKLE CLIMATE CRISIS, POVERTY.
Pope Francis has urged young people to combine fighting to save the planet with tackling poverty during the second day of his visit to Portugal.
The 86-year-old Francis, who has made the protection of the environment a cornerstone of his pontificate, returned to the theme during an open-air address to students at Lisbon's Catholic University.
Around 6,500 people, including Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and bishops, were gathered under a bright sun in a main square of the campus of the university to listen to the pope.
The crowd cheered and applauded when the leader of the world's 1.3 billion Roman Catholics pontiff took to the stage.
UKRAINE SEA DRONE HITS RUSSIAN SHIP IN BLACK SEA.
A Russian naval ship has been damaged in a Ukrainian naval drone attack in the Black Sea.
The assault is reported to have happened near the Russian port of Novorossiysk, which is a major hub for Russian exports.
Russia's defence ministry said it had repelled a Ukrainian attack with two sea drones on its naval base there.
But Ukrainian security service sources say the Olenegorsky Gornyak was hit and suffered a serious breach.
ANDREW TATE'S ROMANIA HOUSE ARREST LIFTED.
Controversial influencer Andrew Tate has been freed from house arrest in Romania pending his trial on rape and human trafficking charges.
Andrew and his brother Tristan were arrested in March and charged in June. They deny the charges.
The pair can move freely around the capital, Bucharest, and the surrounding Ilfov district where they live.
They must report to police when ordered to, and inform them of any change of address.
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