News stories by Souleymane Gano

DAKAR, Dic 07 (IPS) - Farmers in Médina Yoro Foula, in Senegal's southern Kolda region, are expecting a good grain harvest this year, and hope to sell thousands of tonnes of grain in the local and regional markets.

DAKAR, Sep 10 (IPS) - "It was Ibrahima Sarr, a friend and fellow fisherman, who got me involved with smuggling people across the seas." Senegalese fisherman Doudou Ndoye speaks with the bittersweet conviction of a man redeemed.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Johnnie Carson says Malian soldiers who overthrew the government on Mar. 22 have neither the right to remain in power nor the strength to deal with humanitarian and security challenges facing the West African country.

Regional leaders meeting in the Senegalese capital, Dakar, on May 3 appeared to slightly retreat from their positions against coup leaders in Guinea-Bissau and Mali, but the Economic Community of West African States continues to press for a speedy return to constitutional rule in both countries.

Six West African heads of state will attend a regional summit in Guinea on Monday, to discuss the situation in neighbouring Guinea and Cape Verde, where an Apr. 12 coup d'état aborted presidential elections. The Economic Community of West African States sent a delegation to Bissau, the capital, immediately following the coup to urge the immediate restoration of constitutional rule.

Analysts say that Senegal’s outgoing President Abdoulaye Wade was made to pay for his failure to respond to popular demands, particularly arising from the high cost of basic commodities, a lengthy strike by teachers, and high youth unemployment, by loosing his bid for a third term of office.