Sub-Saharan Africa
Sputnik brings you all the most recent information, major events, heroes and views, including breaking news, images, videos, analyses, and features.

Senegal Temporarily Closes Consulates Abroad Following Attacks

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Senegalese Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that the country's consulates abroad would be temporarily closed following attacks, including in European and US cities.
Sputnik
"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Senegalese Abroad informs of a temporary closure of Senegalese consulates abroad. This measure is taken following a series of attacks performed recently against Senegal's diplomatic missions and consulates, including in Paris, Bordeaux, Milan and New York," the ministry said in a statement.
The attacks resulted in significant damage to the diplomatic missions, the ministry said, adding that the consulate general in Milan had been particularly affected, with its machines for making passports and national identity cards completely destroyed.
The consulates will open again as soon as material as well as security conditions allow it, the ministry added.
Sub-Saharan Africa
Fallout From Unrest In Senegal Hits Economy
The move comes as Senegal experiences a wave of protests, that started after Senegalese opposition politician Ousmane Sonko had been sentenced to two years in prison.
Last week, a court in Senegal's capital Dakar found Sonko guilty of "corrupting youth." The complaint against the politician had been filed by a former employee of a beauty salon where he used to receive massages.
However, Sonko was acquitted of the charges of rape and death threats. The trial was held in absentia, and it was up to the prosecutor to decide whether to arrest the politician.
The court's decision jeopardized Sonko's right to run in the next year's presidential election under the country's law, local media reported.