Equatorial Guinea

A court in this West African nation convicted former British officer Simon Mann of being the key player in a 2004 coup plot and sentenced him to 34 years in prison. During his trial, Mann, 55, acknowledged that he knowingly took part in the attempt to topple the government. His lawyer, however, argued that Mann was a secondary player and not the author of the botched coup. The prosecution charged that Mann and the other plotters intended to install an exiled opposition leader in exchange for a share of the nation's oil wealth.

WEALTHY MALIBU residents may not realize it, but they have an unusual new neighbor. Mel, Cher, Barbra -- meet Teodoro, heir apparent to one of the most corrupt and repressive regimes in Africa. Earlier this year, Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangu, eldest son of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea, bought a $35-million Malibu mansion complete with ocean views, pool and a four-hole golf course.

Mark Thatcher will plead guilty to unwittingly bankrolling an alleged coup plot in oil-rich Equatorial Guinea, a person close to the family said Wednesday. Thatcher, son of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, will admit in court today that he paid for air ambulance services used by mercenaries but will maintain that he believed it was for humanitarian purposes, the source said.

The son of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher flew out of South Africa on Thursday after he pleaded guilty to charges relating to a coup attempt in the small, oil-rich African country of Equatorial Guinea. Mark Thatcher, a businessman, denied any knowledge of, or participation in planning, the coup against the government of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, but admitted he had suspicions that associates may have been plotting mercenary activities.

A Russian-made plane believed to be carrying more than 50 passengers and crew crashed in a forest in Equatorial Guinea, killing all aboard, officials said Sunday. The Antonov-32 plowed into dense woods 18 miles south of the country's capital, Malabo, on the island of Bioko, shortly after leaving the city's airport Saturday for the southern town of Bata on the mainland, Information Minister Alfonso Nsue Mokuy said. "There are no survivors.

Zimbabwe threatened to execute about 60 suspected mercenaries detained this week and accused U.S., British and Spanish spy agencies of involvement in a plot to topple Equatorial Guinea's government. Associates of the men say they are innocent mine guards swept up in a misunderstanding. Equatorial Guinea, which has arrested what it called an advance party of 15 mercenaries, said "enemy powers" and multinational companies had been plotting against it. U.S.

Equatorial Guinea's state television said it would air an interview in which a suspected mercenary confesses to involvement in a plot to topple the government. Executives at the station said it would show footage of South African suspect Nick du Toit telling the foreign minister that he had been paid by the U.S. and multinational firms to overthrow the president. The U.S. has denied any such plot.

Authorities in Zimbabwe announced Friday that more than 60 alleged mercenaries would be charged with plotting to topple the Equatorial Guinean government, but the case, with its echoes of Frederick Forsyth's "The Dogs of War," has raised more questions than answers. It is a thriller with few good guys and plenty of murky intrigue.

A federal grand jury and a Senate subcommittee are investigating the relationship between a prominent Washington bank and a tiny, oil-rich West African state. Investigators are scrutinizing hundreds of millions of dollars in accounts held at Riggs Bank by the government of Equatorial Guinea and its ruler, Brig. Gen. Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo.

Federal investigators have been looking into American oil companies' real estate dealings in Equatorial Guinea to determine whether they have improperly benefited the country's despotic ruler, according to sources familiar with the inquiries. Separate inquiries by the FBI and Congress examined the purchase of land from Brig. Gen. Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, Equatorial Guinea's president, and leases made through a firm he is believed to control.