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YAOUNDE, Cameroon (AP) — Cameroon’s President Paul Biya returned to his home country after weeks abroad amid rumors that his health is failing, a state-run television station reported Monday.

The 91-year-old president of the West African country appeared on television at the airport in the capital Yaounde, shaking hands with officials next to his wife Chantal and greeted by a cheering crowd of supporters.

“Finally, this is not a phantom, it is President Paul Piya having a lengthy discussion with government officials,” a presenter from the state-run broadcaster Cameroon Radio Television (CRTV) said.

IRBIL, Iraq (AP) — Residents of Iraq’s semi-autonomous northern Kurdish region went to the polls in long-awaited parliamentary elections Sunday under the shadow of ongoing rivalries, economic instability and unresolved disputes with Baghdad.

The primary competitors are the two dominant Kurdish parties: the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan. The two have historically controlled different parts of the region, with the KDP overseeing the regional capital, Irbil, and Dohuk and the PUK governing Sulaymaniyah.

This division has frequently led to political deadlock. The parliamentary elections, originally set for 2022, were postponed several times amid disputes over the election law and procedures.

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Newly inaugurated President Prabowo Subianto swore in Indonesia’s largest Cabinet since 1966 on Monday, with 109 members representing his pledge for a strong government.

He announced the lineup late Sunday and named his Cabinet of ministers, vice ministers and head of national agencies the “Red and White Cabinet,” referring to the colors of Indonesia’s flag.

Subianto became the eighth president of Southeast Asia’s largest economy on Sunday.

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Vietnam elected Luong Cuong, a military general, as its new president on Monday, the fourth official to fill the largely ceremonial role in 18 months.

Cuong, 67, was elected by the National Assembly to replace To Lam, who remained president even after he was formally appointed as the general secretary of the ruling Communist Party in August.

The role of the general secretary is the most powerful position in Vietnam while the presidency is mostly ceremonial and involves meeting foreign dignitaries.

SAN ANDRES LARRAINZAR, Mexico (AP) — Hundreds gathered Monday to mourn Catholic priest Marcelo Pérez, an activist for Indigenous peoples and farm laborers who was killed in the southern Mexico state of Chiapas.

It was a killing that many say was a tragedy foretold, in a state where drug cartels have caused thousands of people to flee their homes.

LIMA, Peru (AP) — Peru’s former President Alejandro Toledo on Monday was sentenced to 20 years and six months in prison in a case involving Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht, which became synonymous with corruption across Latin America, where it paid millions of dollars in bribes to government officials and others.

Authorities accused Toledo of accepting $35 million in bribes from Odebrecht in exchange for allowing the construction of a highway in the South American country. The National Superior Court of Specialized Criminal Justice in the capital, Lima, imposed the sentence after years of legal wrangling, including a dispute over whether Toledo, who governed Peru from 2001 to 2006, could be extradited from the United States.

Myanmar’s military coup leaders have urged their opponents to put down their weapons and start political dialogue, in a surprise move that was swiftly rejected.

The State Administration Council (SAC), as the military has styled itself since seizing power in February 2021, urged the ethnic armed groups and People’s Defence Forces (PDF) fighting against military rule to give up what it described as the “terrorist way” and start political dialogue.

At least 3,661 people have been killed in Haiti in the first half of this year amid the “senseless” gang violence that has engulfed the country, according to the United Nations.

The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said on Friday that the death toll between January and June – which included 100 children – showed that last year’s “high levels of violence” had been maintained.

In the early morning of September 26, Sudan’s army launched a major offensive to capture the capital Khartoum from the rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Lebanon’s Health Ministry says Israeli attacks have killed 77 so far today, as army jets continue non-stop bombardment across the country, including in the suburbs of the capital Beirut.

Israel says “more than 20” Hezbollah members were killed alongside Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah on Friday.

Egypt’s foreign minister, Badr Ahmed Mohamed Abdelaty, accused Israel of bringing the region “to the brink” and blamed only that government for not reaching a ceasefire agreement in Gaza, despite the several efforts of some countries of the region.

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel arrived in the Mexican capital on Sunday to attend the inauguration of Claudia Sheinbaum, who will be inaugurated on October 1.