INTERNACIONAL
Senegal’s opposition leader Ousmane Sonko to address supporters after months in prison
- Ousmane Sonko, Senegal’s top opposition leader, was released from prison ahead of the March 24 election but has been barred from running.
- Sonko’s release energized supporters, with thousands celebrating in Dakar.
- The court decision barring Sonko from the election cannot be appealed, according to a presidential spokesman.
Senegal’s top opposition leader was expected to address supporters on Friday in his first public speech, hours after being released from prison and ahead of the country’s March 24 election in which he has been barred from running.
Ousmane Sonko’s release late on Thursday night, after months behind bars, triggered a mix of jubilation and political uncertainty on the streets of the capital, Dakar. His supporters are waiting to see whether authorities will reverse their decision and allow him to run in the presidential race.
A charismatic former tax collector and mayor of the southern city of Ziguinchor, Sonko is seen as as the main challenger to President Macky Sall’s ruling party.
SENEGALESE OPPOSITION LEADER OUSMANE SONKO CONVICTED OF CORRUPTING YOUTH, ACQUITTED OF RAPE CHARGES
His key ally, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who was also freed from prison late Thursday, has been named the opposition’s presidential candidate. Their release follows Sall’s decree to exonerate political prisoners, including hundreds that were arrested in the violent protests last year.
Senegalese opposition leader Ousmane Sonko addresses journalists following his release from police custody in Dakar, Senegal. Sonko, was released from jail late Thursday, March 14, 2024, ahead of the country’s presidential election scheduled for March 24, his lawyer said. (AP Photo/Sylvain Cherkaoui, File)
The protests have rocked Senegal’s image as a pillar of stability in West Africa, where dozens of coups and attempted coups have taken place in recent decades.
Dakar was thronged overnight with thousands of people singing and dancing as convoys of supporters drove around tooting horns and young people piled onto motorbikes and trucks.
Fresh graffiti on Dakar streets on Friday morning rallied in support of Sonko. On their way to work, Senegalese speculated about how the turn of events might impact the vote later this month.
However, presidential spokesman Yoro Dia said a court decision barring Sonko from the election could not be appealed.
Sall has tried to defend his decision to postpone the election just weeks before it was to take place on Feb. 25. His announcement that the vote would instead be held 10 months from now plunged Senegal into uncertainty and drew protesters to the streets again.
The country’s Constitutional Council subsequently rejected Sall’s postponement and ordered the government to set a new date as soon as possible.
Sonko’s release will boost Faye’s campaign but it won’t change expectations that the vote is probably headed for a runoff, said Tochi Eni-Kalu, Africa analyst at the Eurasia Group.
Neither will Sonko be allowed into the race at this late stage, Eni-Kalu said, adding that no candidate is expected to win more than 50% of the vote.
«For Sonko specifically, there remains some uncertainty over the terms of his amnesty and whether he will immediately regain his political rights,» the analyst said. «But he won’t be on the ballot on the 24th.»
In a separate decision on Friday, the Supreme Court rejected an appeal from Karim Wade, an opposition leader and son of former Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade, against the decision to rule him out of the ballot because he holds dual citizenship.
TOP SENEGALESE OPPOSITION LEADER FREED FROM JAIL AS ELECTION NEARS
Wade said he has renounced his French citizenship.
Sonko’s presidential bid has faced a prolonged legal battle that started when he was accused of rape in 2021. He was acquitted of the charge but was convicted of corrupting youth and sentenced to two years in prison last summer, which ignited deadly protests across Senegal.
In January, he was disqualified from the ballot because he faces a six-month suspended sentence following his conviction for defamation, Senegal’s highest election authority, the Constitutional Council, said at the time.
Sonko’s supporters maintain his legal troubles are part of a government effort to derail his candidacy. His Patriots of Senegal party was also dissolved last summer.
Senegal’s 19 approved candidates have started rallying ahead of the vote, expected to be the most tightly contested race since the country gained independence more than six decades ago.
Estados Unidos pausó el intercambio de Inteligencia con Ucrania, anunció el asesor de seguridad nacional de la Casa Blanca, Mike Waltz.
«Hemos dado un paso atrás y estamos haciendo una pausa y revisando todos los aspectos de esta relación», afirma.
La medida se produce después de una ruptura diplomática tras la intensa reunión del viernes en la Oficina Oval entre el presidente de Estados Unidos y su homólogo ucraniano, Volodimir Zelenski.
Donald Trump ya había emitido una pausa en la ayuda militar a Ucrania, aunque Waltz ha sugerido que estaría dispuesto a levantar esa congelación si las conversaciones de paz avanzan.
«Ucrania está dispuesta a sentarse a la mesa de negociaciones lo antes posible para acercar una paz duradera», rezaba la carta que leyó Trump. «Nadie quiere la paz más que los ucranianos», agregaba.
El director de la CIA, John Ratcliffe, también anunció la pausa en el intercambio de Inteligencia.
«El presidente Trump tenía dudas reales sobre si el presidente Zelenski estaba comprometido con el proceso de paz», dijo Ratcliffe a Fox News.
El director de la CIA dijo que la pausa «en el frente militar y en el frente de inteligencia» es temporal, y que Estados Unidos volverá a «trabajar hombro con hombro con Ucrania».
Trump dijo el martes que Zelenski le aseguró que estaba listo para negociar el fin de la guerra con Rusia y para firmar un acuerdo para la explotación de minerales por parte de Estados Unidos en Ucrania.
El presidente ucraniano ha publicado en sus redes sociales que el episodio de la semana pasada con Trump en la Casa Blanca fue «lamentable» y que su intención es «arreglar las cosas» con el republicano, en un intento de reconducir la relación entre ambos.
Pope Francis has reportedly increased his physical therapy, despite his outlook remaining «guarded,» according to the Vatican. He underwent high-flow oxygen therapy during the day and non-invasive ventilation at night during his third week at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital.
The Vatican added that the 88-year-old pontiff’s situation remains complex, even though he is stable.
Balloons featuring Pope Francis are attached to a statue of John Paul II outside the Gemelli hospital in Rome on Feb. 23, 2025. (ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty Images)
CHRISTIANS USE HALLOW APP’S PRAY40 CHALLENGE AMONG OTHER TRADITIONAL WAYS TO GROW CLOSER TO GOD AS LENT BEGINS
Normally, Pope Francis would lead an Ash Wednesday mass at the Vatican to start Lent, but was unable to do so this year. This morning, he participated in the rite of the blessing of the Holy Ashes, and received the Eucharist. Cardinal Angelo De Donatis read the pope’s homily aloud at Rome’s Santa Sabrina Basilica, according to the Vatican.
Pope Francis waves from his popemobile after the weekly Angelus prayers at the Saint Peter’s Square in the Vatican on Oct. 20, 2024. (Filippo Monteforte/AFP/Getty)
OPINION: FOUR WAYS TO OBSERVE THE SEASON OF LENT
Before reading the pope’s homily, De Donatis thanked the pontiff for «the offering of his prayer.» In his homily, the pope spoke of the significance of the ashes and the act of receiving them.
«We bow our heads in order to receive the ashes as if to look at ourselves and to look within ourselves. Indeed, the ashes help to remind us that our lives are fragile and insignificant: we are dust, from dust we were created, and to dust we shall return,» the homily read, according to the Vatican.
The pope also called for a «return to God with all of our hearts» in his homily, urging Catholics to «place Him at the center of our lives.»
Candles with the pictures of Pope Francis are the laid under the statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome on Wednesday, Feb. 19, where the pontiff has been hospitalized since Friday, Feb. 14. (AP/Gregorio Borgia)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
While in the hospital, Pope Francis spoke with Father Gabriel Romanelli, the parish priest of the Holy Family Parish in Gaza. This comes just days after he mentioned the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in his first written message since his hospitalization. He urged prayers «for [those] martyred Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, Myanmar, Sudan, and Kivu.»
Fox News’ Anne Butterworth contributed to this report.
INTERNACIONAL
Bukele desafía al FMI y advierte que seguirá comprando Bitcoin para las reservas de El Salvador: «No se detiene»
Que dice el acuerdo de El Salvador con el FMI
¿Qué es un Bitcoin?
Piden a la Justicia anular “de manera urgente” las designaciones de Ariel Lijo y Manuel García-Mansilla en la Corte Suprema
El origen de la pelea de Santiago Caputo con Manes y los cambios de Jorge Macri
La agresión que recibió Young Miko por culpa de Tini Stoessel: “Te usaron. Fuiste sólo una diversión”
¡El Secreto alado de Mario! La fascinante historia detrás de las plumas en Super Mario 64 y Super Mario Land 2 – Nintenderos
Las 4 empresas que manejan la producción de gas en Argentina
El Gobierno modificará por decreto la Ley de Turismo: eliminará programas sociales y obras públicas
Martín Lousteau dijo que estaría dispuesto a una alianza con el peronismo si Milei avanza contra las instituciones
Nueva encuesta y sorpresa en la Ciudad: lidera un radical K y está tercero un abogado de famosos
Javier Milei y sus medidas, EN VIVO: en un Congreso repleto de faltazos, el Presidente habla en cadena nacional para abrir la sesiones ordinarias
Javier Milei advirtió a Grupo Clarín que no autorizará la compra de Telefónica
Javier Milei pidió la renuncia de Axel Kicillof: “Déjenos intervenir la Provincia”
Video: Manes denunció que Santiago Caputo lo amenazó y que le pegaron en el Congreso
Por qué no se recomienda dormir con el pelo mojado
Qué efectos genera la humedad en tu cabello La entrada Por qué no se recomienda dormir con el pelo mojado...
El FMI le prestaría a Argentina USD 20.000 millones según un banco internacional
Según un informe del UBS, 8.000 millones de dólares corresponderían a fondos frescos que servirían para reforzar las reservas del...
Crimen de Kim Gómez: la madre de la nena asesinada declaró ante la Justicia y reconoció a uno de los detenidos
Florencia se presentó ante la fiscal Carmen Ibarra, en el marco de la investigación por la muerte de su hija...
-
POLITICA2 días agoJavier Milei advirtió a Grupo Clarín que no autorizará la compra de Telefónica
-
POLITICA1 día ago
Guillermo Francos salió a defender a Santiago Caputo y apuntó contra Facundo Manes: «Fue preparado para hacer un acto de campaña»
-
ECONOMIA3 días ago
Expectativa por la reacción de Wall Street al anuncio de Milei del acuerdo con el FMI
