South Sudan

Editor arrested, activists report

JUBA — Activists say South Sudanese authorities have arrested a prominent journalist over an article he wrote supporting calls for the United Nations to send more peacekeepers to the country to protect civilians. The East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project accused National Security Service agents of arresting Alfred Taban, the editor-in-chief of the Juba Monitor newspaper, on Saturday afternoon. Edmund Yakani, executive director of the Juba-based Community Empowerment for Progress Organization, which monitors harassment of journalists in South Sudan, confirmed the arrest. (AP)

Panama

Noriega scheduled for brain surgery

PANAMA CITY — Imprisoned former Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega is scheduled to have a benign brain tumor surgically removed. Noriega’s doctor, Eduardo Reyes, said a neurologist has scheduled the surgery for Thursday. Reyes said Saturday that representatives of the 82-year-old Noriega are requesting he be allowed to prepare for surgery at home to avoid infection. In May, Reyes and Noriega’s daughter Thays said the tumor had grown significantly and would require surgery. (AP)

Rwanda

Sudanese president defies warrant

KIGALI — Sudan’s president, Omar al-Bashir, arrived in Rwanda Saturday to attend a summit of African leaders, defying an international warrant for his arrest after public assurances from Rwandan leaders that he would not be arrested. The African Union summit on Sunday is expected to discuss the continent’s uneasy relationship with the International Criminal Court, which some say unfairly targets Africans. Ahead of the summit, some African countries renewed their efforts to quit the ICC en masse . Bashir is wanted by the ICC for alleged atrocities in the country’s Darfur region. (AP)