West Africa

Cotton production is in free fall in Mali. The former African fiber champion is expected to harvest a quarter of what he produced last year. The poor textile economy associated with Covid-19 is not the only reason. It will be one of the worst cotton crops in Mali's history. Less than 80,000 tons of fiber compared to nearly…

In tonight's edition: Nigeria started the month celebrating six decades of self-government. We look back at the watershed moments that led up to and followed the African giant's independence from Britain. Also, Cameroon's sand divers risk their lives to plunge into the Sanago River in search of sand for the construction industry, and we visit one of Algeria's open secrets in hopes of getting away from…

In Mali, the Charter, which will organize the transition for the next 18 months, was published in the Official Journal of the European Union on Thursday 1 October. The document takes into account a significant demand from ECOWAS, subject to the transitional chairman, Colonel Assimi Goïta, leader of the junta. Unlike an earlier version of the Transition Charter, the one published in the Official Journal of the European Union on Thursday does not mention that the Vice President can assume the functions of President of the…

Nigeria became independent from Britain on October 1, 1960, and today has Africa's largest economy. FRANCE 24's Nicolas Germain looks at how the newly independent state was soon entangled in a devastating civil war in the eastern Biafra region that would claim nearly two million lives. Africa's most populous nation became…

This report documents the responsibility of the Security Forces to suppress demonstrations against constitutional reforms. Movements that have killed at least 50 people a year, according to Amnesty International, which shows a number of killings of protesters and arbitrary arrests. This study focuses in particular on the demonstrations that took place in March last year, on the sidelines of the legislative and referendum polls in March last year. According to Amnesty, defense and security forces used firearms illegally in…

The month of October has arrived with a series of news for the Afro Club, whose hit of turntables consists this week of Nutty O, Vegedream & Tayc, P. James, Mr. Leo, AliKiba, Wizkid & HERE and finally Yaknou. In Nigeria, Wizkid explodes the counters with the single Smile as a prelude to his album Made in Lagos. It is on September 16 that Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun alias Wizkid set fire to the net by announcing the upcoming arrival of his new album Made In Lagos. Previously expected until July 16, Wizkid suffered a…

The institutional crisis has run a little deeper in Côte d'Ivoire with the decision of the second deputy chair of the Independent Electoral Commission (CEI), Alain Dogou, of the FPI, to suspend its activities within the central body of the institution. It is the same for Yapi Yapo Daudet (LMP, League for the Movement for Progress), representative of the opposition within the CEI Central Commission. It's a new battle for CEI who sees its legitimacy crumble even more and its function seizes upon. Of the four seats allocated…

Having verified that no action has been taken by the investigating judge, in the sense of extending their mandate, the law is clear in the case, we can not detain defendants, citizens, without any legal title or judicial. Therefore, we issued a press release, which certainly got their statutory release. However, we can say that we are half satisfied, because today our customers are free from their movements, but on the other hand, what is to be regretted is not necessary in a state governed by the rule of law, in a…

The presidential campaign on October 18 opened two weeks ago amid a climate of concern after months of tension caused by the inclusion of the established Alpha Condé for a controversial third term. In Labé then in Dalaba, the convoy of the Prime Minister, campaign director of Condé, Kassory Fofana, was thrown from stone, the government said in a statement. What the UFDG, the main opposition party for Cellou Dalein Diallo, denies. Right in his shoes, Security Minister Albert Damantang Camara says the procession of Prime…

Appointed Prime Minister of Mali on Sunday 27 September, Moctar Ouane has two immediate goals. The first is the formation of a government of national unity with even hope of seeing the participation of representatives of the armed groups involved in the peace process. The second is to achieve, with the support of the interim president, Ba N'Daw, the lifting of the embargo imposed by the West African Economic Community (ECOWAS) on Mali. To lift the embargo against Mali, the phone works a lot these days between Accra and…