José Eduardo dos Santos is ‘fine’ but having treatment in Spain, Angola finally says
Angola confirmed for the first time on Monday that 74-year-old President José Eduardo dos Santos, its leader of the last 38 years, was in Spain for medical reasons. Speaking on French radio station RFI, foreign minister Georges Chikoti conceded that Dos Santos had been unwell, but played down concerns about his health and refused to confirm local private media reports of a stroke. "You know that there are moments in everyone’s lives when we don’t feel well. But he is fine. He is in Spain but when he is better he will return," Chikoti said. "President Dos Santos has regular check-ups in Spain so it is perfectly normal for him to be there." Dos Santos, a Soviet-trained oil engineer and veteran of the guerrilla war against Portuguese rule, has presided over an economic boom in Africa’s second-biggest oil producer since the end of a long civil war in 2002. He left Angola at the start of May for what was officially billed as a private, two-week overseas visit. His failure to return fuell...
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