Was just informed a coup is underway in Niger. No links, just a text mssg...

[LanternWaste]

"Breaking News! Coup d'etat in Niger happing as I type. No news on the net yet; can't get calls through to Niger. Standing by for news...."

That is all the info I received, ans was time stamped as of 23 minutes ago. Take it for what it's worth. (She lives there working for a humanitarian org)

[Nuclear Unicorn]

Oh my.

I hope that nice prince I've been helping out has been able to move all his money out of the country in time.

[Robb]

1. link here:

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601116&sid=anPl2GpKmJvw

[FBaggins]

2. More.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601116&sid=anPl2GpKmJvw

Feb. 18 (Bloomberg) -- A coup attempt is underway in Niger, Agence France-Presse reported, citing an unidentied senior French official.

Niger President Mamadou Tandja is “not in a good position,” the news service cited the official as saying. Several loud explosions and bursts of automatic gunfire were heard in the capital, Niamey, AFP said, citing witnesses.

On edit - much better article-

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/niger/7264248/Coup-attempt-launched-in-Niger.html

[Warpy]

3. According to the rumor mill (Twitter)

your friend is correct: http://twitter.com/#search?q=Niger

[TacoD]

4. Several outlets are reporting

http://news.google.com/news/more?pz=1&cf=all&cf=all&ncl=de1p4roIMUMbRvMPF20LkQ1LaHhZM

[ck4829]

5. When a President acts like a king in other countries, he gets overthrown

In our country, he either gets everything named after him or people put up billboards saying "Miss me yet?"

[Bill219]

8. +1

[MUAD_DIB]

15. To be fair if a US president today tried to run and be seated for a third term you might see

something different than just mild protest.

[Voltaire]

16. Wanna bet?

nt

[muriel_volestrangler]

6. A little more from a Bloomberg story:

Tandja, 71, dissolved parliament in May and assumed emergency powers after the Constitutional Court rejected his call for a referendum to change the constitution. In July, Tandja disbanded the court after it ruled a third time against his plans to serve a third term. Government spokesman Kassoum Moctar’s mobile phone was switched off when Bloomberg News called seeking comment.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601116&sid=aMwtKI5JEFmw

[SidDithers]

7. Was is accompanied by a request to help move money out of the country?...nt

Sid

[muriel_volestrangler]

9. BBC: President 'held by soldiers'

Page last updated at 15:12 GMT, Thursday, 18 February 2010

Niger President Mamadou Tandja and his cabinet are being held by soldiers after gun battles in the capital, a government source has told the BBC.

Gunfire broke out around the presidential palace at about 1300 local time and continued for 30 minutes, says the BBC's Idy Baraou in Niamey.
...
An unnamed senior French official told AFP a coup attempt was under way.
...
Soldiers captured Mr Tandja while he was chairing his weekly cabinet meeting, the government source said.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/8522227.stm

[Don Caballero]

10. Awesome! Power to the People!

This has been brewing for some time now. Let's hope the new leadership brings change.

[Joanne98]

11. Here's some wikipedia info

On 26 May, within hours of the Constitutional Court's statement, official media read out a statement that President Tandja had dissolved the National Assembly.<44> Under the 1999 Constitution he is allowed to do this once every two years,<45> but he must call parliamentary elections within three months. This would mean the government of Niger would carry out scheduled parliamentary elections in September, two months early, and a referendum on a new constitution before presidential elections which can take place no later than December, assuming the 1999 constitution is in effect.

Following a ruling by the Constitutional Court, this time binding, that the referendum could not go ahead, the President released a statement on 21 June saying he would forgo the referendum, at least for the near future. But on 24 June he released a further statement, dmanding the court reverse its ruling. This was immediately (the 25th) followed by a previously postponed one day general strike by seven labor confederations, and the abandonment of his government by the CDS-Rahama party of Mahamane Ousmane.<46>

On 27 June, President Tandja announced he was suspending the government and would rule by decree.<47> On 27 June, the leader of the main opposition part, Mahamadou Issoufou, denounced what he called a coup, and called on Nigeriens to resist by all legal means, citing Article 13 of the 1999 Constitution which mandates officials to ignore "manifestly illegal orders".<48>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tandja_Mamadou

[piratefish08]

12. must be time to assemble a team of US War Profiteers to fly in and spread some democracy.....

[Liberal Gramma]

13. Does this mean they won't be wiring my lottery winnings to me?

[muriel_volestrangler]

14. Just to cut off even more 'jokes', this is Niger, not Nigeria

Now, it's not impossible that someone has at sometime received a hoax from Niger; but Niger is a landlocked country that used to be a French colony. The country infamous for hoax emails is Nigeria, an ex-British colony to the south, which is quite different (eg has a coastline, a large oil industry, and a population of 10 times as many - about 150 million as opposed to 15 million for Niger).

And the jokes are getting a bit repetitive in this thread, people.