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.

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.

Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso have formally withdrawn from the regional bloc known as ECOWAS, the body said Wednesday.

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

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.

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.

East African countries have plenty to offer Western miners in the coming years, notably the relative absence of strongarm tactics seen in parts of West Africa. That, along with East Africa’s deposits of critical minerals needed for the global energy transition, will make it an increasingly attractive option.

Pretoria’s foreign policy focus on multilateralism, development and reforming global governance will be seriously tested by geopolitical division.

Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso were to officially quit the West African bloc Ecowas Wednesday, severing ties after years of strained relations that have reshaped trade routes in the Sahel.

A conflict that has raged for decades reached a flashpoint this week when rebels backed by Rwanda marched on a key Congolese city in a bid to occupy territory and exploit minerals.