Niger closes airspace as deadline to reinstate president passes

News Snapshot:

Niger closed its airspace on Sunday until further notice, citing the threat of military intervention from a regional bloc after coup leaders rejected a deadline to reinstate the country’s ousted president. “In the face of the threat of intervention that is becoming more apparent … Nigerien airspace is closed effective from today,” a junta representative said in a statement on national television on Sunday evening. He said there had been a pre-deployment of forces in two central African countries in preparation for an intervention, but did not give details. “Niger’s armed forces and all our defence and security forces, backed...