Abidjan, Ivory Coast | AFP | Eight West African countries Saturday agreed to change the name of their common currency to Eco and severed the CFA franc’s links to former colonial ruler France. The CFA franc was initially pegged to the French franc and has been linked to the euro …
Read More »Foreign forces in Sahel struggle with flagging public support
Bamako, Mali | AFP | If military operations depend on winning hearts and minds, the thousands of foreign troops deployed to the Sahel to combat jihadism seem to be on losing ground. At first welcomed, these troops find themselves today in the crosshairs as a growing number of locals in …
Read More »Western donors pledge over 2bn euros anti-terror aid for Africa’s Sahel
Nouakchott, Mauritania | AFP | Western donors said Thursday they have pledged 2.4 billion euros ($2.7 billion) in funding aimed at preventing terrorism and lawlessness along the southern rim of the Sahara. The updated pledge total was announced in a final statement from a donors conference held in the Mauritanian …
Read More »West African states in joint fight against root crop ‘Ebola’
Abidjan, Ivory Coast | AFP | Researchers from half a dozen states in West Africa have joined together in a battle against what one expert calls a root crop “Ebola” — a viral disease that could wreck the region’s staple food and condemn millions to hunger. Their enemy: cassava brown …
Read More »W.Africa gorillas more numerous than thought, but still endangered
Miami, United States | AFP | Gorillas and chimpanzees may be twice as numerous in West Africa as previously thought, but the apes are still endangered, declining fast and in dire need of protection, an international study found Wednesday. Prior estimates were based on nest counts taken from isolated areas …
Read More »Netanyahu woos West African leaders at Liberia summit
Monrovia, Liberia | AFP | Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday joined West African leaders at a summit in Liberia, where they hailed peacekeeping efforts in the region but warned about threats to stability. Netanyahu, who had visited east Africa in July 2016, vowed that they had “no better …
Read More »Morocco king boycotts Africa summit to avoid Netanyahu
Rabat, Morocco | AFP | Morocco’s king has cancelled plans to attend a West Africa summit this weekend in Liberia due to the presence of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the foreign ministry has said. The North African country is hoping to join the Economic Community of West African States …
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