Ruling blocks jailed opposition leader Sonko from running for president

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Senegal’s highest court on Friday effectively barred detained opposition leader Ousmane Sonko from running for president early next year by overturning a decision that would have reinstated him to the West African country’s voter rolls. The legal setback for the embattled politician came the same day that a West African regional court dismissed his case seeking his reinstatement. Sonko was recently returned to a Dakar jail after being hospitalized for several weeks amid a hunger strike.

Russian authorities ask to declare the LGBTQ ‘movement’ extremist

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — The Russian Justice Ministry on Friday said it has filed a lawsuit with the nation’s Supreme Court to outlaw the LGBTQ+ “international public movement” as extremist, the latest crippling blow against the already beleaguered LGBTQ+ community in the increasingly conservative country. The ministry said in an online statement announcing the lawsuit that authorities have identified “signs and manifestations of extremist nature” in “the activities of the LGBT movement active” in Russia, including “incitement of social and religious discord.” Russia’s Supreme Court has scheduled a hearing to consider the lawsuit for Nov. 30, the ministry said.

Ukrainian marines claim bridgeheads across a Russian strategic barrier

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s military said Friday its troops had secured multiple bridgeheads on the eastern bank of the Dnieper River in the Kherson region — a small but potentially significant strategic advance in the midst of a war largely at a standstill. The Marine Infantry Command’s claims were the first to come directly from the Ukrainian military about advances across one of Russia’s most significant barriers. Earlier this week, Andriy Yermak, the head of the president’s office, confirmed for the first time that Ukraine had established a foothold on the eastern side of the river.

One of Napoleon’s hats on auction in France could fetch upwards of $650,000

FONTAINEBLEAU, France (AP) — One of the signature broad, black bicorne hats that Napoleon Bonaparte wore when he ruled 19th-century France and waged war in Europe is expected to fetch upwards of 600,000 euros ($650,000) at an auction Sunday. Other history-laden items in the sale of industrialist Jean-Louis Noisiez’s collection of Napoleonic memorabilia include a silver plate looted from Napoleon’s carriage after his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. It also includes a wooden vanity case he owned, with razors, a silver toothbrush, scissors and other personal belongings.