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☆ Stonebwoy draws inspiration from Bob Marley at Tuff Gong Studios to unite the Black diaspora
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-29 | by ( Lauren Lee | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The session was the Ghanaian’s first visit to Bob Marley’s iconic Tuff Gong Studio. I feel like I’m surrounded by the spirits of those who built here.”“Once upon a time, Bob Marley was probably sitting in the same spot that I am sitting in,” he added. Bob Marley performs onstage during a concert in Stockholm, Sweden, in the late 1970s. Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Global CitizenUniting the Black diaspora through musicFrom Afrobeats to reggae, Stonebwoy has worked with musicians including Rick Ross, Beanie Man, Shaggy, Keri Hilson, Russ, Davido, and Angelique Kidjo, shining brightest when mentoring emerging artists. Until then, he has his eyes set on making sure the sounds of the Black diaspora continue to dominate worldwide.

Persons: CNN —, Stonebwoy, Shaggy, Sean Paul, Wyclef Jean, Bob Marley, Yohan Marley, Bob Marley’s, ”, riffing, Livingstone Etse Satekla, Ghana's Stonebwoy, ” Stonebwoy, “, Stonebwoy’s, Jemal Countess, Rick Ross, Beanie, Keri Hilson, Russ, Davido, Angelique Kidjo, Rihanna, Taylor Swift, Odumodublvck Organizations: CNN, Island Music Conference, Gong, Tuff Gong, Tuff Gong Studios, Global Citizen Festival, Getty, Global Citizen, BHIM, Burniton Music Locations: Ghanaian, Jamaica, Kingston, ”, Ghana, Africa, Caribbean, West African, Stockholm, Sweden, Hulton, Accra

☆ Spring equinox: First day of spring arrives
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-19 | by ( Forrest Brown | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The spring equinox will arrive exactly at 3:06 UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) on Wednesday, March 20, according to EarthSky. Click here to look up the exact moment of the spring equinox where you’re located. Spring equinox has another nameIf you ever hear anyone say “vernal equinox,” it means the same thing. Zhang Xiaoyu/Xinhua News Agency/Getty ImagesIn Japan, Vernal Equinox Day is a public holiday (on Wednesday, March 20, this year). In China, trying to stand an egg upright is a popular game during the spring equinox, according to VisitBeijing.com.

Persons: Tuesday •, •, • Chiang Mai, David Silverman, Alex Pena, It’s, you’ve, it’s, Hugo Borges, Itzá, El Castillo, Zhang Xiaoyu, ” Organizations: CNN, Tuesday, United, Southern, Anadolu Agency, Getty, NASA, Northern Hemisphere, Northern, Southern Hemisphere, National Weather Service, Heritage, Xinhua News Agency Locations: • Anchorage, Alaska, Vegas ( Nevada, Tuesday • Guadalajara, Mexico, Chicago, Illinois, Toronto, Canada, Jacksonville, Florida, Halifax, • Dublin, Ireland, Accra, Ghana, • Berlin, Germany, • Alexandria, Egypt, • Ankara, Turkey, • Dubai, United Arab Emirates, • Mumbai, India, Thailand, • Hong Kong, • Tokyo, Japan, Stellenbosch , South Africa, Northern, South, Quito, Ecuador, Singapore, San Andrés, Zapotitán, El Salvador, Pole, Scandinavia, Itzá, Yucatan State, AFP, England, Malta, Yoyogi, Tokyo, Vernal, Persian, China

☆ Ghana: In deciding on anti-gay law, president is caught between a rock and a hard place
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-14 | by ( David Mckenzie | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Sam George, the driving force behind Ghana’s harsh anti-LGBTQ legislation, portrays himself as a guardian of gay Ghanaians. Making inequality legalWhatever its origins, the bill’s passage is terrible news for LGBTQ Ghanaians. “The sentiment and emotion we are expressing right now is sadness,” said Alex Kofi Donkor, the founder of LGBT+ Rights in Ghana, an advocacy group. On one side, you have politicians like George and a broadly conservative citizenry that will publicly goad the president to act. For Ghana’s president, navigating this intricate political landscape looks set to be a daunting – and unenviable – task.

Persons: Sam George, “, ”, It’s, ” George, George, Alex Kofi Donkor, Nana Akufo, it’s, Ghana’s Organizations: CNN, Rights, Ghana’s Ministry, Finance, Bank Financing, Monetary Fund, Bank, US State Department, Ministry of Finance Locations: Accra, Ghana, United States, Uganda, Ghanaian, “ Ghana, State

☆ ‘Born to Play’: How the NFL put Ghana at the heart of one of the Super Bowl’s biggest commercials
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-13 | by ( Jack Bantock | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

There, the inspiration for the commercial – two-time Super Bowl champion Osi Umenyiora – awaited to greet the youngster, played by Eldad Osime. NFL“That’s the most important Super Bowl commercial that they have in terms of the NFL,” Umenyiora told CNN. It’s really exciting.”Home truthsIn a poll of over 160,000 conducted by USA Today, “Born to Play” ranked fifth of the 59 commercials shown during Super Bowl LVIII. “But I think that attitude is changing now.”Umenyiora (left) celebrates his second Super Bowl victory with teammate Devin Thomas after the Giants defeated the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI in 2012. “This campaign shows young people globally that it doesn’t matter where you were born, but you were born to play.”

Persons: Usher, hurtling, Saquon Barkley, Justin Jefferson, Cameron Jordan, Jeremiah Owusu, Koramoah, Eldad Osime, Africa –, –, NFL “, ” Umenyiora, ”, Andrew Dosunmu, Jay, Jay Okocha, Rashidi, Hakeem “, ” Olajuwon, Umenyiora, “, they’re, Devin Thomas, Rob Carr Organizations: CNN, NFL, Camp, New York Giants, end’s, USA, “, Super Eagles, Giants, New England Patriots, Super, ”, National Football League Locations: Las Vegas, Accra, British, Africa, Lagos, Ghana, London, Anambra, Ogbunike, Nigeria, America, Canada, North America

☆ With a low cocoa supply, this Valentine’s Day chocolate prices are up
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-12 | by ( John Towfighi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Rising cocoa prices aren’t the only concern for customers this Valentine's Day. Last Thursday, Hershey Co. said it would cut 5% of its workforce after historic cocoa prices and inflation-weary consumers dampened fourth quarter earnings. “And it looks like it’s not necessarily going to subside anytime soon.”The Supreme Valentine’s Day SweetRoughly 92% of Americans say they plan to share chocolate and candy for Valentine’s Day this year, according to the National Confectioners Association. In 2023, Valentine’s Day chocolate and candy sales exceeded $4 billion, the NCA says. Issaka said that while high demand and low supply raise prices, cocoa farmers are getting squeezed.

Persons: ”, Michele Buck, Billy Roberts, ” Roberts, Lindsey Nicholson, Marnie Ives, Ives, ” Ives, “ It’s, Karl Schneider, Roberts’s, Issifu, Issaka, ” Issaka, “ I’m, Cote, Will Kletter, Sabi Ibarra Guerrero, Uwe Gneiting, Gneiting, Joke Aerts, Aerts, ” Aerts, Sia Kambou, Price, Tony’s, “, they’ve, CNN’s Eva Rothenberg Organizations: CNN, Hershey Co, National Confectioners Association, NCA, Cocoa, Oxfam America, Getty, Fairtrade, Cote d’Ivoire, “ Locations: West Africa, North America, Manhattan, Queens , New York, Neck, NY, Bloomfield , NJ, Ghana, North Region, Cote d’Ivoire, Silicon, Africa, Accra, Cote, Hermankono, AFP

ACCRA, Ghana (AP) — Seven royal artifacts looted 150 years ago by British colonial forces from Ghana’s ancient Asante kingdom and kept by a United States museum have been returned and presented to the kingdom on Thursday, the latest of a series of stolen treasured items being repatriated to several African countries. After decades of resistance from European and Western governments and museums, the efforts of African countries to repatriate stolen artifacts are paying off with the increasing return of treasured pieces. That was when four of the items were looted while the other three were part of an indemnity payment made by the Asante kingdom to the British, the museum said. All seven items are being returned unconditionally and permanently though the kingdom allowed their replicas to be made, the museum added. “And ever since, as a kid, I had the vision that one day we shall have all these artifacts back to our Asante nation.”

Persons: Otumfuo Osei Tutu, Asante, ”, Kwasi Ampene, Silvia Forni, Samuel Opoku Acheampong, Acheampong Organizations: United, Fowler Museum, University of California, Asante Locations: ACCRA, Ghana, United States, British, Los Angeles, Asanteman, Ghana’s, Kumasi, Asante

☆ Coup juntas threaten to quit West Africa bloc: Here’s what it means for the region — and Russia
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

ACCRA, Ghana - ECOWAS flag with member flags at the second extraordinary summit on the political situation in Burkina Faso, in Accra, Ghana, on February 3, 2022. OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso - Jan. 20, 2023: A banner of Russian President Vladimir Putin is seen during a protest to support the Burkina Faso President Captain Ibrahim Traore and to demand the departure of France's ambassador and military forces. Mali has ruled out leaving WAEMU, while Burkina Faso is considering it. "Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger will likely draw on the extractive sector to improve their weak economies. A recent UN Development Programme report surveyed 5,000 people who had directly experienced a recent coup or unconstitutional change of government, including citizens of Burkina Faso, Chad, Guinea, Mali and Sudan.

Persons: NIPAH DENNIS, Bola Tinubu, Vladimir Putin, Captain Ibrahim Traore, Alex Vines, there'd, Tinubu, Ouattara, —, Vines, Mucahid Durmaz, Verisk Maplecroft, Durmaz, Balima Boureima, insurgencies, Wagner, Niger, specter, Mohamed Bazoum, Rey Byhre Organizations: Getty, Economic, West African States, ECOWAS, Nigerian, Africa, Chatham House, CNBC, Algeria —, West, Cote D'Ivoire, Anadolu Agency, Getty Images, Wagner Group, West African Economic, Monetary Union, CFA, National Council for, UN Locations: ACCRA, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Accra, AFP, Mali, Niger, Sahel, Mauritania, OUAGADOUGOU, Chatham, France, Nigeria, Côte d'Ivoire, Algeria, Malian, Russia, Bamako, Mucahid, West Africa, Togo, Benin, Cote, NIAMEY, NIGER, Niamey, West, U.S, Moscow, WAEMU, Seme, Chad, Guinea, Sudan, The Gambia, Tanzania, Kati

☆ Exploring Ghana, With Contemporary Art as a Guide
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-05 | by ( Grace Linden | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In late 2022, I was invited to go to Ghana with a friend researching work by the Ghanaian artist Ibrahim Mahama, who first made a splash at the 56th Venice Biennale in 2015. We were going to Ghana to learn about the context of his work and also to understand the emerging contemporary art scene in the country. Over the past few decades, the art world has opened up beyond Europe and North America to create a more globalized market. In recent years artists like Mr. Mahama, and the fellow Ghanaians El Anatsui and Amoako Boafo have risen to prominence. We wanted to learn how that attention had affected contemporary art in Ghana.

Persons: Ibrahim Mahama, Mahama, El, Amoako Organizations: Venice Biennale, of Art, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Locations: Ghana, Ghanaian, Venice, Europe, North America, Accra, Kumasi, Ashanti Kingdom, Tamale

☆ J.K. Bruce Vanderpuije: The hidden icon of African photography
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-23 | by ( Zoe Whitfield | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Later, he trained with J.A.C Holm (another Ghana-based photographer) for three years before establishing his own studio aged just 23. This subject of this image of Miss Ghana taken in 1958 was identified by her grown-up children. J. K. Bruce Vanderpuije/Courtesy Deo Gratias Studio/Efie Gallery“Once, a photographer from South Africa visited and said, ‘You guys are sitting on a goldmine,’” she explained. With a shift in new technologies and the way we interact with photography evolving, however, Tamakloe acknowledged that most people now look elsewhere for their mementos. “People do come and have passport pictures taken, but it’s not as busy as it used to be,” she said.

Persons: J.K, Bruce, Vanderpuije, ” Kate Tamakloe, “, ”, Kwame Nkrumah, Bruce Vanderpuije, Tamakloe, rectifying, Aïda Muluneh, ” Muluneh, James Kobla, J.A.C Holm, — Isaac Hudson Bruce, ‘, ’ ”, “ I’m, Seth Anthony, Kojo Ababio, Deo Gratias, we’re, it’s Organizations: CNN, Albert Museum, Efie, Accra Royal School, Miss, Miss Ghana Locations: London, Ghanaian, Victoria, Ghana, Britain, Accra's Jamestown, Jamestown, Accra, —, Dubai, Africa, British, Miss Ghana, South Africa, Ethiopia, West Africa

☆ 14 Dream Vacation Looks That Will Inspire Your Next Packing List
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-02 | by ( Photography Campbell Addy For Wsj. Magazine | Styling Jessica Willis | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

14 Dream Vacation Looks That Will Inspire Your Next Packing ListGhanaian-British photographer Campbell Addy captures chic and easy pieces to match the beauty of Ghana’s capital, Accra, and its striking surroundings

Persons: Campbell Addy Organizations: Ghanaian Locations: British, Accra

☆ Pirelli calendar 2024: Idris Elba and Angela Bassett headline ‘Timeless’ show of Black excellence
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Tom Page | Alex Rees | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Supermodel Naomi Campbell holds time in her hand in a backstage image from the 2024 Pirelli calendar photoshoot. The 50th edition of the prestigious calendar is photographed by Ghanaian Prince Gyasi, the first Black photographer to receive the commission. Alessandro Scotti Gyasi directs actor Angela Bassett for the 2024 Pirelli calendar. Alessandro Scotti Gyasi (back to camera) frames his subjects, including artist Amoako Boafo (center). Alessandro Scotti Film director Jeymes Samuel receives an eye test and some direction from Gyasi during the Pirelli calendar photoshoot.

Persons: Prince Gyasi, Idris Elba, Angela Bassett, Pirelli, Naomi Campbell, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, Ghana’s Asante, Marcel Desailly, Amanda Gorman, Margot Lee Shetterly, Gyasi, “ I’m, It’s, ’ ”, “, Dali, ”, Ghanaian Prince Gyasi, Alessandro Scotti Idris Elba, Gysai, Alessandro Scotti Gyasi, Bassett, Oscar, Alessandro Scotti, Amoako Boafo, Desailly, Nana Osei Tutu II, Asante, Jeymes Samuel, Alessandro Scotti Angela Bassett, Alessandro Scotti Pirelli, wasn’t, ” Gyasi Organizations: CNN, Pirelli, Puma, Balmain, GQ, Alessandro Scotti Idris Elba braves, Alessandro Scotti Former France Locations: Elba, France, Ghanaian, Accra, Ghana, West Africa, Morocco, Tunisia, Botswana, Seychelles, Gyasi

The rural site had patients screened, tested and enrolled within a week. Testing remained a problem: only private laboratories offered the viral load tests that are necessary to track hepatitis treatment, and they charged several hundred dollars per test. Mr. Musah first began to feel ill as a high school student living in a small town in the north. After hundreds of dollars in tests, he was finally given a hepatitis diagnosis — but was told he would need a specialty hospital to help him. He traveled to Accra, where doctors said there were drugs, but he would have to pay for them.

Persons: Nartey, Musah Locations: Ghana, Accra

☆ Ghana plunged into darkness as country faces economic woes
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-27 | by ( Nimi Princewill | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Large swaths of Ghana are facing power blackouts due to gas shortages at a major power facility, the nation’s power operator said, compounding the country’s worst economic crisis in decades. The West African nation has battled power outages, known locally as “dumsor” for many years. “Dumsor is fully back, no announced timetables, no communication, nothing, just frequent random power outages,” one Ghanian said of the latest power cut on X, formerly known as Twitter. Recent studies expect the country’s energy crisis to worsen over the coming years, starting from this year. “Ghana’s energy supply requires urgent, purposeful and significant investment to undo the current precarious situation the country finds itself,” said research and policy think tank, Centre for Socioeconomic Studies (CSS).

Persons: “, Ghanian, GRIDCo, ” Organizations: CNN, Ghana Grid Company, ”, World Bank Locations: Ghana, Tema, Accra

☆ The Afrobeats star on a mission to raise the profile of African art
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-11 | by ( Natty Kasambala | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

London CNN —It was a painting in the lobby of a Benin hotel last year that changed the way Afrobeats star Mr Eazi thought about art. The works will also be exhibited in galleries internationally — in Accra, Lagos, London (where they will be displayed as part of a “listening experience” the 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair between October 12—15) and in New York. “One of the most exciting things for me is that art represents an opportunity to discover people without a pre-bias… it’s exerting soft power,” said Mr Eazi. “It’s an ecosystem,” Mr Eazi summarises. “African music should be in African film and African art with African music… That’s culture, that’s the flood.

Persons: Eazi, “, …, Oluwole, ”, Patricorel, Eazi —, —, Eazi’s, Tammy Sinclair's, OLÚWA, Tammy Sinclair, I’m, ” Eazi, don’t, Sinclair, “ Mandela, Foli, Mr Eazi, Mr Eazi’s, ” Tesprit, undiluted Organizations: London CNN, CNN, Fair, Banku, US, Alpha Locations: Benin, Accra, Lagos, London, New York, Ghana, Nigeria, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Togo, Cameroon, Senegal, Kenya, Ghanaian, Kenyan, Togolese, Togo’s, Lomé, Cape Town , South Africa, ”

☆ Developing countries facing a debt crunch
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

EGYPTNorth Africa's largest economy needs to repay some $100 billion of hard-currency debt over the next five years. Egypt has a $3 billion IMF programme and has devalued the pound by roughly 50% since February 2022. Its progress in restructuring both domestic debt and $30 billion in external debt has been fairly swift and it secured a $3 billion IMF bailout in May. The next tranche of a $2.9 billion IMF bailout package could be delayed over a potential government revenue shortfall. A repair plan finally appeared imminent after Zambia clinched a $6.3 billion debt rework deal with the Paris Club creditor nations and China, its other big bilateral lender, in June.

Persons: Moody's, William Ruto's, Kais Saied, Libby George, Shri Navaratnam Organizations: World Bank, African Development Bank, IMF, UAE, SRI, SRI LANKA Sri, European Union, Zambia, Paris Club, Sri, Thomson Locations: Marrakech, EGYPT, Cairo, Egypt, ETHIOPIA, Ethiopia, China, GHANA Ghana, Accra, KENYA, Kenya, LEBANON Lebanon, PAKISTAN Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, SRI LANKA, SRI LANKA Sri Lanka, TUNISIA, Tunisia, UKRAINE Ukraine, Ukraine, United States, ZAMBIA, Zambia

☆ What Uganda’s war on second-hand clothes means for fashion
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Sarah Kent | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Camille Delbos/Art In All of Us/Corbis/Getty ImagesSo Kolade turned to something that was available in abundance: second-hand clothes. “I have declared war on second-hand clothes to promote African wear,” the President said during the opening of 16 factories at an industrial park late last month, according to Ugandan newspaper Daily Monitor. Ugandan fashion house Buzigahill give new life to second-hand clothes through patchworking and splicing pieces together. According to the Uganda Dealers in Used Clothing and Shoes Association, there are a huge number of jobs directly and indirectly involved in the second-hand clothing supply chain. “It is clear that the second-hand clothing trade is broken because the firsthand clothing trade is broken,” said Ricketts.

Persons: Bobby Kolade, Camille Delbos, Kolade, patchworked sweats, Yoweri Museveni, Martin Kharumwa, ”, Corti Paul Lakuma, Bales, Andrew Caballero, Reynolds, Uganda’s, Buzigahill, Liz Ricketts, Ricketts Organizations: CNN, The, Fashion, Ugandan, Daily Monitor, East African Community, Policy Research, Greenpeace, Bloomberg, Getty, European Union, European Environment Agency, Uganda Dealers, Association, European Locations: Berlin, Kampala, Entebbe, Uganda, Turkey, China, East, Europe, East Africa, Philippines, Indonesia, Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, Ugandan, Accra, Ghana, Africa, Kantamanto, California

☆ Ghana Ex-Trade Minister Quits Ruling Party to Run for President
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Sept. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

Alan Kyeremanten, who has served twice as trade minister for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), made the announcement at a briefing and said his contributions were not appreciated. "The (NPP) party has been hijacked by a selected group of party leaders and elders," he said. Gold-, oil- and cocoa-producing Ghana's worst economic crisis in a generation was brought on by spiralling public debt. The NPP has yet to name its candidate to succeed President Nana Afuko-Addo, who will step down after serving two terms. Kyeremanten, 67, served as Akufo-Addo's trade and industry minister during both of his terms.

Persons: Alan Kyeremanten, Nana Afuko, Kyeremanten, Mahamudu Bawumia, Maxwell Akalaare, Sofia Christensen, Grant McCool Organizations: New Patriotic Party, NPP, International Monetary Fund, National Democratic Congress Locations: ACCRA, Accra, Ghana

☆ Multi-day protests over economic crisis grip Ghana's capital
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-23 | by ( Francis Kokoroko | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/9] Ghanaians gather for the third day of anti-government protests amid police arrests and obstruction in Accra, Ghana, September 23, 2023. REUTERS/Francis Kokoroko Acquire Licensing RightsACCRA, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Hundreds of demonstrators gathered in the Ghanaian capital Accra on Saturday for a third day of anti-government protests linked to economic hardship that have led to dozens of arrests. The gold-, oil- and cocoa-producing nation has been battling its worst economic crisis in a generation brought on by spiralling public debt. Last year, protests over soaring prices and other economic challenges led to clashes with police. Economic growth is forecast to slow to 1.5% this year from 3.1% in 2022.

Persons: Francis Kokoroko, Romeo, Christian Akorlie, Maxwell, Alessandra Prentice, Andrew Cawthorne Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Ghanaian, Police, International Monetary Fund, Thomson Locations: Accra, Ghana, Rights ACCRA

☆ Crisis and Bailout: The Tortuous Cycle Stalking Nations in Debt
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( Patricia Cohen | More About Patricia Cohen | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Before interest, he said, the back payments add up to 50 billion cedis, roughly $4.4 billion. “Most of the contractors are home,” Mr. Cherry said. Like many others in this West African country, the contractors have to wait in line for their money. Teacher trainees complain they are owed two months of back pay. Independent power producers that have warned of major blackouts are owed $1.58 billion.

Persons: Emmanuel Cherry, ” Mr, Cherry, Nana Akufo, Addo Organizations: Independent, International Monetary Fund Locations: Accra Children’s Park

☆ Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso sign Sahel security pact
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Francis Kokoroko/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBAMAKO, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, three West African Sahel nations ruled by military juntas, signed a security pact on Saturday promising to come to the aid of each other in case of any rebellion or external aggression. Mali and Burkina Faso have vowed to come to Niger's aid if it is attacked. "Any attack on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of one or more contracted parties will be considered an aggression against the other parties," according to the charter of the pact, known as the Alliance of Sahel States. "I have today signed with the Heads of State of Burkina Faso and Niger the Liptako-Gourma charter establishing the Alliance of Sahel States, with the aim of establishing a collective defence and mutual assistance framework," Mali junta leader Assimi Goita said on his X social media account. France has been forced to withdraw its troops from Mali and Burkina Faso, and is in a tense standoff with the junta that seized power in Niger after it asked it to withdraw its troops and its ambassador.

Persons: Assimi Goita, Mahamadou Issoufou, Francis Kokoroko, Mohamed Bazoum, Tiemoko Diallo, Bate Felix, Jason Neely Organizations: Economic, West African States, REUTERS, Rights, Islamic, West, Alliance, Thomson Locations: Accra, Ghana, Rights BAMAKO, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, al Qaeda, Islamic State, West African States, Sahel, State, France, Chad, Mauritania

☆ Pirelli calendar 2024: Idris Elba, Naomi Campbell and Angela Bassett top latest edition
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( Ayanda Ntuli | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Featuring Idris Elba, Angela Bassett and Naomi Campbell, the latest edition of the prestigious Pirelli calendar is the first to have been shot by a Black photographer in its more than half-century history. Known as “The Cal,” the Pirelli calendar started in 1964. Until the 2024 edition, no Black photographer had been selected for the commission. Prince Gyasi directs actor Angela Bassett for the 2024 Pirelli calendar. Alessandro ScottiGyasi chose to shoot some of his subjects for the 50th Pirelli calendar in Ghana, where some of them have ties.

Persons: CNN —, Idris Elba, Angela Bassett, Naomi Campbell, Prince Gyasi, ”, Tiwa Savage, Amanda Gorman, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, Asante, supermodels Christy Turlington, Linda Evangelista, Claudia Schiffer, Cindy Crawford, Campbell, Patrick Demarchelier, Nick Knight, Annie Leibovitz, risqué photoshoots, Terence Donovan, Edward Enninful, Tim Walker, Alessandro Scotti Gyasi, Burna, “ I’m, “, “ They’ve, ” Gyasi, “ We’ve, you’re, Alessandro Scotti, ” Pirelli Organizations: CNN, Pirelli, Cal, Black, Black British Vogue, Puma, Apple, Converse, Balmain, GQ, Idris Elba braves Locations: Ghanaian, Ghana, West African, Black British, White, Accra, Kumasi, Ashanti Region, Elba

☆ First Look: ‘The Color Purple’ Finds New Hues in Film Adaptation of Stage Musical
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( Melena Ryzik | More About Melena Ryzik | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

“She’s always had such a regal reverence and a curiosity about dance from all over the world,” he said. Her hip-hop and R&B pedigree is evident in neck swivels and shoulder shimmies that connect TikTok dances to their 20th-century lineage. Some of the songs were sped up to match her moves, Sanders said. He also wrote songs for the movie, including a beat-driven work anthem for Harpo, Mister’s son (Corey Hawkins). During Bazawule’s presentation — via video during the height of covid — “I literally texted Oprah,” Sanders recalled.

Persons: Bazawule’s, Fatima Robinson, Michael Jackson, Mary J, Blige, ” Bazawule, Aaliyah, “ She’s, ”, Sanders, Bazawule, “ It’s, Ricky Dillard, Keb, ’, Christian McBride, Brenda Russell, Allee Willis, Stephen Bray, Harpo, Mister’s, Corey Hawkins, “, ” Sanders, ‘ Locations: Accra

☆ Algeria proposes transition to resolve Niger crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Francis Kokoroko/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsAug 29 (Reuters) - Algeria is proposing an initiative to resolve the political crisis in neighbouring Niger with a six-month transition period led by a civilian, Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf said on Tuesday. Attaf, who recently toured West African states, said "most of the countries we have talked to are against military intervention to end the crisis". Algeria has repeatedly said it was against military intervention, pointing to the chaos that followed NATO action in Libya in 2011 during its uprising against longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi. Algerian officials have spoken three times since the coup to the Niger military leader, who wants a transitional period of up to three years, Attaf said. Last week Algerian state television said President Abdelmadjid Tebboune had denied permission to France for a possible military operation in Niger, but France denied it had sought any such permission.

Persons: Francis Kokoroko, Ahmed Attaf, Attaf, Muammar Gaddafi, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, Lamine Chikhi, Angus McDowall, Andrew Cawthorne, Alex Richardson Organizations: Defense, REUTERS, West, ECOWAS, NATO, United Nations, Thomson Locations: Republic of Niger, Accra, Ghana, Algeria, Niger, West African, Libya, Sahel, Algerian, France

☆ West African bloc holds talks in Niger with junta
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The ECOWAS Committee of Chiefs of Defense staff brief the press on plans to deploy its standby force to the Republic of Niger, in Accra, Ghana, August 18, 2023. REUTERS/Francis Kokoroko Acquire Licensing RightsABUJA, Nigeria Aug 19 (Reuters) - A delegation from West Africa's main regional bloc ECOWAS flew to Niger's capital Niamey on Saturday to hold talks with the junta, an ECOWAS source told Reuters, as the bloc pursues diplomatic ways to overturn the July 26 coup. ECOWAS has taken a harder stance on the Niger coup, the wider region's seventh in three years, than it did on previous ones. The credibility of the bloc is at stake because it had said it would tolerate no further such overthrows. Reporting by Felix Onuah Writing by Alessandra Prentice; Editing by Toby ChopraOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Francis Kokoroko, Mohamed Bazoum, Omar Touray, Felix Onuah, Alessandra Prentice, Toby Chopra Organizations: Chiefs, Defense, REUTERS, Rights, ECOWAS, Thomson Locations: Republic of Niger, Accra, Ghana, Rights ABUJA, Nigeria, West Africa's, Niamey, Niger

REUTERS/Francis Kokoroko Acquire Licensing RightsABUJA/NIAMEY, Aug 19 (Reuters) - A delegation from West Africa's main regional bloc ECOWAS met Niger's ousted president Mohamed Bazoum and held talks with junta leader General Abdourahmane Tiani in the capital Niamey on Saturday, a Nigerian presidential spokesperson said. The group that flew in was led by Nigeria's former military leader Abdulsalami Abubakar and included ECOWAS commission president Omar Touray, the source said. "After meeting .... (junta leader) General Abdoulrahmane Tchiani, the ECOWAS delegation in Niger have also visited President Mohamed Bazoum this evening," he wrote on messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter. There was no immediate comment from the junta, which has held president Mohamed Bazoum since seizing power despite international calls for his release. ECOWAS has taken a harder stance on the Niger coup, the wider region's seventh in three years, than it did on previous ones.

Persons: Francis Kokoroko, Niger's, Mohamed Bazoum, General Abdourahmane Tiani, Abdulsalami Abubakar, Omar Touray, Abdulaziz Abdulaziz, General Abdoulrahmane Tchiani, Tiani, Alessandra Prentice, Toby Chopra, Jane Merriman Organizations: Chiefs, Defense, REUTERS, Rights, ECOWAS, West, Twitter, Islamic, U.S . State Department, Thomson Locations: Republic of Niger, Accra, Ghana, Rights ABUJA, NIAMEY, West Africa's, Niamey, Niger, al Qaeda, Islamic State

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