MORONI, Comoros (AP) — The president of the Indian Ocean island nation of Comoros was "slightly injured" in a knife attack while attending the funeral of a religious leader on Friday, his office said. The suspect, who was identified as a 24-year-old male soldier, was then found dead in a police cell on Saturday.
President Azali Assoumani's injuries were not serious and he had returned to his home, his office said in a statement. It said the attacker was arrested by security forces and was taken into custody, but authorities said he had been discovered a day later “unresponsive” in a cell where he was being held and was declared dead.
The suspect was identified as Ahmed Abdou. Public prosecutor Ali Mohamed Djounaid said Abdou had attacked Assoumani with a kitchen knife at the funeral. A civilian was also injured during the attack while attempting to protect the president, government minister Aboubacar Said Anli said.
The attack happened in the town of Salimani on the outskirts of the capital Moroni.
"The president’s security agents immediately subdued the young man and handed him over to investigators,” public prosecutor Djounaid told reporters. He said an investigation was underway into the attacker's motive and the circumstances of his death while in custody.
Assoumani was reelected as president of Comoros in January in a vote denounced by opposition parties as fraudulent. At least one person died in unrest following the election. The country, which is made up of an archipelago of islands off the east coast of Africa, has experienced more than a dozen coups or attempted coups since independence from France in 1975.
Assoumani, 65, is a former military officer who first came to power in a coup in 1999. He served a first term as president from 2002 - 2006 and was elected again in 2016.
He has been the leader since and extended his presidency into a fourth term this year after changing the constitution to remove term limits and abolishing a system that saw the presidency rotated between Comoros' three main islands. He has been accused of cracking down on dissent and banning peaceful protests.
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FILE - Comoros' President Azali Assoumani waves as he is escorted by Chinese officials upon arrival at the Beijing Capital International Airport, in Beijing, on Sept. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, Pool, File)
NEW YORK (AP) — Marcel Hug's three-year streak as New York Marathon men's wheelchair champion is over after Daniel Romanchuk won the race on Sunday.
The Swiss star, nicknamed the Silver Bullet, had won 16 straight marathons, including a gold medal at this year's Paris Paralympics. He also won the Chicago Marathon a few weeks ago.
Susannah Scaroni won the women’s wheelchair race by blowing past the field. It was her second time winning, also taking the 2022 race.
It's the first time in the history of the race that both the men's and women's wheelchair events were won by Americans.
Hug became the first para-racer to win the Abbott World Marathon Majors series title by coming first in all six marathons last year — Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York.
The 38-year-old Hug was in the lead pack Sunday heading into Manhattan before falling off the pace. Romanchuk said a pothole on First Ave. caused some issues for some of the competitors.
It then became a three-man race between Romanchuk, David Weir and Tomoki Suzuki. The trio came into the last mile within a second of each other before Romanchuk, who also won this race in 2018 and 2019, pulled away to win in 1 hour, 36 minutes, 31 seconds.
“I know most of the other racers pretty well, really just try and completely empty the tank for the final mile,” Romanchuk said. “It's amazing.”
Weir, who was runner up in 2021 as well as winning the title in 2010, finished 5 seconds behind. Suzuki was third at 1:36.43.
Hug finished fourth, 3:38 behind the winner.
Scaroni beat another American, Tatyana McFadden, winning the race by more than 10 minutes in 1:48.05.
“Always so special to be here in New York City,” Scaroni said. “I woke up feeling great today, never take it for granted. Coming up the last hill we had a tailwind today. So I had a little more energy then I normally do at that hill.”
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A competitor in the men's wheelchair division makes his way across the Verrazzano Narrows Bridge during the New York City Marathon, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Tomoki Suzuki, center, of Japan, pushes off at the start of men's wheelchair dividing during the New York City Marathon, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)
Tomoki Suzuki, center, of Japan, pushes off at the start of men's wheelchair dividing during the New York City Marathon, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)