Army rebels in the tiny West African island state of Sao Tome and Principe have declared a “junta of national salvation” after toppling the government, saying they were responding to the country’s “decline”. A man in civilian dress surrounded by armed soldiers read out the announcement on state television hours after the dawn coup, which appears to have been largely bloodless. Nigeria, the regional superpower, has condemned it along with other African states and Portugal, the former colonial power. Sao Tome and Principe, one of the world’s poorest states, is expecting a windfall from offshore oilfields due to begin producing within four years. Full Story