Central African Republic

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CAR Minister Says Tennis Star's Passport Is a 'Clumsy Fake'

And that Boris Becker isn't an official diplomat, though Becker disagrees

(Newser) - Boris Becker's claim of diplomatic immunity in an ongoing bankruptcy case just went from odd to bewildering. Though the former tennis champ claims his April appointment as a Central African Republic attache to the European Union means he's immune from bankruptcy hearings in the UK, the CAR appears...

Tennis Great Takes Odd Defense in Bankruptcy Case

Boris Becker says his diplomatic post with Central African Republic means he's immune

(Newser) - Three-time Wimbledon champion Boris Becker is claiming that a diplomatic role with the Central African Republic means he's exempt from bankruptcy proceedings in the UK. The 50-year-old declared bankruptcy in June 2017 over debts to private bank Arbuthnot Latham, reports the AP and BBC . He was named Central African...

World's 5 Most Unequal Countries on Same Continent

Effects of South Africa's apartheid still felt

(Newser) - Inequality was embedded in South African culture through its apartheid system. Nearly a quarter century after its end, the country still has a long way to go. "Inequality is high, persistent, and has increased since 1994" in South Africa, which is the most unequal country in the world when...

UN Peacekeepers Again Accused of Raping Kids

Advocates say little progress has been made in Central African Republic

(Newser) - The UN publicly maintains a zero tolerance policy on sexual abuse. Less publicly, it stands by as peacekeepers rape women and children in the Central African Republic, victims and human rights organizations allege. Four years after UN peacekeepers were first accused of rape in the country following a decade of...

Emails: Jolie Offered to Be Bait in Trap for Warlord

ICC honcho wanted her to invite Kony to dinner

(Newser) - In a plan that sounds more like a rejected movie script than reality, Angelina Jolie offered to help capture bloodthirsty warlord Joseph Kony by inviting him to dinner, according to leaked emails. In International Criminal Court emails leaked to the French website Mediapart , former chief ICC posecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo...

How 'Pygmy' People's Rampant Pot Use Protects Them

May lower rates of infection by parasitic intestinal worms: study

(Newser) - Marijuana was a painkiller in ancient Egypt and an anesthetic in ancient China and Taiwan, Medical Daily reports. Now, an anthropologist says the Aka foragers of the Central African Republic may be unconsciously using the plant to ward off parasitic intestinal worms. Ed Hagen of Washington State University Vancouver surveyed...

French Soldiers Accused of Raping Refugee Children

Allegations hit French soldiers at Central African Republic camp

(Newser) - Residents of a squalid refugee camp in the Central African Republic said yesterday that French soldiers tasked with protecting civilians had sexually abused boys as young as 9 years old, luring the children with army rations and small change when their families had nothing to feed them. The accounts given...

CAR's Muslims Fleeing Relentless 'Ethnic Cleansing'

'Muslim exodus' leads to food shortage

(Newser) - A "Muslim exodus of historic proportions" is occurring in the Central African Republic , says a new report from Amnesty International , because "International peacekeepers have failed to prevent the ethnic cleansing of Muslim civilians." The troops, from France and several African countries, have allowed vigilantes "to fill...

Troops Maim, Kill Bystander After Big Speech in CAR

Horrific slaying shows country not exactly healed

(Newser) - A military event that was supposed to signal a new start for the Central African Republic became a horrific lynching that put the country's divisions on stark display yesterday. Moments after a speech from Interim President Catherine Samba-Panza hailing the reconstitution of the national army, a group of about...

Central African Republic President, PM Resign

Michel Djotodia had been under pressure to step down amid crisis

(Newser) - Michel Djotodia, the rebel leader who seized control of Central African Republic only to see the desperately poor country tumble toward anarchy and sectarian bloodshed, agreed to resign today along with Prime Minister Nicolas Tiangaye, regional officials announced, following a summit in neighboring Chad on the crisis. On the streets...

2 French Soldiers Killed in Central African Fighting

Hollande due to arrive in country

(Newser) - As sectarian fighting rages on in the Central African Republic, France has seen its first casualties since announcing it would deploy more soldiers to the country, says the office of French president Francois Hollande. Two soldiers were killed late yesterday in Bangui, the AP reports. The paratroopers were involved in...

US to Fly Troops Into Central African Republic

American planes will transport Euro, African peacekeepers

(Newser) - Now the US is getting involved: Washington has agreed to fly European and African peacekeepers into the Central African Republic to help quell the bloody strife between various Muslim and Christian groups and other rebel militias, CNN reports. US military aircraft will fly troops—including a few French ones—from...

UN OKs Force in Central African Republic

France, African Union will step up military action in unraveling nation

(Newser) - The UN Security Council has authorized increased military action by France and African troops to try to end near-anarchy in the Central African Republic. The council unanimously approved a French-sponsored resolution today aimed at restoring security and protecting civilians in the impoverished country. The authorization is expected to lead to...

France Rushes Troops to 'Collapsing' Central African Republic

UN warns of rebel atrocities, looming chaos

(Newser) - France will send 1,000 troops to the Central African Republic to keep growing chaos at bay, the defense minister says, announcing his country's second military foray into a troubled former colony this year. The announcement came a day after a top UN official warned of mass atrocities and...

Reign of Joseph Kony Near End?

Reports suggest African warlord is ill, considering surrender

(Newser) - "It's true, Joseph Kony wants to come out of the bush," says the president of the Central African Republic. Tantalizing words, though there's plenty of doubt about how true they actually are. President Michel Djotodia insists his country has been in direct talks with Kony on...

Uganda Stops Looking for Kony

Suspends search after CAR coup

(Newser) - Jason Russell's naked meltdown didn't stop the hunt for Joseph Kony, but a Central African coup has—at least temporarily. Uganda has suspended its 3,000-troop-strong search for Africa's most wanted warlord following the recent rebel takeover of Central African Republic, Reuters reports. "These rebels...

Central African Republic Rebels Vow to Share Power

African Union suspends country as president flees to Cameroon

(Newser) - The rebels who yesterday took over the Central African Republic say they're going to share power with the government they ostensibly ousted. In a statement today, the rebel Seleka coalition said it would "respect the Libreville accord," a agreement negotiated in January that would set up a...

Rebels Overthrow Central African Republic's Prez

Francois Bozize has fled, thought to be headed for Congo

(Newser) - Rebels who invaded the capital two months after signing a peace agreement overthrew Central African Republic's president of a decade today, as fighters seized the presidential palace and declared him the country's former leader, according to witnesses and an adviser to longtime President Francois Bozize. Former colonial power...

'Penis-Snatching' Case Startles Visitor in Africa

Anthropologist 'intrigued' by alleged witchcraft

(Newser) - An American anthropologist was surprised to encounter reports of penis-snatching in an African village—but only because the "crime" is normally confined to more populated areas, the Daily Mail reports. Writing at AlterNet , Louisa Lombard recounts her visit to the village of Tiringoulou in the Central African Republic, where...

Central African Republic Rebels: OK, We'll Talk

Halt advance on Bangui

(Newser) - Rebels in the poverty-stricken Central African Republic have been advancing on the capital for three weeks, but today they agreed to halt and begin peace talks, Reuters reports. They had come within striking distance of Bangui, causing the US to close its embassy in the country and evacuate its citizens...

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