Former French mercenary Bob Denard has appeared in court accused – along with 26 others – of staging a coup attempt in the Comoros Islands in 1995. The 76-year-old, who is suffering from Alzheimer’s, is to be tried in absentia after the opening of the trial in Paris because of his illness. The defendants are accused of criminal conspiracy during the coup in the tiny Indian Ocean nation. The coup was ended within several days by French troops. Full Story