3 million children threatened by hunger in Niger
BOBOYE, Niger - Ousseini Issa - (IPS) – Women have been left in charge of many of the households in the village of Zamkoye-Koïra, in western Niger, as food shortages have driven male family members to leave in search of work elsewhere. A national survey of vulnerable households shows that 5.4 million people face food insecurity across Niger. ”The [...]
Newly elected president of Niger calls for Laurent Gbagbo to step down
NIAMEY, March 14, 2011 (AFP) – Niger’s president-elect Mahamadou Issoufou on Monday urged Ivory Coast strongman Laurent Gbagbo to cede power to Alassane Ouattara, the internationally recognised winner of a November presidential poll. ”The Ivorian people have chosen, the verdict of the poll must be respected, the winner of the presidential election is Alassane Dramane Ouattara [...]
Mahamadou Issoufou is the new President of Niger
NIAMEY, March 14, 2011 (AFP) – Veteran opposition leader Mahamadou Issoufou won elections intended to return Niger to civilian rule after a military coup, taking 57.95 percent of the vote, the election commission announced Monday. Issoufou, 59, defeated former prime minister Seini Oumarou, 60, who took 42.05 percent of the votes cast in a runoff election [...]
Niger votes for a new president
NIAMEY, January 29, 2011 (AFP) – Niger goes to the polls Monday to replace a military junta with a civilian president who will rule one of the world’s poorest countries living under the growing menace of Al-Qaeda militants. The North African state of 15 million people covered mostly by the Sahara desert has watched helplessly as [...]
‘Al-Qaeda’ killed French hostages in Niger
PARIS (AFP) – Al-Qaeda kidnappers killed two young French hostages in cold blood during a failed rescue operation in the deserts of Niger, France’s Prime Minister Francois Fillon said Monday. ”The hostage-takers, seeing they were pursued, killed the hostages in cold blood, according to the first elements in my possession,” Fillon said, adding he was “almost [...]
Niger scours desert for abducted Frenchmen
NIAMEY (AFP) – Niger security forces were combing the desert between Niamey and Mali on Saturday to find two Frenchmen snatched at gunpoint from a restaurant in the Niger capital, one of whom was due to marry in a week. The restaurant manager said one of the men, reportedly an aid worker living in Niamey, was [...]
The World Should Help Niger – Aid Agencies call for Immediate Assistance to the West African Country
A $10m appeal for drought-stricken Niger in West Africa has been launched by two major aid agencies. Over seven million people – half of the country’s population – face food shortages after crop failures last year. Oxfam and Save The Children say the situation is growing more critical by the day. The UN shares the [...]
Junta Sets Conditions for Presidential Aspirants in Niger
Niger’s junta government has set out proposed laws that would ensure that future presidential aspirants must be university degree holders and be less than 70 years old. The mandatory requirement was proposed by Niger’s Consultative Council, which was set up by the military junta in February. This comes after the junta deposed long-time President Mamadou [...]
World Bank Restores Aid to Niger
A decision has been made by the World Bank to restore financial assistance to Niger. Assistance to the African country had been suspended following a February coup. The military government says the aid will help fight hunger in a country where 60 percent of people are facing severe food shortages. In a letter to military [...]
Ex-Ministers in Niger Arrested by the Junta
Former ministers and officials in the previous government of former President Mamadou Tandja who was recently overthrown, have been arrested in Niamey the country’s capital. Those detained include the former ministers of finance and justice, and the heads of the national electricity and water companies. The Junta Interior Minister Cisse Ousmane, said they were accused [...]
