Saturday, September 12, 2026
Niger appoints new Chief of Staff of Armed Forces after foiled mutiny
NIAMEY, Niger
Two weeks after a foiled mutiny attempted to oust him from power, the head of Niger’s military regime has appointed a new chief of staff of the armed forces.
Last month, disgruntled soldiers attacked sensitive sites in the capital Niamey. But the army and its Russian paramilitary allies put down the attempted uprising.
"Brigadier General Mamane Sani Kiaou, a general officer of the Nigerien armed forces, is appointed Chief of Defence Staff," Abari Amitti, Director of the public television channel Télé Sahel' announced on Friday. "Brigadier General Abdourahmane Abou Zataka, a general officer of the Niger Armed Forces, is appointed Chief of Staff of the Army."
Niger’s junta leader General Abdulrahmane Tiani came to power in a 2023 coup that ousted former leader Mohamed Bazoum. Since then Niger has severed ties with longtime Western security partners, turning instead to Russia.
Niger is facing growing militant violence and the rampant killing of security forces, reportedly fueling unrest within the military.
Friday, September 11, 2026
Twenty-five years after September 11, Americans reflect on attack that changed a nation
By Maria Tsvetkova, NEW YORK United States
Americans marked the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks on Friday with sorrow and somber reflection, honoring the nearly 3,000 people killed when hijacked planes slammed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field in a shocking attack that reverberates to this day.
In New York, family members of the victims, many carrying pictures of their loved ones, joined Vice President JD Vance and four former U.S. presidents at Ground Zero in Lower Manhattan. The ceremony began, as always, at 8:46 a.m. ET (1246 GMT) with a moment of silence to mark the instant when American Airlines Flight 11 struck the World Trade Center's North Tower in what would become the deadliest attack ever on U.S. soil.
Shortly after, victims' family members began reading aloud the names of all 2,977 people who died on September 11, as well as the six people killed in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, a somber recitation that lasted about four hours.
In a reminder of the time that has passed, some readers were children who had never met the relatives they lost in 2001.
Other moments of silence followed to mark when the other three airplanes crashed and the two towers collapsed. For the first time, a seventh moment of silence honored the thousands who have died since 2001 from illnesses tied to the toxic dust that poisoned the air for months afterward.
Gregory Carafello attended the ceremony to honor the memory of his lifelong friend James Martello, who worked at Cantor Fitzgerald, the financial firm that lost more than 650 employees in the attacks.
Carafello was on the 18th floor of the South Tower but managed to evacuate.
"Everyone should realize that it was a very bad, catastrophic day for many families," he said. "These were not warriors. These were people like you and me going to work."
At the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, where American Airlines Flight 77 struck the building's west flank, killing 184, President Donald Trump chronicled some of the stories of those aboard who perished in the crash: a woman pregnant with her first child, a family of four headed to Australia, three sixth-graders on a field trip.
The president and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who also delivered remarks, both used their speeches to make the case for the Iran war, which they have defended as necessary to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
"We salute our first responders and law enforcement, and we love them," Trump said. "And we salute the service members working right now to ensure the world's number one sponsor of terror, the Islamic Republic of Iran, will never ever have a nuclear weapon."
Mourners also gathered in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, at the crash site where passengers brought down one of the four hijacked jetliners, United Airlines Flight 93, that had been headed for Washington.
South Africa protesters set September 30 deadline for undocumented migrants
DURBAN, South Africa
Protesters in South African have given immigrants living in the country illegally until Sept. 30 to leave, threatening larger demonstrations if their demands are not met.
Weekly protests have continued in Durban, where the movement gained momentum earlier this year.
March and March leader Sphelele Shinga said activists expected up to 1.5 million people to join the next major demonstration.
"You should know that all the communities are gathering up again,” Shinga said. “They are waking up, they’re standing up for their home, standing up for their country.”
Shinga said protesters would “write another history” on Sept. 30 by demanding that undocumented migrants leave South Africa.
The group agreed to the move amid safety concerns after months on the street.
Princess Adjei, a Ghanaian refugee, said: “We can’t keep sleeping on the streets forever as well. People have died because of sleeping on the street.”
She said the group was awaiting buses while their documentation was being verified.
Peace activists, including Ela Gandhi, in support of the refugees, stood beside them during the demonstration.
Gandhi, a former member of Parliament and granddaughter of Mahatma Gandhi, condemned the protesters’ rhetoric.
“The rhetoric that these people are using is completely untrue,” Gandhi said. “It’s not the migrants that are causing the problems that they talk about.”
The Sept. 30 deadline has raised the prospect of renewed large-scale demonstrations in Durban.
Thursday, September 10, 2026
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