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Category - West Africa

  • 17 Dec 2012
    Court judgment orders Nigerians to punish polluting oil companies

    A West African states' court judgment is being hailed as a key moment in holding governments and companies to account for pollution.

  • 11 Apr 2011
    Humanitarian situation in Ivory Coast is dire, say churches

    The humanitarian situation in Ivory Coast, where dictator Laurent Gbagbo has now been captured, has been worsening, say church leaders.

  • 25 Mar 2011
    The war in Cote d’Ivoire

    The news is full of Libya. And it’s a frightening situation for everyone on the ground. But meanwhile, in Cote d’Ivoire, civil war has broken out.

  • 8 Jan 2011
    Client economics in West Africa

    As I have observed in previous articles arising from my 2011 Ghana trip, economic and political life here is comparatively stable and prosperous, and there has been substantial growth over the past decade - but how benefits are assessed very much depends on perspective. Structurally, and in terms of levelling income and power distribution, things look much less rosy, for sure.

  • 5 Jan 2011
    Can Ghana's progress be sustained?

    The current government in Ghana has declared that it intends to make the West African nation a 'first world' country by 2020. That is clearly fanciful, but recent oil discoveries mean that huge amounts of money will undoubtedly be spent over the next ten years. The question is, what will this mean for the people of Ghana as a whole, and especially for those trying to escape poverty?

  • 5 Jan 2011
    Three inscriptions about enslaving ideology

    At the beginning of the first volume of Selena Axelrod Winsnes' English translation of Danish sources on West African history, originally published from 1697 to 1822, there is a reproduction of the opening text from a slave ship captain's log. It records the commencing of a journey "In the Name of Jesus."

  • 4 Jan 2011
    Crossing over to 2011 in Ghana

    New Year celebrations in Ghana have a markedly different feel to those you will have experienced in Scotland, Wales and England.

  • 31 Dec 2010
    Living with the shadow of slavery

    With its many natural harbours and gold deposits, 58 of the 60 colonial forts built on the Guinea Coast of West Africa are situated in what is modern Ghana - the first former European (latterly British) colony to gain independence, in 1957.

  • 29 Dec 2010
    Crowd attacks UN peacekeepers in Côte d’Ivoire

    A UN peacekeepimg convoy has been attacked in Abidjan as leaders of neighbouring states call on Laurent Gbagbo to relinquish power

  • 6 Jul 2010
    Methodists make appeal for famine threatened West Africa

    The Methodist Church's aid affiliate has launched an urgent appeal for West Africa, as millions of people in the region face chronic food shortages.