UNITED NATIONS: The UN General Assembly has decided to mark the 100th anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s birth by holding a high-level meeting focusing on world peace ahead of the annual gathering of world leaders in September 2018.
A resolution adopted Friday without a vote says the “Nelson Mandela Peace Summit” will include speeches by top UN officials, the chair of the African Union Commission and member states.
The resolution recalls the South African anti-apartheid leader’s dedication to promoting conflict resolution, race relations, human rights, reconciliation and gender equality.
In 2009, the General Assembly established “Nelson Mandela International Day” on July 18, the date he was born in 1981. The UN asks people around the world to mark the day by making a difference in their communities.
Mandela died Dec. 5, 2013.
UN to mark Mandela’s 100th birthday with a peace summit
UN to mark Mandela’s 100th birthday with a peace summit
G.Bissau opposition leader summoned by military court: sources
- Domingos Simoes Pereira, leader of the PAIGC party, which led the coastal west African country to independence from Portugal in 1974, was arrested on the day of the November coup
BISSAU: Guinea-Bissau’s main opposition leader has been summoned to appear before a military court over alleged links to multiple coup plots, judicial and military sources told AFP.
The junta has imprisoned senior politicians after overthrowing president Umaro Sissoco Embalo and seizing power in November, just days after presidential elections.
Domingos Simoes Pereira, leader of the PAIGC party, which led the coastal west African country to independence from Portugal in 1974, was arrested on the day of the November coup.
SPEEDREAD
• Domingos Simoes Pereira is suspected of involvement in at least two attempted coups, in late 2023 and October 2025, a source said.
• Guinea-Bissau has experienced five coups and a string of attempted military takeovers since independence.
• Crippling poverty, chaotic administration and political chaos have also made Guinea-Bissau a fertile ground for corruption.
He was freed late last month but was placed under house arrest because of separate investigations into alleged financial crimes.
He will be questioned on Friday for his “alleged involvement in a coup attempt,” a source close to the military court told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons.
“There are a lot of suspicions hanging over him regarding his alleged involvement in several subversive actions,” a senior officer said.
Pereira is suspected of involvement in at least two attempted coups, in late 2023 and October 2025, the same source added.
Guinea-Bissau has experienced five coups and a string of attempted military takeovers since independence.
Crippling poverty, chaotic administration and political chaos have also made Guinea-Bissau a fertile ground for corruption and drug smuggling.
