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☆ The Bleak Life of a Deposed President and His Wife, Held Captive
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-04 | by ( Elian Peltier | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Held captive by his former security guards in an isolated wing of his house, the deposed president of Niger paces a bedroom with no direct daylight, cut off from the world and unable to talk to his lawyers, according to people with direct knowledge of the conditions of his detention. Nine months since he was toppled in one of the coups that have recently wracked West Africa, Mohamed Bazoum is lingering in detention with no end in sight. The military junta that deposed him is seeking to strip him of presidential immunity, paving the way for him to be prosecuted on charges such as treason, for which the penalty could be life imprisonment, his lawyers said. His only visitor is a doctor, who brings him food once a week. Many of Mr. Bazoum’s closest allies — his cabinet members and advisers — have been thrown into jail or forced to flee Niger.

Persons: Mohamed Bazoum, Hadiza, Bazoum’s, — Locations: Niger, West Africa

☆ Steve McCurry’s photo of Shaolin monks training captures their incredible acrobatics
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( Amy Gunia | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

A young Shaolin monk runs horizontally across a wall, intense concentration, and perhaps a hint of astonishment, visible in his face. Four other trainees at a martial arts academy near the Shaolin Temple in China’s Henan province lounge nonchalantly, seemingly unaware of the gravity-defying action taking place above their heads. “There’s this high-level action,” photographer Steve McCurry told CNN of the photo’s composition in a video call from his home in Philadelphia. The Shaolin Temple – which was founded in AD 495 on the slopes of the sacred Mount Song – is said to be the home of Chan Buddhism. Today, Shaolin kung fu is widely known, and the monks’ feats in athleticism have been emulated in popular movies.

Persons: Steve McCurry, ’, doesn’t, McCurry, –, ”, Jeremy Horner, LightRocket, It’s, “ Organizations: CNN, Jet, Pennsylvania State University, Geographic, Shaolin Locations: Shaolin, China’s Henan, Philadelphia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Soviet, Peshawar, Niger, India, Pennsylvania, Dengfeng, Zhengzhou

☆ Russian forces are operating at same base as US troops in Niger
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( Natasha Bertrand | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The Russians have been using a separate hangar on the base, known as Air Base 101, the sources said, and are not operating in the same space as the Americans. They also raised questions about the future of Air Base 101 and whether it would be ceded to the Russians, CNN previously reported. Reuters first reported that the Russians troops had entered Air Base 101. Russian media reported on April 11 that Russia was sending equipment and 100 military trainers to Niger, though one of the sources said Russian troops were in the country well before April. More than half of the US troops stationed at the French military base in Chad’s capital, N’Djamena, have now left the country and relocated to Germany.

Persons: Michael Langley, Celeste Wallander, Sabrina Singh Organizations: CNN, Russian, Air Base, US Africa Command, Nigerien, Pentagon, Reuters, Russia’s Defense Locations: Niger, Ukraine, Russian, Russia, Chad, N’Djamena, Germany

☆ Mali Claims Death of Terrorist Who Helped Lead Deadly Ambush in Niger
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-30 | by ( Ruth Maclean | More About Ruth Maclean | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Mali said on Monday that it had killed a high-value Islamist commander who helped lead a 2017 attack in which four American and four Nigerien soldiers were killed alongside an interpreter. The U.S. State Department had put a $5 million bounty on the head of the commander, Abu Huzeifa — a member of an affiliate of the Islamic State — after his participation in an attack in Tongo Tongo, Niger, on American Green Berets and their Nigerien comrades. At that time, the attack was the largest loss of American troops during combat in Africa since the “Black Hawk Down” debacle in Somalia in 1993. In a post on social media on Monday, Mali’s armed forces said that on Sunday they had “neutralized a major terrorist leader of foreign nationality during a large-scale operation in Liptako” — a tri-border region that contains parts of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.

Persons: Abu Huzeifa —, — Organizations: Nigerien, U.S . State Department, Islamic, American Green Berets Locations: Mali, Tongo Tongo, Niger, Africa, Somalia, Liptako, Burkina Faso

☆ Burkina Faso army executed over 220 villagers in February, HRW says
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-26 | by ( Story Reuters | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Reuters —Burkina Faso’s military in February summarily executed about 223 villagers, including at least 56 children, as part of a campaign against civilians accused of collaborating with jihadist militants, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Thursday. The spokesperson for the Burkina Faso government did not respond to phone calls seeking comment on the HRW report. Retaliatory attacksRights groups have previously accused the military in junta-ruled Burkina Faso of attacking and killing civilians suspected of collaborating with militants in retaliatory operations. Burkina Faso is one of several Sahel nations that have been struggling to contain Islamist insurgencies linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State that have spread from neighboring Mali since 2012, killing thousands and displacing millions. Frustrations over authorities’ failure to protect civilians have contributed to two coups in Mali, two in Burkina Faso and one in Niger since 2020.

Persons: Witnesses, HRW, Tirana Hassan, Mali’s Organizations: Reuters, Burkina, jihadist, Human Rights Watch, Ouahigouya, HRW, Facebook, Burkina Faso, Authorities, Rights Watch, Burkinabe, African Union, United Nations, Islamic Locations: Burkina Faso’s, Yatenga, Burkina Faso, Komsilga, Burkina, Nodin, Soro, al Qaeda, Islamic State, Mali, Niger

☆ U.S. to Withdraw Troops From Chad, Dealing Another Blow to Africa Policy
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Eric Schmitt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Pentagon will withdraw dozens of Special Operations forces from Chad in the next few days, the second major blow in a week to American security and counterterrorism policy in a volatile swath of West and Central Africa, U.S. officials said on Thursday. The decision to pull out about 75 Army Special Forces personnel working in Ndjamena, Chad’s capital, comes days after the Biden administration said it would withdraw more than 1,000 U.S. military personnel from Niger in the coming months. The Pentagon is being forced to draw down troops in response to the African governments’ demands to renegotiate the rules and conditions under which U.S. military personnel can operate. Both countries want terms that better favor their interests, analysts say. The decision to withdraw from Niger is final, but U.S. officials said they hoped to resume talks on security cooperation after elections in Chad on May 6.

Persons: Biden Organizations: Pentagon, Operations, Special Forces Locations: Chad, West, Central Africa, U.S, Ndjamena, Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, United States, Russia, Moscow

☆ Nigeria: More than 100 prisoners on the run after heavy rainfall destroys part of prison
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Nimi Princewill | Catherine Nicholls | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —More than 100 prisoners have escaped from a medium security prison in Nigeria after heavy rainfall destroyed part of the facility, the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCS) said in a press release on Thursday. In 2022, more than 300 inmates broke free after Boko Haram militants raided a prison in Nigeria’s capital Abuja. Authorities said at the time that some operatives of the jihadist group who had been held in the prison escaped during the raid. A year earlier, over 200 prisoners fled a prison in the neighboring Kogi State after gunmen invaded the correctional facility, killing a policeman. Five months before the invasion, more than 2000 inmates escaped during a similar attack by armed men at another prison in the southeastern Imo State.

Persons: “ Organizations: CNN, Nigerian Correctional Service, NCS, Authorities Locations: Nigeria, Suleja, Niger, Nigeria’s, Abuja, Kogi State, Imo State

☆ African leaders spearhead efforts to tackle terrorism across the continent
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-23 | by ( Nimi Princewill | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Abuja, Nigeria CNN —African leaders discussed anti-terrorism solutions on the continent during a high-level security summit in the Nigerian capital Abuja Monday amid a rise in terror attacks. According to the African Center for the Study and Research on Terrorism (ACSRT), Africa witnessed an average of eight terror-related incidents and 44 daily casualties in 2023. Nigeria’s National Security Adviser and organizer of the summit, Nuhu Ribadu, emphasized the urgent need to combat terrorism in Africa. Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the chair of the West African regional bloc ECOWAS, urged the proper establishment and strengthening of a regional standby military force. “The moment has come to work out an all-encompassing Continental Strategic Plan of Action to effectively fight against terrorism across Africa,” Faki said.

Persons: Ribadu, ” Ribadu, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Faure Gnassingbe, African Union Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat, ” Faki, Tinubu, Faki, Africa’s Organizations: Nigeria CNN —, African Center, Research, Terrorism, Nigeria’s National Security, West African, ECOWAS, United Nations, African Union Commission Locations: Abuja, Nigeria, Nigerian, Africa, Africa’s, Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali, Togolese

The exact number of US troops in the country is not clear but one US official said there are fewer than 100 troops there. But the official said Chad’s threat to terminate the SOFA agreement blindsided US officials. The move comes at a critical time for US interests in Africa, as American officials have warned that Russian influence is expanding across the continent. While in the country, Langley met with Chadian military leaders including Gen. Abakar Abdelkerim Daoud, Chad’s Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, according to an AFRICOM press release at the time. Langley said in the release that AFRICOM “remains dedicated to building enduring partnerships with Chad and other African nations.”

Persons: Chad’s, Michael Langley, ” “, ” Langley, Langley, ”, AFRICOM’s, Michael Woods, Abakar Abdelkerim Daoud Organizations: CNN, Forces Agreement, Operations Task Force, US Special Operations Forces, Marine Corps, US Africa Command, Senate Armed Services Committee, Russian Federation, House Armed, Committee, Central, Chadian, Staff, Armed Forces Locations: Chad, Russia, N’Djamena, Niger, Africa, Russian, Libya, Maghreb, Morocco, ”, China, Chad’s

☆ Niger: Russian weapons and trainers arrive, weeks after US military agreement ends
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-12 | by ( Michael Rios | Mariya Knight | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —Russia has delivered military equipment to Niger that will provide the African country with the “latest generation of anti-aircraft defense systems,” Nigerien state broadcaster RTN said Thursday. The equipment arrived in Niamey on Wednesday along with 100 Russian military instructors who will install the system and train Nigerien soldiers to use it, RTN added. AFP/Getty ImagesThe arrival of Russian instructors followed a recent phone conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Nigerien General Abdourahamane Tiani on March 26 when the two leaders discussed “ensuring security and combating terrorism.”Since seizing power in a coup last year, Niger’s junta has been strengthening military ties with Russia while turning away from the US and France. Last month, the junta said it was ending an accord with the US that allowed military personnel and civilian staff from the US Department of Defense to operate in Niger. France, Niger’s former colonial ruler, withdrew its troops from the African nation at the end of 2023.

Persons: RTN, Novosti, Seyni, Vladimir Putin, Abdourahamane Tiani Organizations: CNN, RIA Novosti, NATO, Niger's National Council, Safeguard, Getty, Nigerien, US Department of Defense Locations: Russia, Niger, Nigerien, Niamey, Africa, ”, Agust, AFP, France, Niger . France

☆ A global gold rush for buried hydrogen is underway — as hype builds over its clean energy potential
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-26 | by ( Sam Meredith | In Samuelmeredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Geologic hydrogen, sometimes referred to as white, gold or natural hydrogen, refers to hydrogen gas that is found in its natural form beneath Earth's surface. Last year, researchers found what may be the world's largest geologic hydrogen deposit to date in France's eastern Lorraine region. The unexpected discovery further boosted interest in its clean energy potential. Some have expressed skepticism about the clean energy potential of natural hydrogen. Grey hydrogen — produced using natural gas and the most common form of hydrogen production — leads to large greenhouse gas emissions.

Persons: Alex Halada, Le, Canada's Hydroma, Ousmane Makaveli, Geoffrey Ellis, Ellis, we've, Minh, Energy's Le, Ana Maria Jaller, Makarewicz, Sebastien Salom Organizations: Geological Agency of, Ministry of Energy, Mineral Resources, Nurphoto, Afp, Getty, Research, Rystad Energy, CNBC, Energy Resources Program, . Geological Survey, U.S . Department of Energy, Institute for Energy Economics, videoconference, Carbon Trust Locations: Pute Jaya, Morowali Regency, Central Sulawesi Province, Indonesia, U.S, Canada, Australia, France, Spain, Colombia, South Korea, Gampern, Upper Austria, Mali's, Bamako, Malian, Bourakébougou, France's, Lorraine, Niger, Mali, gomis

☆ Falling fertility rates pose major challenges for the global economy, report finds
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-22 | by ( Karen Gilchrist | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Falling fertility rates are set to spark a transformational demographic shift over the next 25 years, with major implications for the global economy, according to a new study. That would leave 49 countries — primarily in low-income regions of sub-Saharan Africa and Asia — responsible for the majority of new births. "Future trends in fertility rates and livebirths will propagate shifts in global population dynamics, driving changes to international relations and a geopolitical environment, and highlighting new challenges in migration and global aid networks," the report's authors wrote in their conclusion. That shifting demographic landscape will have "profound" social, economic, environmental and geopolitical impacts, the report's authors said. "As the workforce declines, the total size of the economy will tend to decline even if output per worker stays the same.

Persons: Asia —, Dr, Christopher Murray Organizations: Institute for Health Metrics, CNBC Locations: Saharan Africa, Asia, Chad, Niger, Tonga, Samoa, Asia's Tajikistan

The intensifying military cooperation between Russia and Niger is central to the dispute between the US and the Nigerien junta, officials said. Russia and Niger agreed to strengthen their military ties in January, Russia’s Defense Ministry said at the time. If the US were forced to withdraw, counterterrorism efforts across the region could take a hit, officials said. In return, Russia is profiting off the region’s natural resources, another official said, including the gold mines in Niger. Several European countries shared this goal, offering a measure of support to the junta, the official noted.

Persons: Michael Langley, Celeste Wallander, Col, Maj, Amadou Abdramane, Langley, Matthew Miller, ” Miller, what’s, Nusrat al, “ Organizations: CNN, US Africa Command, Air Base, American, Nigerien, Russia’s Defense, EU, Pentagon, Kremlin, West, Russian Federation, National Council, Wagner, US Locations: Africa, Russia, Africa . Niger, Niger, United States, America, Nigerien, Sahel, stoking, China, Russian, Central Africa, ”, Niamey, US, Agadez, Mali, Burkina Faso, Abdramane, Western Africa, Northwest Africa

☆ Niger Orders American Troops to Leave Its Territory
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-17 | by ( Ruth Maclean | Eric Schmitt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Niger said it is revoking its military cooperation deal with the United States, ordering 1,000 American armed forces personnel to leave the country and throwing the United States’ strategy in the region into disarray. The announcement by the West African nation’s military junta on Saturday came after meetings last week with a delegation from Washington and the top U.S. commander for Africa, Gen. Michael E. Langley. The move is in keeping with a recent pattern by countries in the Sahel region, an arid area south of the Sahara, of breaking ties with Western countries. American officials also voiced alarm in the meetings about several other issues, including whether Niger’s military government was nearing a deal to give Iran access to Niger’s vast uranium reserves, a concern that was reported earlier by The Wall Street Journal. Niger’s rejection of military ties with the United States follows the withdrawal from Niger of troops from France, the former colonial power that, for the past decade, has led foreign counterterrorism efforts against jihadist groups in West Africa, but which has lately been perceived as a pariah in the region.

Persons: Michael E Organizations: West African, Wall Street Locations: Niger, United States, States, Washington, Africa, Sahel, Russia, Iran, France, West Africa

NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — Niger's junta said Saturday the U.S. military presence in the country is no longer justified, making the announcement on state television after holding high-level talks with U.S. diplomatic and military officials this week. He said Niger was suspending military cooperation with Washington and added that U.S. flights over the country’s territory in recent weeks were illegal. The U.S. has also invested years and hundreds of millions of dollars in training Niger's military. Photos You Should See View All 60 ImagesThe Niger junta spokesman said the U.S. tone was condescending and threatened Niger's sovereignty. The U.S. military had some 650 personnel working in Niger in December, according to a White House report to Congress.

Persons: — Niger's, Maj, Amadou Abdramane, Niger's, Mohammed Bazoum, Molly Phee, Michael Langley, Phee, Jessica Donati Organizations: U.S, Washington, European Union, military's, Command, Niger, Associated Press Locations: NIAMEY, Niger, U.S, Africa's Sahel, Agadez, Niamey, Washington, Africa, France, Dakar, Senegal

☆ Niger ends military agreement with US, calls it ‘profoundly unfair’
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-16 | by ( Mitchell Mccluskey | Heather Chen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Niger’s military government announced that it has ended an accord with the US that allowed military personnel and civilian staff from the Department of Defense to operate in Niger – days after holding high-level talks with US diplomatic and military officials this week. “This agreement is not only profoundly unfair in its substance but it also does not meet the aspirations and interests of the Nigerien people,” he said. Senior Pentagon officials believe that keeping a presence in Niger is vital to efforts to tackle terrorism in the region. In a letter sent to Congress in December 2023, President Joe Biden noted that approximately 648 US military personnel remain deployed to Niger. During meetings, Nigerien and American officials discussed the military transition in Niger and military cooperation between the two countries, Abdramane said.

Persons: CNN —, Major Amadou Abdramane, –, ”, Joe Biden, Abdramane, “, ” Abdramane, Niger “ Organizations: CNN, Department of Defense, American Department of Defense, Nigerien, US, Niger . Senior Pentagon, Pentagon, American, US Department of Defense Locations: Niger, United States, Republic of Niger, CNN Niger, Niger ., US, Nigerien, Russia, Iran

☆ Nigerian Army Hunts for Kidnapped Students, Parents Seek Answers
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-11 | by ( March | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +3 min

The source said the army's Kaduna-based One Division was leading the operation and "will soon have the bandits in their sights". "The security agencies and the state government are working tirelessly to ensure the freedom of all the abducted students and pupils. We are making progress," said Muhammad Shehu Lawal, a spokesperson for Kaduna state governor, without giving details. Photos You Should See View All 60 ImagesThe mass kidnapping last Thursday, the first since July 2021, shattered the dusty town of Kuriga, 90 km from Kaduna state capital, with parents waiting for answers from authorities. According to Lagos-based consultancy SBM Intelligence 4,500 people have been kidnapped throughout Nigeria since Tinubu took office last May.

Persons: Garba Muhammad, Hamza Ibrahim, Muhammad Shehu Lawal, Bola Tinubu, Bala Ibrahim, Ibrahim, Tinubu, Ikemesit Effiong, MacDonald Dzirutwe, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Reuters, SBM Intelligence, Security Locations: Hamza Ibrahim KADUNA, Nigeria, Kaduna, Nigerian, Kuriga, Chibok, Borno, Niger, Birnin, Lagos

☆ Opposition Leader in Chad Is Reported Killed in a Shootout
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-29 | by ( Ruth Maclean | More About Ruth Maclean | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The main opposition leader in the central African nation of Chad was killed on Wednesday in a shootout at his party headquarters in the capital, the country’s prosecutor has announced. Heavy gunfire was heard in Ndjamena on Wednesday, and the internet was cut off. A landlocked, desert country surrounded by neighbors battling insurgencies, plagued by coups or at war, Chad has long been seen as a linchpin for stability and is an important U.S. ally in the region, despite its political travails. After its longtime president Idriss Déby was killed on the battlefield in 2021, his son took power in what analysts agree was a coup d’état. But Western nations did not condemn the move to the same extent that they did coups in neighboring Niger and Sudan.

Persons: Yaya Dillo, insurgencies, Idriss Déby Locations: Chad, Ndjamena, U.S, Niger, Sudan

Ghana’s Parliament on Wednesday passed a bill that imposes jail terms on people who identify as L.G.B.T.Q. or organize gay advocacy groups, measures that Amnesty International called among the harshest on the African continent. issues could get five years, and those who engage in gay sex would receive five years instead of the three years under previous legislation. The bill is the latest in a wave of anti-gay legislation passed in Africa: Tanzania, Niger and Namibia have tightened such laws in recent years, while Uganda has adopted an anti-gay law that includes the death penalty. Many have experienced a surge in homophobic attitudes, behaviors and rhetoric in recent years, the rights group said in a report last year.

Persons: Nana Akufo Organizations: Amnesty Locations: Africa, Tanzania, Niger, Namibia, Uganda

☆ Navalny's Widow Joins EU Foreign Ministers as Ukraine War Nears Two-Year Mark
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-19 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +3 min

By Gabriela BaczynskaBRUSSELS (Reuters) - The widow of Alexei Navalny, Russian President Vladimir Putin's nemesis who died in an Arctic prison last week, joins EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday, days before the two-year mark of Russia's war on Ukraine. The Latest Photos From Ukraine View All 91 ImagesNavalny, a 47-year-old former lawyer, rose to prominence campaigning against corruption in Putin's Russia. The ministers are due to discuss military support for Ukraine and what would be the European Union's 13th package of sanctions against Moscow since it unleashed a full-scale invasion of its neighbour on Feb.24, 2022. Inside the EU, Germany has blocked replenishing a military fund used to supply Ukraine saying Berlin was contributing too much compared to other members. One senior EU diplomat said they believed it "will be able to make it in time" and agree the new punitive measures for Feb.24.

Persons: Gabriela Baczynska BRUSSELS, Alexei Navalny, Vladimir Putin's, Yulia Navalnaya, Putin, Josep Borrell, Navalnaya's, Donald Trump, Viktor Orban, Gabriela Baczynska, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Ukraine, Moscow, NATO, Kremlin, EU, Washington Locations: Russian, Brussels, Ukraine, Munich, Israel, Gaza, Russia, Putin's Russia, Siberia, United States, Europe, U.S, EU, Germany, Berlin, Hungary, Budapest, Kyiv, London, Sahel, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Mauritania

They found that 10 countries, including Kenya, Morocco, Niger, Yemen, and Pakistan, experienced the majority of locust outbreaks among 48 affected nations. The researchers also found a strong link between the magnitude of desert locust outbreaks and weather and land conditions like air temperature, precipitation, soil moisture, and wind. El Nino, a recurring and natural climate phenomenon that affects weather worldwide, was also strongly tied to bigger and worse desert locust outbreaks. “As such variability increases, it is logical to predict that locust outbreaks will increase as well,” said Tallamy. The desert experienced locust outbreaks in 2019 after uncontrolled breeding following cyclones, which filled the desert with freshwater lakes.

Persons: Elfatih Abdel, Rahman, Douglas Tallamy, ”, Paula Shrewsbury, al Khali, Xiaogang Organizations: Agriculture Organization, National University of Singapore, Food, International, of, Physiology, Nino, University of Delaware, University of Maryland, World Bank, Associated Press Locations: Africa, South Asia, Agriculture, Kenya, Morocco, Niger, Yemen, Pakistan, East Africa, Shrewsbury, India, Asia, Arabian, West Africa, AP.org

☆ 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

☆ Analysis-West Africa's 'Brexit' Moment Spells Trouble for the Region
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +6 min

Ivory Coast alone is home to more than 5 million people from Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. Earlier this month, Russia and Niger, ruled by a junta since a coup last year, agreed to develop military ties. Russian military personnel flew into Burkina Faso's capital Ouagadougou last week to ensure the safety of the country's military leader. EMPTY THREATECOWAS has responded to a wave of coups in the region since 2020 with sanctions that the juntas have called "illegal and inhumane." "The departure from ECOWAS will have catastrophic consequences for the ability to respond to the many security challenges facing this region," said Abba.

Persons: Bate Felix, David Lewis, Giulia Paravicini, Seidik Abba, Russia's Wagner, Mucahid Durmaz, Verisk Maplecroft, Charlie Robertson, Kwesi Aning, Gilles Yabi, Adama Coulibaly, Nagnouma Keita, Abba, Tiemoko Diallo, Boureima, Silvia Aloisi, Andrew Cawthorne Organizations: Giulia Paravicini DAKAR, West, West African States, Reuters, Islamic, FIM Partners, European Union, ECOWAS, CFA Locations: Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Russia, Ivory Coast, Niger . Niger, Nigeria, Paris, Ghana, Togo, Benin, France, United States, Burkina Faso's, Ouagadougou, West Africa, United, London, Bamako, Guinea, China

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Three West African nations of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have withdrawn from the regional economic bloc known as ECOWAS, their respective juntas announced Sunday, accusing the bloc of “inhumane” sanctions to reverse the coups in their nations. The juntas said in a joint statement read on state television that they have “decided in complete sovereignty on the immediate withdrawal of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), alleging that the bloc has “moved away from the ideals of its founding fathers and pan-Africanism” after nearly 50 years of its establishment. “Furthermore, ECOWAS, under the influence of foreign powers, betraying its founding principles, has become a threat to its member states and its populations whose happiness it is supposed to ensure,” their statements read. It is the latest twist in a series of events that have deepened political tension in West Africa since it experienced its latest of a string of coups — in Niger — last year. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Persons: juntas, “ Organizations: Economic, West African States, ECOWAS, Associated Press Locations: ABUJA, Nigeria, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, West Africa, Niger —

☆ Uranium prices could rally past 16-year highs as the world's largest producer runs short
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-25 | by ( Lee Ying Shan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

And that's about to send uranium prices, already at 16-year highs, on another rally. Sulfuric acid is critical in the extraction process as it is used to leach and recover uranium from raw ore. Kazatomprom is the world's leading uranium miner, accounting for over one-fifth of the world's production. Kazakhstan also produces 43% of the world's uranium supply, the largest slice of the global market for the heavy metal. Around 60 nuclear power reactors are under construction in 17 countries and another 110 are in the planning stages. Citibank expects uranium prices to average $110 per pound in 2025.

Persons: Guy Keller, Uranium, Jefferies, Janos Kummer Organizations: Corbis, Tribeca, Citibank, Getty Locations: India, Pallava, Kazakh, Kazakhstan, Canada, France, Niger, Tribeca, Asia, China, Slovakia

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