Charles views Kenyan troops, projects
NAIROBI, Kenya -- King Charles III observed a drill by an elite unit of British-trained Kenya marines and took an interest in environmental projects in the coastal city of Mombasa on Thursday, the third day of his first state visit to a Commonwealth country as monarch.
Earlier in the visit, Charles cited the "abhorrent and unjustifiable acts of violence" committed against Kenyans as they sought independence, though he didn't explicitly apologize for Britain's actions in its former colony as many had wanted.
Charles, who holds the rank of captain general of the Royal Marines, and Queen Camilla visited the Mtongwe Naval Base in Mombasa on Thursday. The British monarch inspected an honor guard and together with Kenya's President William Ruto attended a military ceremony.
The king later visited a turtle conservation site at Nyali beach in Mombasa and saw how organizations are cleaning up the ocean and using plastic waste to make dhows, school desks and chairs.
A youth group that educates young people about marine conservation gave the king a badge recognizing him as an environmental "warrior." The king also visited a coral restoration project and fixed a coral on an artificial nursery structure that was taken out to the ocean by a boat as he watched on.
Guatemala suspends leader-elect's party
GUATEMALA CITY -- The electoral body in charge of regulating Guatemala's political groups, known as the Citizen Registry, announced the suspension Thursday of President-elect Bernardo Arévalo's Seed Movement party.
A judge had granted the party's suspension at the request of the attorney general's office back in July, shortly before Arévalo was declared the second-place finisher in the initial round of voting. But a higher court ruled that the party could not be suspended during the election cycle, which only ended Oct. 31.
Arévalo went on to win a runoff in August and is scheduled to take office in January.
However, since the original judge's order for the party's suspension remained pending, the Citizen Registry said Thursday it executed the order. Neither the party nor Arévalo immediately commented.
The attorney general's office has alleged wrongdoing in the way the party collected the necessary signatures to register years earlier. Observers say Attorney General Consuelo Porras is trying to meddle in the election to thwart Arévalo and subvert the will of the people.
The registry's spokesperson said the party cannot hold assemblies or carry out administrative procedures.
Rwanda lifts visa rules for Africans
NAIROBI, Kenya -- Rwanda announced Thursday that it will allow Africans to travel visa-free to the country, becoming the latest nation on the continent to announce such a measure aimed at boosting free movement of people and trade to rival Europe's Schengen zone.
President Paul Kagame made the announcement in the Rwandan capital, Kigali, where he pitched the potential of Africa as "a unified tourism destination" for a continent that still relies on 60% of its tourists from outside Africa, according to data from the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.
"Any African, can get on a plane to Rwanda whenever they wish and they will not pay a thing to enter our country" said Kagame during the 23rd Global Summit of the World Travel and Tourism Council.
"We should not lose sight of our own continental market," he said. "Africans are the future of global tourism as our middle class continues to grow at a fast pace in the decades to come."
Once implemented, Rwanda will become the fourth African country to remove travel restrictions for Africans. Other countries that have waived visas to African nationals are Gambia, Benin and Seychelles.
14 people held in Greek protest clash
ATHENS, Greece -- Greek authorities say 14 people were due to appear in court Thursday after their arrests during extensive clashes between members of far-right groups and participants in a counter-demonstration.
Supporters of the extreme right group Golden Dawn defied a blanket police ban on demonstrations in greater Athens late Wednesday and clashed with protesters from a rival rally led by left-wing organizations that also defied the order.
The violence around the center of Athens spilled into a train and onto a platform of the city's subway system.
Police initially detained 60 people but later released most of them. The 14 who were arrested face charges of committing public disturbance offenses.
A minister for public order said Thursday that an investigation had been launched into allegations of police brutality after an amateur video posted online appeared to show members of a motorcycle police unit repeatedly punching a detained protester on the ground.
The far-right protest was organized to mark a decade since the fatal shooting of two members of Golden Dawn, a group with Neo-Nazi origins linked to multiple street attacks that mostly targeted migrants.
Britain's King Charles III, right, speaks to Katana Ngala, left, a coral restoration officer, as they observe from the beach as the coral he planted on concrete bricks is taken out to sea during a visit to Kuruwitu Conservation Area in Kilifi, Kenya, Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023. (Luis Tato/Pool Photo via AP)
Members of the coral restoration project take the concrete blocks with coral on out to sea at the Kuruwitu Conservation Area in Kilifi, Kenya, Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023. (Luis Tato/Pool Photo via AP)
Britain's King Charles III, 2nd right, inspects the guard of honor on a visit to meet Royal Marines and Kenyan Marines at Mtongwe Naval Base, in Mombasa, Kenya, Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023. (Luis Tato/Pool Photo via AP)
Britain's King Charles III, center, meets with community elders on the beach during a visit to Kuruwitu Conservation Area in Kilifi, Kenya, Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023. (Luis Tato/Pool Photo via AP)
Britain's King Charles III, on podium left, and Kenya's President William Ruto, on podium right, attend a military welcome ceremony during his visit at the Mtongwe Naval Base in Mombasa, Kenya, Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga, Pool)
Britain's King Charles III, left, looks at an ecological garden during a visit to Kuruwitu Conservation Area in Kilifi, Kenya, Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023. (Luis Tato/Pool Photo via AP)
Britain's King Charles III, left, prepares to plant coral on a concrete block to be dropped in the sea, at the coral restoration project during a visit to Kuruwitu Conservation Area in Kilifi, Kenya, Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023. (Luis Tato/Pool Photo via AP)
Britain's King Charles III, left, plants coral on a concrete block to be dropped in the sea, at the coral restoration project during a visit to Kuruwitu Conservation Area in Kilifi, Kenya, Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023. (Luis Tato/Pool Photo via AP)
Britain's King Charles III, left, prepares to plant coral on a concrete block to be dropped in the sea, at the coral restoration project during a visit to Kuruwitu Conservation Area in Kilifi, Kenya, Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023. (Luis Tato/Pool Photo via AP)