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Benin court confirms Finance Minister Romauld Wadagni’s election as next president

COTONOU, Benin (AP) — Benin ‘s Constitutional Court on Thursday confirmed the presidential election victory of Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni in the West African country’s weekend election.

Wadagni, 49, a political protege of outgoing President Patrice Talon, was declared the winner of Sunday’s election with 94.27% of the votes, with Paul Hounkpè, his opponent, garnering only 5.73%. The voter turnout was 63.57%, according to the court. The opposition candidate has five days to file any appeals before the court announces the final results.

Analysts had expected a huge win for Wadgani given the support of Talon, who is leaving office after ruling the country for 10 years. Talon has been accused of restricting the opposition leading up to the election.

Renaud Agbodjo, leader of the Democrats, the main opposition party, was not able to compete in the election after being unable to secure necessary parliamentary approval under a new law that the opposition says was designed to restrict the playing field.

Wadagni will have to confront growing insurgency in the northern region of the country. Last year, a group of soldiers mounted a failed coup attempt to overthrow Talon.

Iran attacks Bahrain and Kuwait following US strikes, threatens to end talks to end the war

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard launched drone and missile attacks Sunday targeting Bahrain and Kuwait in response to U.S. airstrikes that hit the Islamic Republic, and threatened a “complete halt” could come to negotiations to end the war if Washington continues its attacks. Efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf that once carried a fifth of the world's oil and natural gas, without Iran's direct oversight sparked the crossfire now gripping the region. A multinational maritime body overseen by the U.S. Navy said Saturday that it would expand a route near Oman in the Strait of Hormuz to allow for both inbound and outbound traffic — setting up a new flashpoint with Tehran. Iran insists it alone must govern the strait after the war, upending decades of the world considering that the strait was international waters free for all, despite its sitting in Iran and Oman's territorial waters. Tehran has twice attacked vessels going through the Oman route, backed by a United Nations agency, in recent days. Early Sunday, the U.S. military’s Central Command said it struck Iranian military “surveillance infrastructure, communication systems, air defense sites, drone storage facilities and minelayer capabilities” following an attack on a ship at sea early Saturday morning. That ship, the Panamanian-flagged tanker Kiku, carried crude oil for the state-run energy company of Qatar, a key negotiator between Iran and the United States.
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