Africa

ACCRA, Ghana — The green, red and yellow colors and the black star of Ghana’s flag symbolized the rush of pride felt by many people here as their country celebrated 50 years of independence from Britain. Some sported hats and wristbands, while others wore t-shirts, emblazoned with the government slogan, “Championing African excellence.” A few even donned the flag like a cape as they enjoyed their Mar. 6 holiday, the date of founding President Kwame Nkrumah’s declaration of independence in 1957. The vibrant displays of patriotic fashion certainly pleased the eye, but they could not disguise the dissatisfaction with Ghana’s [...]

Violence and militancy in Nigeria — particularly in the oil-rich Niger Delta — continues to hamper petroleum production in the volatile West African nation and threatens to disrupt upcoming presidential elections, analysts and experts tell World Politics Review. In just the last few days, at least 10 people have been killed in an around Port Harcourt, the de facto capital of the delta, where some 2 million barrels of oil are produced a day, according to independent estimates. Dozens of kidnappings since the beginning of the year by armed militants have prompted foreign oil firms to evacuate thousands of workers [...]

OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso — For about a decade, Elizabeth Newton, 69, had heard about the Pan-African Film and Television Festival here through mentions in England’s Sunday newspapers. The retired farmer from North Yorkshire never thought about visiting Africa’s foremost film festival, a biennial event that began in 1969, until she saw “9/11,” a movie in response to the 2001 attacks on the United States by 11 directors around the world. The contribution of Idrissa Ouédraogo, perhaps this West African nation’s foremost director, about two children’s attempt to cash in on sighting a man who may or may not be Osama [...]