Posts tagged Mali

Pope Francis will on June 28 elevate five Roman Catholic prelates from outside Italy and the Vatican to the rank of Cardinal. Among those to be elevated to Cardinal is Archbishop Jean Zerbo, 73, of Bamako, Mali a significant move. Africa represents about 12.6% of global Catholic population. 90% of Malians are Muslim, and about 5% are Christian of which about two-thirds are Roman Catholic.

Kenya has banned the use of plastic bags for commercial and household packing, becoming the latest African country to outlaw the plastic-bag carriers. The ban is expected to play a key role in helping to protect the environment. Kenya now joins Rwanda, Cameroon, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, Mauritania and Malawi, countries that have issued similar bans.

Mali is struggling to save priceless cultural artifacts from traffickers who are destroying the country’s most precious cultural heritage. The traffickers who steal, and then sell rare works to collectors are targeting Bamako National Museum, which holds many important artifacts from Timbuktu and Gao, threatening to obliterate the country’s rich religious and cultural heritage.

One of Africa’s most talented and internationally renowned musicians Malian great, Ali Ibrahim #AliFarka Touré passed away 11 years ago. Touré died on March 7, 2006 at the age of 66. We remember this legend through his music.

Africa’s biggest soccer showcase, the Africa Cup of Nations is certainly upon us, kicking off tomorrow (Saturday), the 14th of January. Hosts Gabon will get the ball rolling in the opening match in Libreville tomorrow in a game against debutants The Djurtus of Guinea-Bissau, in a Group A clash. We wish all the 16 teams participating in the tournament the very best. Let the 2017 games begin.

Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has weighed in on the ongoing debate about the relevance of the the International Criminal Court (ICC), after damaging withdrawals from the institution by three African countries. Annan said Africa needs the Court more than ever “because the most heinous crimes must not go unpunished”. Annan has previously argued that the ICC does not target Africa, and victims of heinous crimes, and others who cannot get justice in their domestic courts should have a provision to seek justice abroad.

Cameroon hosts the 10th Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in a few days. The 2016 games are upon us, kicking off on Saturday, the 19th of November to 3 December in the Cameroonian cities of Yaoundé and Limbe. We wish all the eight teams participating in the tournament the very best.

This week we reported that Ghana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration has indicated that it would “want to remove the statue of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi from the University of Ghana campus” after a campaign led by academics. The campaigners have requested the University to give them an opportunity to “fund raise for the erection of a statue or statues of a Ghanaian/African hero(es)/heroine(s) to grace our University campus”. With a plethora of African queens, kings, ancient and contemporary heroes and heroines, who should receive this great honour?

Mali has become the latest African country to embark on a program to identify and remove ghost workers from the public service payroll, in the fight against corruption and malfeasance. The country has identified 13,000 ghost workers from the national payroll, which cost the treasury about 30 billion CFA francs ($50 million), officials say.

The Academy Of Motion Pictures Arts And Science has invited various 683 filmmakers, artists and executives, among them Malian film director Souleymane Cisse to vote in next year’s Oscars, following major protests over lack of diversity among nominees over the last two years. The membership, while welcome will only increase the Oscars’ non-white membership by three percentage points from 8 percent to 11 percent.