Canada's onetime governor-general Michaelle Jean, a former journalist born in Haiti, was chosen Sunday after intense debate as the new head of the union of French-speaking nations known as "la Francophonie".

Jean, who served as governor-general from 2005 to 2010, is the first woman and first non-African to be named secretary general of the International Organisation of la Francophonie (OIF).

Culture Minister Rony Araiji has said the Lebanese delegation at the Francophonie Summit, which will be held in Dakar this weekend, is planning to urge participants to reject terrorism in the closing statement.

In remarks to An Nahar daily, Araiji said he and Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil will discuss with the representatives of the participating states the threat of terrorism.

Dozens of women's rights activists took to the streets of the Senegalese capital Dakar on Monday to denounce the kidnapping of more than 200 schoolgirls in Nigeria by Islamist militants.

Members of 20 organisations who had come together near the Nigerian embassy were moved on by police after less than an hour as the protest had not been authorized, but two were allowed into the embassy to submit a letter of protest.

President Michel Suleiman said Wednesday that rival leaders should adopt an electoral vote law that is consistent with the Taef accord away from political confessionalism.

MPs should “find a law that is consistent with the Taef and does not take back (the country) to sectarian laws,” Suleiman told Lebanese expatriates in Senegal on the second day of his visit to the West African country before heading to the Ivory Coast on Thursday.

A U.S. diplomat has been charged with assault with a dangerous weapon after allegedly beating his wife while they lived in Dakar, Senegal, the Justice Department said Thursday.

The indictment against Michael Makalou, 40, was handed down Wednesday by a grand jury in Virginia. He faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

The sound may have been muted, but the fashion was not on the opening night of Dakar Fashion Week where models were forced to strut without music as organizers battled the government over copyright fees.

As the parade got underway Wednesday, an extremely fashionable three hours late, at the swanky Ozio restaurant in downtown Plateau, a gruff official with a clipboard ordered the DJ to turn off the music.

Senegal has cut diplomatic ties with Iran, accusing it of delivering weapons to separatist rebels in its restive southern Casamance region where 16 soldiers have been killed since the end of December.

A cache of Iranian weapons concealed as building material intercepted in Nigeria in October 2010, was found to be one of several shipments passing through Gambia and destined for the Casamance rebel movement.