Topic: Niger

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In Pictures: Painted faces
Photos of the Day: Photos of the Day 09/19
Where is Qaddafi now?

Libyan strongman Muammar Qaddafi has made plenty of pronouncements since rebels overran Tripoli last weekend – but no one has seen him. His absence from the cameras has prompted a guessing game about his whereabouts. Below are some of the possibilities being circulated by Libya watchers:
In Pictures: Technology
In Pictures: Ivory Coast unrest

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Culture Cafe
'Delta Boys' director Andrew Berends talks about being arrested in Nigeria

Berends was arrested and expelled from the country by the Nigerian government.
Modern Parenthood
Mother's Day: The unexpected best (and worst) places to be a mom

Mother's Day: Save the Children's annual State of the World's Mothers report offers the best and worst places to be a mom – the US isn't tops.
Keep Calm
West African bloc prepares to send troops into Mali and Guinea-Bissau

Two separate military coups in Mali and Guinea-Bissau threaten the stability of the region. But will an intervention by ECOWAS actually resolve these conflicts or just complicate them?
Bishop Tutu urges peace in upcoming Lesotho elections

Political violence has flared ahead of May 26 Lesotho elections, but Archbishop Desmond Tutu urges candidates to keep the peace and respect election results.
Backchannels
Coup predictions: Africa doesn't look as volatile as you might think

Recent coups in Mali and Guinea-Bissau don't amount to a big continental shift, according to a new statistical analysis.
Backchannels
Did Libya's revolution topple Mali into crisis?

Maybe, but the Tuaregs have longed for independence for decades, and Mali's security has been declining for years.
Top Picks: The man behind Elmo, 'I'm Dickens...He's Fenster,' and more

Husband and wife duo Amadou & Mariam release a new album, a film quiz mixes movies with numbers, the video game 'Journey' explores human interaction, and more top picks.
Keep Calm
Mali coup leaders pledge to hand over power as Tuareg rebels take Timbuktu

Disarray following a March 21 coup has allowed Tuareg rebels to take over much of Mali's north. West African neighbors worry about spillover. 
African presidents forced to turn back from occupied Mali runway

The presidents of Ivory Coast, Benin, Liberia, Niger and Burkina Faso were due to arrive in Mali on Thursday to press for the departure of the junior officers that grabbed power in a coup last week.
Libya to Europe: Remember us?

Former Libyan Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril traveled to Brussels to warn European leaders about the dangers of abandoning their work in Libya before the country is stabilized.
Keep Calm
Outgunned against rebels, Mali soldiers overthrow government

After a string of defeats against better armed Tuareg rebels, Mali's army staged a mutiny and overthrew the government.
Clean water: scarcity and abundance

A Christian Science perspective: On World Water Day, some spiritual insights on the supply of a basic human need: clean water.
After Qaddafi, Libya's east tires of Tripoli too

Oil-rich eastern Libya is looking for greater autonomy after playing a major role in deposing Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi.
Africa Monitor
Chad: a closer look at the food crisis

The current food crisis in Chad could affect 3.6 million people, writes guest blogger Alex Thurston.
In Nigeria, Somalia, and Afghanistan: what is a foreign fighter?

In countries where colonial borders don't reflect ethnic or family ties, it's not as easy to decide who is a foreigner. Yet Nigeria has deported 11,000 foreigners in the past six months on suspicion of Islamist sympathies.
Africa Monitor
Instability in Nigeria hurts neighboring economies

Boko Haram violence in Nigeria is negatively impacting the economy of drought-stricken neighbor, Niger, writes guest blogger Alex Thurston.
Backchannels
Amnesty International report brands Libya's militias 'out of control'

Six months since the Libyan civil war ended in Muammar Qaddadi's death, a new report from Amnesty International says hundreds of militias remain active in the country, extorting money and killing their  enemies.
Did Qaddafi downfall prompt Mali's Tuareg revolt?

Mali's military has been training to take on Al Qaeda insurgents, but the latest revolt by Mali's nomadic Tuareg people seems inspired by an influx of former Qaddafi fighters and arms.
Africa Monitor
Rumblings of renewed militancy continue in Bayelsa, Nigeria

The violence seen in the lead-up to the gubernatorial election could be just the beginning of trouble in the Niger Delta, says guest blogger Alex Thurston.
Helpers in a hostile world: the risk of aid work grows

Some 242 aid workers were killed in 2010, up from 91 a decade before. Is 'humanitarian space' shrinking, or are aid groups spreading out to more conflict zones than before?
Africa Monitor
Democracy in sub-Saharan Africa: once rising, now stumbles

Democratic setbacks in sub-Saharan Africa have outpaced once promising gains, says guest blogger Vukasin Petrovic from Freedom House.
With oil pipeline attack, Niger Delta rebels announce return

After a year long truce, Niger Delta rebel group MEND launched an attack on an oil pipeline. MEND's attacks come as Nigeria's military is struggling with the Islamist Boko Haram movement in the north.
Famine ends in Somalia, as drought looms in West Africa

Aid groups say that improved harvests and food donations have ended risk of starvation, but warn that ongoing war in Somalia could still reverse gains made.
Can you hear me now? Nigeria arrests Boko Haram spokesman.

Nigerian security sources say they traced the Boko Haram spokesman Abu Qa Qa by tracing his cellphone calls, a tactic also used to track down Osama Bin Laden.
Global News Blog
Aid groups: With new Africa drought looming, donors must speed response

Aid groups warned that a drought was coming to the Horn of Africa in 2011, and say now that a late response by donor nations unnecessarily cost thousands of lives.