Headline

Gabon Swears In Ex-junta Chief Oligui As President

Published

1 year ago

May 3, 2025

Editor

Gabon began swearing in on Saturday President-elect Brice Oligui Nguema, who led a coup ending decades of Bongo family rule and swept polls last month with nearly 95 percent of the vote.

The general and former junta leader, who toppled Ali Bongo in August 2023 ending 55 years of dynastic rule by the Bongo family, officially takes the presidential reins after leading a 19-month transition government.

Some 20 African heads of state arrived for the inauguration ceremony at a stadium north of the capital Libreville, while supporters decked out in T-shirts and flags bearing Oligui’s likeness packed out the 40,000-capacity venue.

Leaders in attendance include Gambia’s Adama Barrow, Senegal’s Bassirou Diomaye Faye, Djibouti’s Ismail Omar Guelleh and Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo from Equatorial Guinea.

The Democratic Republic of Congo’s president Felix Tshisekedi likewise made his entrance around midday.

Tickets were free to attend the investiture at the Angondje stadium, built to honour friendship between Gabon and China.

It marks the first time the country holds a swearing-in ceremony in front of such a large audience.

– Challenges ahead –
From the morning the roads of the capital Libreville and around the Angondje stadium were clogged with traffic, AFP journalists saw.

On the programme for the ceremony was a series of artistic performances and a military parade, according to state media, which will be followed by a “victory concert” on the Libreville waterfront in the evening.

In the lead-up, hundreds of workers have been painstakingly cleaning and repainting areas around the main roads leading to the stadium.

Authorities and official media have called for people to be public-spirited in view of the influx of foreign guests.

“All citizens of Greater Libreville are asked to extend a warm welcome to these distinguished guests,” the interior ministry said in a statement.

It called on residents near the stadium to “take part in cleaning and beautifying” the area.

Oligui, 50, faces serious challenges in leading the oil-rich country, which needs to revamp crucial infrastructure and diversify its economy but is heavily indebted.

Among the main concerns are an ageing electricity network which suffers frequent power cuts, youth unemployment that hovers at 40 percent, poor or lacking roads and a ballooning public debt, forecast to hit 80 percent of GDP this year.

During the transition, Oligui portrayed himself as a “builder”, launching numerous construction projects, while vowing to “crack down” on corruption to get the country back on track.

Headline

Indian Court Denies Bail To Nigerian Man Over Drug Charges

Published

4 hours ago

May 28, 2026

Editor

A court in India has denied bail to a 44-year-old Nigerian national, Cristian Soporuchukwu, who is currently facing drug trafficking charges in the country.

Cristian Soporuchukwu initially entered India on a business visa but was later arrested over allegations of involvement in the sale of hard drugs.

Reports indicated that after arriving in India, Soporuchukwu travelled through Goa, Delhi, and Mumbai, where he allegedly established links with suspected drug traffickers.

He was accused of purchasing MDMA crystals and distributing them to college students and information technology workers.

According to reports, operatives of the Beguru Police arrested Cristian Soporuchukwu in April 2025 for allegedly selling MDMA crystals around Begur Lake and the AECS Layout Road area.

The New Indian Express reported that the High Court of Karnataka subsequently dismissed the Nigerian’s bail application.

“The anti-narcotics wing seized about 1 kg of MDMA crystals, a pocket weighing machine, 10 zip-lock covers, a mobile phone and a scooter from him,” the report stated.

Justice V. Srishananda, while ruling on the bail application, reportedly held that errors relating to the grounds of arrest could not automatically justify bail in serious narcotics-related offences under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, NDPS, Act.

The court further noted that Cristian Soporuchukwu had allegedly overstayed his visa in India, according to the report.

Headline

Strait Of Hormuz: US Announces Sanctions Against Iran

Published

4 hours ago

May 28, 2026

Editor

The United States Treasury has announced sanctions against Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority.

Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, said this in a statement on Wednesday.

The statement extended the threat of sanctions to anyone paying the fees, saying they may be providing support to and receiving services from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, and therefore may be exposed to sanctions risk.

“The Iranian military’s latest attempt to extort global maritime trade is proof that Economic Fury has left the regime desperate for cash.

“Treasury has deprived the Iranian regime of revenue for their weapons programs, terrorist proxies, and nuclear ambitions,” Bessent said.

Bessent added that the US has succeeded in disrupting tens of billions of dollars’ worth of revenue from being accessible to Tehran.

Headline

US Launches New Airstrikes On Iran

Published

5 hours ago

May 28, 2026

Editor

The United States has launched new airstrikes in southern Iran.

The strike shot down four one-way attack drones that posed a threat around the Strait of Hormuz and then a ground control site.

A US official revealed that American forces struck an Iranian ground control station in Bandar Abbas that was about to launch a fifth drone.

The official described the strikes as purely defensive, saying the US intended to maintain the ceasefire.

Report says this is the second time in three days that the US has carried out self-defense strikes against Iranian military targets in southern Iran.

Recall that on Monday the US carried out airstrikes against Iranian missile locations and boats that US Central Command said were preparing to launch mines in the Strait of Hormuz.