Mali

Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso have severed ties from a key West African bloc. Four things you need to know about what the break means for a region destabilized by coups and rising jihadist violence.

The ancient city of Timbuktu in Mali is suffering under a months-long blockade by Islamist militants, as instability grows in a region of the Sahel in West Africa.

Facing a pandemic lockdown, huge political upheavals and ongoing uncertainty about the future, musicians including Oumou Sangare and Songhoy Blues offer lessons in creativity and optimism.

An outpouring of local support for an international band culminated just before the Tuesday night concert at The Ramkat in Winston-Salem.