Senegal: Protests escalate after rape charge
AARON ROSS SENEGALESE police fired tear gas at protesters outside a courthouse in the capital on Friday, where an opposition leader made his first court appearance since his arrest triggered two days of demonstrations across the country. A lawyer for Ousmane Sonko said he was being charged with rape and making threats. Sonko, a 46-year-old tax inspector with a strong following among the youth, has denied wrongdoing and says accusations against him are part of a pattern by the authorities of using criminal charges to block opponents from standing in elections. Since his arrest on Wednesday, his supporters have clashed…