Gabon’s Bongo attends independence parade in rare public appearance Libreville, Gabon | AFP | Gabon’s President Ali Bongo on Saturday made a rare public appearance to attend the country’s independence day celebrations, nearly ten months after suffering a stroke that fuelled speculation about his ability to rule. Bongo, whose every …
Read More »‘Mr. Green’: British environmentalist is Gabon’s new forestry minister
Libreville, Gabon | AFP | Here’s your new job: You have to protect the country’s precious tropical forests. You have to stop illegal logging and fight the entrenched corruption backed by powerful forces which goes with it. By the way, you are a committed environmentalist — and you are foreign-born. This …
Read More »Gabon’s economic woes arouse nostalgia for Omar Bongo
Franceville, Gabon | AFP | He died a decade ago, but residents of Franceville in southeast Gabon hark back with deep nostalgia to the rule of former president Omar Bongo. His heyday was a time of seemingly endless oil wealth and optimism. But the river of dollars has dried up and …
Read More »Gabon court rejects call for health check of president
Libreville, Gabon | AFP | A Gabonese court has thrown out a bid by opposition activists to force President Ali Bongo Ondimba to have medical checks to see if he is still fit to rule. The court in Libreville rejected the request as “inadmissible”, according to the ruling seen by …
Read More »Gabon president Bongo leaves Morocco to fly home
Rabat, Morocco | AFP | Gabon’s ailing President Ali Bongo left Morocco on Monday to fly home days after security forces there foiled an attempted coup, a source close to the leader said. “Doctors have judged that the journey does not present any danger for his health,” the source said, …
Read More »New Gabon government announced from abroad
Libreville, Gabon | AFP | Gabon’s prime minister announced a new government in a video message recorded thousands of miles away in Morocco, where ailing Gabonese President Ali Bongo is recovering from a stroke. Recently appointed PM Julien Nkoghe Bekale gave details of the reshuffle in footage broadcast late Saturday …
Read More »AU, France warn against ‘unconstitutional change’ in Gabon
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | AFP | The African Union and France warned against any “unconstitutional” change of power in Gabon, whose government on Monday claimed to have foiled an attempted takeover. AU chief Moussa Faki Mahamat, in a tweet, said his organisation “strongly condemns the coup attempt” in Gabon. “I …
Read More »UN chief condemns attempted coup in Gabon
United Nations, United States | AFP | UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Monday condemned an attempted coup in Gabon, his spokesman said, recalling that the UN chief opposes unconstitutional changes of power by force. Gabon’s presidency said in a statement that soldiers burst into a state radio station at …
Read More »Gabon foils coup attempt, with ailing president out of country
Libreville, Gabon | AFP | Gabon foiled an attempted coup on Monday, capturing the rebel chief and killing two of his men after a group of soldiers stormed a radio station to call for an uprising while the country’s ailing president was abroad. Renegade soldiers burst into RTG state radio …
Read More »Gabon soldiers call for uprising, shots heard in capital
Libreville, Gabon | AFP | Gabon soldiers on state radio early Monday called on the people to “rise up” and announced a “national restoration council” would be formed, as an ailing President Ali Bongo is out of the country. Shots were heard in the around state television headquarters in …
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