A solo trip to Senegal, Sierra Leone and beyond Tom Ford gets a West African welcome on a four-month solo trip Evening Standard · Mar 22, 2023
Jeffery Woodke: American aid worker held hostage for six years in Niger is freed An American aid worker held by Islamic extremists in West Africa for more than six years and a French journalist abducted almost two years ago were both freed on Monday. Evening Standard · Mar 20, 2023
French, US hostages released after years of captivity in West Africa French journalist Olivier Dubois was hugged by emotional reporters at a briefing in Niger on Monday announcing the release of him and U.S. aid worker Jeffery Woodke who had been held hostage in West Africa for years by Islamist militants. Reuters · Mar 20, 2023
US citizen held by terrorist network freed in West Africa An American man who was held hostage in West Africa has been released after more than six years in captivity, the White House said Monday. Tribune News Service · Mar 20, 2023
Meet the sargassum belt, a 5,000-mile-long snake of seaweed circling Florida Since 2011, a fleet of seaweed patches double the size of the contiguous U.S. has cycled from West Africa to Florida, threatening beaches from Martinique to Miami. This year, it could grow bigger. WEKU · Mar 15, 2023
US trains West African militaries as jihadi threat spreads As extremist violence in West Africa’s Sahel region spreads south toward coastal states, the United States military has launched its annual military training exercise which will help armies contain the jihadi threat The Independent UK · Mar 10, 2023
France eyes Ivory Coast after Burkina Faso boots out French troops France's defence minister pledged on Monday to boost military support to Ivory Coast, as Paris adjusts its strategy in West Africa after neighbouring Burkina Faso ordered French troops to leave and vowed to curb a worsening Islamist insurgency solo. Reuters · Feb 20, 2023
Holy trinity The banjo is a key instrument in Western folk music -- from US bluegrass to Irish trad -- and over the past 20 years, research into the roots of this three-stringed instrument have revealed its west African lute origins, with two instruments, the ngoni and the ekonting, now understood to… Bangkok Post · Feb 13, 2023
Pope Francis slams 'brutal atrocities' committed in DR Congo In tonight's edition: The pope consoles Congolese victims of atrocities from the country's volatile east as he welcomes them in Kinshasa on the second day of his trip. Also, the trafficking of medical products in the Sahel is on the rise and costing lives, according to a UN report. Finally,… France 24 · Feb 1, 2023
Four West African nations get $311 million from World Bank for renewables The World Bank has signed an agreement with four West and Central African nations worth $311 million to fund renewable energy projects. Reuters · Feb 1, 2023
Commentary: Why the Wagner Group’s influence in West Africa is growing France has waged a counterterrorism campaign in the small West African country of Burkina Faso since 2018. But on Jan. 20, hundreds of protesters in the capital city of Ouagadougou waved Russian flags and demanded the French army’s ouster. Days later, the country’s military government told the French to leave… Chicago Tribune · Jan 27, 2023
Nigeria bets on Chinese-funded port to drive economic growth Nigeria's president has marked the opening of a $1.5 billion, Chinese-funded deep seaport in the commercial hub of Lagos that authorities hope will help grow the West African nation’s ailing economy The Independent UK · Jan 24, 2023
Who invented jollof rice? Senegal beats Ghana and Nigeria to the title The authorship – and therefore origins – of jollof rice (called ceebu jën in Senegal according to the Wolof spelling) is the subject of a spicy debate between West African nations. In particular, Senegalese, Nigerians and Ghanaians claim ownership. And each believes their recipe surpasses all others. The Conversation · Jan 18, 2023
French and German FMs in Ethiopia to support Tigray peace process In tonight's edition: The foreign ministers of France and Germany head to Ethiopia to show support for the deal upon which rest hopes of peace after two years of conflict with Tigray rebels. Also, record temperatures are making life harder for millions around the world. We hear from those in… France 24 · Jan 13, 2023
The Guardian - UK · Jan 10, 2023 C of E’s historic slavery fund – worth £100m but how far will it stretch across communities? Clerical leaders hope for ‘lasting legacy’ to serve places affected by past slavery trade, but fund may spread thinly across all of west Africa and Caribbean
Al Jazeera · Dec 31, 2022 How Ghana, Africa’s rising star, ended up in economic turmoil The West African nation is a major cocoa and gold exporter, so why is it battling its worst economic crisis in decades?
Radio France Internationale · Dec 30, 2022 Kora virtuoso Sona Jobarteh bucks West Africa gender trend The kora – a stringed instrument that combines the features of a lute and a harp – is traditionally reserved for men in West Africa, but that hasn't stopped British-Gambian artist Sona Jobarteh from carving out her own place alongside its greatest players.
The Independent UK · Dec 28, 2022 Jihadi violence hits Benin, shows spread across West Africa Violence linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group, which has wracked much of West Africa’s inland Sahel region for more than seven years, is spreading to the region's coastal states and Benin is the hardest hit
Radio France Internationale · Dec 25, 2022 African Biennale of Photography in Mali defends culture despite difficulties Despite a security crisis in the West Africa and Sahel regions, Covid-19, and diplomatic tensions with France, organisers of the African Biennale of Photography have managed to put on the Pan-African exhibition in Bamako, Mali in the spirit of resilience and resistance.
Al Jazeera · Dec 22, 2022 The good, bad, and the ugly: West Africa’s big issues in 2022 A recap of top issues in West Africa in 2022, including heated political campaigns and armed groups gaining ground.
The Independent UK · Dec 21, 2022 Chance the Rapper to bring free concert, festival to Ghana Chance the Rapper took a trip to the Motherland that ultimately birthed an idea of creating a free concert marrying music and art in West Africa
Inverse · Dec 17, 2022 How Amazon's 'Nanny' fixes the problem of "exotic" horror tropes The biggest scares in Nikyatu Jusu's eerie horror film work because of their West African origins.
The Independent UK · Dec 16, 2022 UN: Thousands in West, Central Africa could face starvation A United Nations official has warned that more than 25,000 people could face starvation in conflict-plagued parts of West Africa next year
Al Jazeera · Dec 15, 2022 Ebola vaccines produced lasting antibodies during trial: Studies Studies in West Africa said the vaccines developed by Johnson & Johnson and Merck & Co appear to be safe in children.
Reuters · Dec 14, 2022 Africa's food crisis is the biggest yet – five reasons why In October, Nadifa Abdi Isak brought her malnourished daughters to hospital in Mogadishu. That day, a nurse said, 42 other children had already been checked into the emergency unit, ravaged by hunger. There were 57 the day before that.