The Latest Breaking News from Mali

Mali's army reports clashes with rebel groups near strategic town of Kidal

Mali's army says it is closing in on the northern town of Kidal amid reports of clashes with Tuareg separatist and rebel groups. For several days, tension has been rising around the strategic city, causing civilians to flee.

Radio France Internationale · Nov 12, 2023

Kora: in search of the origins of west Africa's famed stringed musical instrument

“How come we’ve never heard of this beautiful instrument until now?” This was posted by a first-year college student to my world music course discussion board recently. He voiced what many of his peers probably felt after watching the extraordinary documentary Ballaké Sissoko, Kora Tales.

The Conversation · Nov 9, 2023

Africa's Sahel region: A media desert

Ten years ago, French radio journalists Ghislaine Dupont and Claude Verlon were murdered by a commando from al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb in the north-eastern Malian town of Kidal. Since then, the security situation in Africa’s Sahel region has continually worsened. Today, the vast area stretching from Mauritania to…

France 24 · Nov 2, 2023

Norway to help plug 'funding hole' in aid to troubled Sahel region

Norway is to give an extra 3.3 million in aid to countries in West Africa's troubled Sahel region, where a string of successive coups has set off a vast humanitarian crisis. The Nordic nation has already donated 20 million euros so far this year.

Radio France Internationale · Oct 27, 2023

Bex Burch: There Is Only Love and Fear review – messy minimalism that grooves hard

The percussionist shares characteristics with Steve Reich or John Adams, but intersects this with sounds from Mali, Bali and Latin America in a freakish fusion of jazz, techno and funk

The Guardian - UK · Oct 20, 2023

Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have a new defence alliance: an expert view of its chances of success

On 16 September 2023 in Bamako, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger established the Alliance of Sahel States, a mutual defence pact. The agreement was signed against the backdrop of an ongoing political crisis in Niger following a coup on 26 July 2023. The regional bloc, the Economic Community of West…

The Conversation · Oct 19, 2023

Colombia and Mali leading efforts to improve air quality, new ranking finds

Low and middle income countries addressing air pollution in climate plans, while UAE, host of Cop28, among rich nations lagging behind

The Guardian - UK · Oct 18, 2023

U.N. peacekeepers in Mali withdraw from two bases in the north as fighting intensifies

The United Nations says its peacekeepers have started departing from two bases in northern Mali as part of a forced withdrawal from the country and amid increasing insecurity

The Independent UK · Oct 17, 2023

Mali junta upholds UN peacekeepers' departure, sends more troops north

While the UN voiced concern over an escalation of fighting in in Azawad in northern Mali, the Malian foreign minister Abdoulaye Diop said this weekend that the withdrawal of United Nations peacekeepers from the region would go ahead before 31 December.

Radio France Internationale · Oct 16, 2023

IMF and World Bank are urged to boost funding for African nations facing conflict and climate change

Most of the population in conflict-affected countries like Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad and northern Nigeria depends on climate-vulnerable agriculture

The Independent UK · Oct 12, 2023