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Senegal-Gambia Border Talks Break up without Agreement

A first round of Senegal-Gambia talks to end a three-month border blockade has ended without agreement amid an impasse over a long-delayed bridge project, a senior advisor to Senegal's foreign minister said Monday.

"We will consult our experts about the issue of the bridge, and the next meeting will be in July," the advisor said after several hours of talks between Senegal's foreign minister Mankeur Ndiaye and his Gambian counterpart Neneh Mcdouall-Geye on Sunday.

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Gambia, Senegal Hold Border Blockade Talks

Senegal and The Gambia will hold talks on Sunday aimed at ending a three-month border blockade that has created shortages of essential daily items on both sides of the frontier.

Gambian authorities slapped a hundred-fold hike on fees for trucks entering its territory -- which is completely surrounded by Senegal -- without warning in February, infuriating Senegalese drivers who are now blockading the border.

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U.S., France Urge Cooperation against Jihadist Threat in Senegal

The French and U.S. ambassadors called for tighter regional and global cooperation to fight the threat of jihadist attacks in Senegal and the broader West Africa region in separate statements issued Tuesday.

After two successive attacks in past weeks in the capitals of Mali and Burkina Faso, Senegal's Interior Minister Abdoulaye Daouda Diallo said "the surge of terrorist groups shows the international community must fight terrorism everywhere with the same combativity."

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Senegalese Migrants Funding Transformation back Home

Many left decades ago, but for thousands of Senegalese migrants thoughts still return to home -- where they are building communities and improving lives with new mosques, hospitals and schools.

Migrants from Africa have traditionally sent money home to keep nearest and dearest afloat, but Senegalese exiles are increasingly using remittances to build the economy and create jobs in the communities they left behind.

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African Leaders Pursue Mediation Talks in Burkina after Coup

Two African leaders resumed mediation talks in the capital of Burkina Faso on Saturday, three days after a coup that reignited violence in the troubled Sahel state.

Tensions remained high in Ouagadougou, where most shops remained shuttered after a confrontation on Friday between elite troops and protesters.

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Habre Forced into Dock as Senegal War Crimes Trial Resumes

Chad's former dictator Hissene Habre was forced into the dock after refusing to attend the resumption of his trial in Senegal on Monday for war crimes and other atrocities. 

The 72-year-old -- once backed by France and the United States as a bulwark against Libya's then leader Moammar Gadhafi -- is on trial over actions under his regime from 1982 until he was ousted in 1990.

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Search for Missing Medical Plane Carrying Seven Off Senegal

An air and sea search was going on Sunday for a medical evacuation plane carrying seven people, including a French patient, which went down off the coast of Senegal.

The twin-engine aircraft flying from Burkina Faso to Dakar disappeared from radars shortly after 7 pm (1900 GMT) on Saturday over the Atlantic, 111 kilometers west of the the Senegalese capital, Senegal's civil aviation authority Anacim said in a statement.

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Trial of Chad Dictator Habre Adjourned to September 7

Former Chadian dictator Hissene Habre was forcibly brought to a court in Senegal Tuesday, where judges adjourned his trial until September 7 to let appointed lawyers prepare his defense.

Prison guards brought Habre, dressed in a white robe and turban, into the special court in the capital Dakar, an AFP reporter saw.

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Senegal Tries Ex-Chad Dictator in Test for African Justice

More than a quarter-century after his blood-soaked reign came to an end, former Chadian dictator Hissene Habre went on trial in a Senegalese court on Monday in what is seen as a test case for African justice.

Once dubbed "Africa's Pinochet", the 72-year-old has been in custody in Senegal since his arrest in June 2013 at the home he shared in an affluent Dakar suburb with his wife and children.

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Senegal to Stage 'Historic' Trial of Chadian Former Despot Habre

Chad's former dictator Hissene Habre will make history on Monday when he is tried in Senegal over his regime's brutality -- the first time a despot from one African country has been called to account by another.

Once dubbed "Africa's Pinochet", the 72-year-old has been in custody in Senegal since his arrest in June 2013 at the home he shared with his wife and children.

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