Thousands protest in Ivory Coast after opposition leader barred from presidential race
ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast — Thousands of protesters gathered in Ivory Coast 's capital Abidjan on Saturday to demand the reinstatement on the electoral list of main opposition leader Tidjane Thiam, a former CEO of Credit Suisse, who was barred from running in the presidential election set for October.
Despite heavy rain, protesters peacefully gathered near the independent electoral commission, the body responsible for organizing the vote, in Abidjan.
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New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
As U.S. Aid Dries Up, West Africa Fights Expanding Jihadist Threat
At a market in Tougbo, a small town in northern Ivory Coast, the smell of dried fish and fried dough filled the air. Children ran around the bustling stalls where women sold the corn and cassava they had carried on their heads for miles in the countryside. Muslim elders watched the crowds on the sandy main street, while Christian worshipers poured out of church after Sunday mass. Yet the bustle belied an insidious threat. About half of terrorism deaths worldwide in 2023 were recorded in the Sahel, the arid region in West Africa known for its seminomadic tribes and ancient trade routes. Emboldened by their success in the landlocked nations of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, insurgents affiliated with Al Qaeda and the Islamic State are moving south toward the Atlantic and into coastal nations such as Ivory Coast. Jihadist attacks 2019-2021 Both periods 2022-2025 MALI Jihadist activity has moved south. 100 Miles NIGER Bamako BURKINA FASO BENIN GHANA IVORY COAST TOGO Detail AFRICA Atlantic Ocean Jihadist attacks: 2019-2021 Both periods 2022-2025 MALI Jihadist activity has moved south. 100 Miles NIGER Bamako BURKINA FASO BENIN IVORY COAST GHANA TOGO AFRICA Detail Abidjan Atlantic Ocean Source: Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project By Samuel Granados African and Western officials fear the advance will further destabilize West Africa at a time when the United States and European allies have drawn down their presence here, and the Trump administration has turned its attention to a chaotic deportation policy and travel ban that does not include any nations in the Sahel. As the insurgents push toward the Atlantic, fears are growing that an area with one of the world's youngest populations and high levels of poverty will soon fall under jihadist rule. 'One of the terrorists' new objectives is gaining access to West Africa coasts. If they secure access to the coastline, they can finance their operations through smuggling, human trafficking and arms trading,' Lt. Gen. Michael E. Langley, the head of U.S. Africa Command, said last month. 'This puts not just African nations at risk, but also increases the chance of threats reaching the U.S. shores.' MALI BURKINA FASO Ouangolodougou Tougbo Doropo Korhogo Bolè Kafolo COMOÉ NATIONAL PARK IVORY COAST GHANA Abidjan Gulf of Guinea 100 mileS By The New York Times Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Billie Butler, Ken Hilton battle for NH House seat amid anti-transgender attacks
SOMERSWORTH — Democrat Billie Butler and Republican Ken Hilton are competing for the support of Somersworth and Rollinsford voters in a special election for a New Hampshire House seat Tuesday, June 24. Butler, 54, who is a transgender woman, has been attacked by the Committee to Elect House Republicans, which created a website about her. Hilton, 65, said he has not seen the website, adding he doesn't want to see it. The candidates are running for a Strafford County District 12 seat in the House vacated by Democrat Dawn Evans, who moved out of the district. The winner's term will expire at the end of 2026. As a transgender candidate, Butler expected to be targeted, and she wasn't wrong. The Committee to Elect House Republicans is led by Rep. Jason Osborne, the House majority leader. It created a website using Butler's name and edited images to attack the candidate as "extreme," citing issues like gender-affirming healthcare and repeating frequently used anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric. "It is completely hateful, but worse, it completely misrepresents me and my values," Butler said of the website. Osborne was asked to comment for this story. The response to the request came from Chris Maidment, executive director of the Committee to Elect House Republicans. Maidment said Butler is aligned with a "radical woke agenda" and "pushes policies prioritizing ideological extremism over practical governance." "Haters will hate," Butler said. "In the end, it only helped my campaign. All my signs are paid for, and I have received money for the campaign, as well as a lot of support from people. It served to make me more visible to people who didn't know me before." "I met Billie the night of the primary," Hilton said. "If elected, I would represent everyone, including Billie. We're all human beings made in the image of God, and we all deserve respect. As a Christian, I work every day to treat people the way I would like to be treated. We all need grace and mercy." Butler was unopposed in the recent primary for District 12, where the three occupied seats are all held by Democrats. Republicans hold the overall majority in the New Hampshire House with 219 seats. There are 177 Democrats, two independents and two vacancies. "I would like to help balance the legislature," Butler said. "I would like to see more people run who do not have divisive agendas, but who really love New Hampshire. I don't look at this like national politics, because it isn't. Our legislators are our neighbors, our friends. For $100 a year, no one is looking to make money. Really, the only people who can run are wealthy retired persons or people like me who work gigs that allow more flexible schedules." Butler said LGBTQ+ issues are important to her, but so is equality for everyone. Well-known in the Seacoast theater community, Butler said people are not going to find a stronger arts advocate for the arts. "People, Democrats, kept asking to run, so I finally did," she said. "I was independent for many years, and I am now a registered Democrat. My family and friends told me I should run, so when the seat opened, I said yes." Butler said she wants to help Democrats and independent voters get a fair shake. Butler said she realizes she can't change the world, or even the state, but she wants to be a voice for the people. Hilton, who easily won the District 12 Republican primary, is chair of the Strafford County Republican Committee. He said he is running because he wants to see less government. "Somersworth, Rollinsford, they need less involvement in their day-to-day affairs by both the federal and state government," Hilton said. "Most issues should be dealt with at the local level as much as possible. So, if you have a problem you go to city hall and talk to them. What's the chance of getting to go talk to Donald Trump, or even our delegation, Jeanne Shaheen, Maggie Hassan? You don't get to talk with them as a regular person. Local leadership works, that's why I am running, to be that local link." Hilton lives in Somersworth and is the owner/operator of a plumbing company with his partner and wife, Jennifer. "We have been married 39 years and have four kids, two daughters, two sons," he said. "I am a small businessman, and I dislike politics greatly. I do not want government to rule the world. I don't like the way spending keeps going up, and the quality of delivery keeps going down, and that's partly because the government is more and more involved with our daily lives. It should not be that way. I am all for getting rid of half the laws on the books, sunset them, defund them where they die on the vine. We already have plenty of laws on the books; we do not need any more." Hilton said he has lived all over the world, and he loves New Hampshire. "'Live Free or Die' is supposed to mean something," Hilton said. "I truly do not want to rule the world. I want to see people able to live their lives and not have the government involved in their daily business. We are supposed to protect the innocent and punish the wicked." Hilton traveled the world with his family as part of Mercy Ships, civilian hospital ships that travel to countries and provide aid. "We lived on board," he said. "I did plumbing, welding, pipe fitting, whatever was needed. We were there with our three children. Then we adopted a little girl from Liberia. As Strafford County Republican Committee chairman, Hilton said it is his goal to help good people get elected across the county. "I believe we all agree on most issues," he said. "But we need to be able to talk to each other like humans." Somersworth voting on Tuesday, June 24 will be 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Ward 1 (City Hall, 1 Government Way), Ward 2 (Summersworth Historical Museum, 157 Main St.), Ward 3 (Somersworth High School, 11 Memorial Drive), Ward 4 (Idlehurst Elementary School, 46 Stackpole Road) and Ward 5 (Romeo J. Messier Building, 218 Main St.). Rollinsford voting on Tuesday, June 24 will be 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Town Hall at 667 Main St. This article originally appeared on Fosters Daily Democrat: Butler, Hilton battle for NH House seat amid anti-transgender attacks
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
In the news today: Carney to meet Trump this morning at G7 in Alberta
Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed... Carney to meet Trump this morning at G7 in Alberta Prime Minister Mark Carney will meet this morning with U.S. President Donald Trump at the G7 summit in Alberta. It's Trump's first visit to Canada since he started repeatedly saying the country should become an American state, leading Canadians to boo the American anthem at hockey games. Trump stormed out of the last G7 summit that Canada hosted, in 2018, and many will be watching this morning's meeting, scheduled for 9 a.m. local time in Kananaskis, Alta. The meeting comes weeks into regular calls and text messages between Carney and Trump as they try to resolve an economic spat caused by Trump's various tariffs. Carney is also leading discussions today on safety issues and artificial intelligence, while meeting with leaders from places including Japan, France and Italy. Here's what else we're watching... Protesters gather as G7 gets underway in Alberta As world leaders gather at the G7 summit in Kananaskis, Alta., Lesley Boyer has a message. The Calgary grandmother is angry that U.S. President Donald Trump keeps talking about Canada becoming his country's 51st state. Sitting in a wheelchair at Calgary City Hall on Sunday, Boyer held up a sign with an expletive aimed at Trump. Boyer was among several hundred people — including labour, youth, Indigenous, political and environmental activists — protesting before most of the G7 leaders had touched down in the city. Trump arrived late Sunday at the Calgary airport before taking a helicopter to the summit site at Kananaskis in the Rocky Mountains. He was to meet with Prime Minister Mark Carney on Monday morning before the official summit was to begin. Roots CEO sees opportunity in buy Canadian era Rifling through the Roots Corp. product archives on a recent Thursday morning, CEO Meghan Roach is surrounded by the kind of heritage 'most consumer brands would die to have.' In every direction she turns are racks of leather jackets spanning the company's 52 years. Some are replicas of custom pieces gifted to Toronto Raptors players for their 2019 championship win, the cast of Saturday Night Live for its fiftieth anniversary or the Jamaican bobsled team that inspired the 'Cool Runnings' film. Others are even more rare: a forest green jacket stitched with a floral and friendship bracelet motif for pop star Taylor Swift, and one adorned with snazzy sunglasses and piano key pockets that marked Elton John's retirement from touring, the lining of which features 56 years of albums. What they have in common is an origin story that began with the building Roach is standing in — the Roots leather factory in north Toronto. The Canadian operation is a rarity these days, after clothing manufacturing largely migrated overseas in the sixties, when brands wanted to reduce costs and offload repetitive and sometimes time-consuming tasks. N.L. pitches in to end fish-sauce plant stench A coastal Newfoundland town besieged for decades by the fetid stench wafting from an abandoned fish-sauce factory has finally received good news. Steve Ryan, the mayor of St. Mary's, N.L., said he nearly broke down in tears when officials with the Newfoundland and Labrador government told him the province would foot the bill to clean up the festering site. The promise brings residents close to the end of a decades-long ordeal that has kept them indoors on beautiful days, lest the smell get in their hair and clothes. The decaying Atlantic Seafood Sauce Company Ltd. building sits on the shoreline of the town of about 300 people, just steps away from the ocean. It first opened in 1990, bringing about two dozen much-needed jobs to the area, Ryan said. But the owner abandoned it about a decade later, after extended legal battles about food safety complaints. More than 100 oozing vats of fermenting fish remain in the crumbling building. Liquids from the 11,500-litre tanks once ran into the harbour through a broken drain pipe, but the federal fisheries department demanded the run-off system be sealed with concrete, Ryan said. Now the fluids pool in the plant, creating a putrid stew roughly 30 centimetres deep, Ryan said. Drones an everyday challenge in Quebec jails On any given day, drones buzz in the skies above Quebec's detention centres looking to drop tobacco, drugs or cellphones to the inmates below. Statistics from Quebec's public security minister show staff reported 274 drones flying over provincial centres between January and March — or just over three per day. That doesn't include the 10 federally-managed prisons in the province. Corrections spokespeople and a drone expert say the problem is growing, dangerous and hard to stop, despite millions of dollars invested by provincial and federal governments. Stéphane Blackburn, the managing director for Quebec's correctional services, described the threat of airborne contraband as "something we face every day." The provincial figures show 195 of the 247 drones were seen dropping packages. Most of them — 69 per cent — were reported as seized. The province also seized 896 cellphones. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 16, 2025. The Canadian Press
