Black revolt

IN coup-prone Africa the safest rulers are normally those with the cachet of being the "historic leader" of the revolutionary movement that gained the country its independence. But this was not enough to save Guinea-Bissau's leader, President Luiz Cabral. He was overthrown on November 14th by his prime minister, Major Joao Bernardo Vieira, in a near-bloodless coup. Mr Cabral was one of the founders of the African Independence party, the PAIGC, which fought the Portuguese both in Guinea-Bissau and in the nearby Cape Verde islands, and he was the half-brother of its leader, Amilcar Cabral, who was assassinated in 1973. When Portugal recognised Guinea-Bissau's independence in September, 1974, Mr Cabral became the new state's natural leader.