Burkina Faso strongman Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba was inaugurated as president, just over three weeks after he led a coup to topple elected head of state Roch Marc Christian Kabore.

In a televised ceremony, Damiba swore an oath before the country’s top constitutional body to “preserve, respect, uphold and defend the Constitution”, the nation’s laws and a “fundamental act” of key decisions approved by the junta.

Burkina Faso is one of the world’s poorest countries and one of the most volatile in Africa.

The landlocked Sahel state has experienced repeated coups since gaining independence from France in 1960.

Since the first jihadist attacks in 2015, more than 2,000 people have died, according to an AFP tally, while the country’s emergencies agency says more than 1.5 million people have fled their homes.

AFP

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Colonel Mamady Doumbouya, who led the overthrow of president Alpha Conde on September 5, was sworn in by Supreme Court head Mamadou Sylla for a transition period of unspecified length.

The new interim president spoke of his “commitment” that neither he nor any member of the junta would stand in any future elections that the military has promised to organise after the transition period.

His administration’s mission, he said, is to “refound the state” by drafting a new constitution, fighting corruption, reforming the electoral system and then organising “free, credible and transparent” elections.

The swearing-in ceremony took place at the Supreme Court with local personalities and foreign envoys in attendance, including the Chinese and Russian ambassadors, as well as Doumbouya’s wife and mother.

Doumbouya once again said nothing about how long he will remain the interim leader of the impoverished West African nation.

But the new president promised to “respect all the national and international commitments to which the country has subscribed.”

AFP/Punch

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Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson has moved foreign minister Dominic Raab following sustained criticism of his handling of the Afghanistan crisis, Downing Street said.

Johnson made Raab deputy Prime Minister, Justice Secretary and Lord Chancellor in a reshuffle that also saw gaffe-prone education secretary Gavin Williamson sacked.

Meanwhile, the finance minister retains her role in the cabinet reshuffle.

Punch

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West Africa’s main political and economic bloc suspended Guinea’s membership following a weekend military coup that ousted President Alpha Conde and dealt the latest in a flurry of setbacks to democracy in the region.

During a virtual summit, leaders from the 15-member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) demanded a return to the constitutional order and Conde’s immediate release, and also agreed to send a high-level mission to Guinea as soon as Thursday, said Burkina Faso’s Foreign Minister Alpha Barry.

“At the end of that mission, ECOWAS should be able to re-examine its position,” Barry told reporters.

He did not announce any immediate economic sanctions against Guinea, as ECOWAS imposed against Mali following a coup there in August 2020.

Thisday

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The Taliban will not announce the makeup of its government until the United States completes its troop withdrawal, two sources in the movement told AFP.

“It has been decided that the formation of the government and cabinet will not be announced as long as a single US soldier is present in Afghanistan,” a Taliban source said, and this was confirmed by a second insider.

AFP

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Two armed men, including one who wielded a knife, attacked Mali’s interim president Assimi Goita in the great mosque in the capital Bamako, an AFP journalist saw.  

The attack took place during prayers for the Islamic festival of Eid al-Adha. 

Goita has since been taken from the scene, according to the journalist, who said it was not immediately clear whether he had been wounded. 

Religious Affairs Minister Mamadou Kone told AFP that a man had “tried to kill the president with a knife” but was apprehended. 

Latus Toure, the director of the Great Mosque, said an attacker had lunged for the president but wounded someone else. 

AFP was not immediately able to confirm the accounts.

AFP

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Haiti President Jovenel Moise was assassinated at his home by a group of armed individuals, interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph announced.

Joseph said he was now in charge of the country.

Moise’s injured wife was in the hospital, according to Joseph, who urged the public to remain calm, and insisted the police and army would ensure the population’s safety.

“The president was assassinated at his home by foreigners who spoke English and Spanish,” Joseph said.

AFP

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Haiti President Jovenel Moise was assassinated at his home by a group of armed individuals, interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph announced.

Joseph said he was now in charge of the country.

Moise’s injured wife was in the hospital, according to Joseph, who urged the public to remain calm, and insisted the police and army would ensure the population’s safety.

“The president was assassinated at his home by foreigners who spoke English and Spanish,” Joseph said.

AFP

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Prime Minister Boris Johnson has revealed plans to lift most of England’s legal coronavirus restrictions, including face masks and social distancing from July 19, urging personal responsibility rather than government edict.

“This pandemic is far from over, it certainly won’t be over by the 19th,” warned Johnson. “We must reconcile ourselves, sadly, to more deaths from Covid.

“There’s only one reason why we can contemplate going ahead… in circumstances where we’d normally be locking down further, that’s because of the continuing effectiveness of the vaccine rollout.

“We will move away from legal restrictions and allow people to make their own informed decisions,” he said.

AFP