The Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) on Wednesday announced the formal exit of junta-led Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger from the bloc following their withdrawal last year.

Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso have formally withdrawn from the regional bloc known as ECOWAS, the body said Wednesday.

Forty-five people have been arrested in west Africa over the past three months in operations targeting drugs trafficking and the financing of terrorism, said global police body Interpol on Thursday.

Thursday closed down -538 (-4.58%), and March ICE London cocoa #7 (CAH25) closed down -367 (-3.99%). Cocoa prices Thursday dropped to 1-1/2 week lows and settled sharply lower as recent rain in West Africa has boosted soil moisture levels,

French troops completed their withdrawal from Chad this week before a January 31 deadline, the latest blow to France’s shrinking military hold in its former West and Central Africa strongholds. N’Djamena abruptly cut ties with Paris in December and ended a military pact that saw 1,

Three countries under military rule have officially left West African regional bloc Ecowas, after more than a year of diplomatic tensions. The withdrawal of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger is a huge blow to Ecowas, which at 50 years old is considered Africa's most important regional group.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has said that almost 50 millions people are currently suffering from

Across the West African Economic and Monetary Union, governments are tightening mining regulations to boost revenue for development. But as Côte d’Ivoire, Mali and Burkina Faso push reforms, investor confidence and regulatory stability are at risk.

The imminent withdrawal of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso from ECOWAS marks a historic shift in West African economics, forcing a dramatic reorganisation of traditional trade routes and potentially increasing costs for millions.

Earlier this month, soldiers swooped by helicopter into a vast mining complex in western Mali and made away with three tonnes of gold -- all done on the orders of the military government.

Designate for Communications Digital Technology, and Innovations, Samuel Nartey George has pledged to position Ghana as the leading hub for Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Africa by 2028.

It is very difficult to imagine how a group of heads of state could negotiate with a government that is not legally established by the people of a country to leave ECOWAS. ECOWAS and AU have both established protocols not to recognise unconstitutional take over of power.