ABUBAKAR ABDULSALAMI LEADS ECOWAS MISSION FOR NEGOTIATION WITH NIGER JUNTA.

Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), has sent a delegation to Niger to negotiate with military officers who seized power in last week’s coup, even as regional defence chiefs met in Nigeria.

ECOWAS had, imposed sanctions on Niger, warning it could authorise use of force if the coup leaders do not reinstate elected President Mohamed Bazoum within a week.

ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Abdel-Fatau Musah, said the military option is the very last on the table, the last resort, but we have to prepare for the eventuality.

Musah said there is a need to demonstrate that we cannot only bark but can bite, saying the delegation to Niger is being led by former Nigerian military leader, Abdulsalami Abubakar, who arrived to start talks with the junta.

At the meeting of the defence chiefs, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso and Guinea were absent.

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UNITED STATES ANNOUNCES PARTIAL EVACUATION OF EMBASSY IN NIGER.

The United States has ordered the partial evacuation of its embassy in Niger following last week’s coup.

Hundreds of foreign nationals have already been evacuated from the country, and on Sunday the French embassy was attacked by protesters.

Coup leader Gen Abdourahamane Tchiani has warned against “any interference in the internal affairs” of the country.

Niger is a significant uranium producer and lies on a key migration route to North Africa and the Mediterranean.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to the ousted President, Mohamed Bazoum, adding that the US is committed to the restoration of Niger’s democratically elected government.

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FIRST UNITED KINGDOM NATIONALS SAFELY OUT OF NIGER.

The United Kingdom Foreign Office says the first group of British nationals have safely left Niger on a French flight to Paris.

It gave no further details on how many Britons were on the plane but said a “very small number” remain in Niger.

Violence has broken out in the west African country following last week’s military coup.

France and Italy had already started evacuating their citizens.

The UK government had previously advised British nationals to register their whereabouts and stay indoors.

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SOMALIA SORRY FOR FIELDING RECORD SLOW SPRINTER.

There have been calls in Somalia for officials to be sacked, after fielding a novice 100m sprinter in the World University Games in China.

The country’s sports minister has apologised for selecting Nasra Abubakar Ali, who took almost twice as long as the winner to compete the race.

She reportedly had no previous experience in top-level competitions.

In a video of the event, the athlete is soon left out of shot and eventually completes the race with a jovial skip.

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RWANDA WELCOMES MEDICAL STUDENTS FLEEING SUDAN WAR.

A group of medical students from Sudan has been welcomed to Rwanda to continue their studies after a civil war erupted in mid-April.

Their campus at the University of Medical Sciences and Technology was overrun and turned into a base by fighters in the capital, Khartoum, where paramilitary forces and the army are involved in a power struggle.

The 160 undergraduates, who were eight months away from completing their course, have been offered space, along with their lecturers, at the University of Rwanda.

The group, who are mainly made up of women, will also be practising in local hospitals.

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DONALD TRUMP TO FACE CHARGES OF ELECTION CONSPIRACY IN COURT HEARING.

Former US President Donald Trump will be formally charged at a court hearing on Thursday on charges of plotting to overturn his 2020 election defeat.

On the eve of the arraignment he slammed the case as proof of the “corruption, scandal, & failure” of the US under Joe Biden’s presidency.

Security is being ramped up in Washington DC for Thursday’s hearing.

Trump already faces two other criminal cases as he campaigns for the White House next year.

But the election case is widely seen as the most serious one of all.

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POPE MEETS VICTIMS OF CLERICAL SEXUAL ABUSE IN PORTUGAL.

Pope Francis has held a private meeting with victims of clerical sexual abuse during a five-day visit to Portugal.

In a statement, the Vatican said the gathering had been held on Wednesday in an “atmosphere of intense listening”.

A report this year concluded that at least 4,815 children had been abused in Portugal and that the Church had sought “systematically” to conceal the issue.

At an evening service in Lisbon, the Pope said the Church must listen to “the anguished cry of the victims”.

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NORTH KOREA CONFIRMS CUSTODY OF UNITED STATES SOLDIER.

North Korea has confirmed custody of Travis King in its first response to requests for information on the US soldier’s whereabouts.

The 23-year-old private dashed across the border from South Korea on 18 July while on a guided tour.

The UN Command refused to elaborate on the response “in order not to interfere with our efforts to get him home”.

However, the reply indicates Pyongyang could be ready to start negotiating.

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REMAINS FOUND IN SEARCH FOR VICTIMS OF AUSTRALIA HELICOPTER CRASH.

Human remains have been found in the search for the victims of a “catastrophic” military helicopter crash off Australia’s north-east coast.

Four Australian soldiers are presumed dead after the MRH-90 Taipan chopper ditched into the sea during a multinational military drill on Friday.

A major search operation has since located debris, and now the cockpit.

Australian authorities are investigating the incident as criticism over the use of the aircraft grows.

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AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM TO RETURN STOLEN CAMBODIAN ARTEFACTS.

Australia’s national gallery will return three 9th and 10th Century bronze sculptures to Cambodia, after they were found to be stolen.

It follows a decade-long investigation carried out by the two countries to determine the origin of the works.

Cambodia’s government welcomed the historic move as “an important step towards rectifying past injustices”.

It comes amid a global push to return looted cultural goods.

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