Senegal

The Mauritania–Senegal Border War was a conflict fought between the West African countries of Mauritania and Senegal during 1989–1991.... The conflict began around the two countries' River Senegal border, over grazing rights. Mauritania's south is mostly populated by the Fula/Toucouleur, Wolof and Soninké. Senegal, meanwhile, is dominated by the Wolof. In April 1989, the dispute over grazing rights led Mauritanian Moorish border guards to fire at and kill two Senegalese peasants. As a result, people on the Senegalese southern bank rioted. In Senegal, where many shopkeepers were Mauritanian, shops were looted and most Mauritanians were expelled to Mauritania. In Mauritania, lynch mobs and police brutality ended in the forced exile of about 70,000 southerners to Senegal, despite most of them having no links to the country. About 250,000 people fled their homes as both sides engaged in cross-border raids. Hundreds of people died in both countries. The Organisation of African Unity tried to negotiate a settlement to reopen the border, but it was ultimately an initiative of Senegalese President Abdou Diouf which led to a treaty being signed on July 18, 1991.
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The French conquest of Senegal started from 1659 with the establishment of Saint-Louis, Senegal, followed by the French capture of the island of... Gorée from the Dutch in 1677, but would only become a full-scale campaign in the 19th century. According to some historians, French merchants from the Normandy cities of Dieppe and Rouen traded with the Gambia and Senegal coasts, and with the Ivory Coast and the Gold Coast, between 1364 and 1413. Probably as a result, an ivory-carving industry developed in Dieppe after 1364. These travels however were soon forgotten with the advent of the Hundred Years War in France. Various European powers, such as Portugal, the Netherlands, and England then competed for trade in the area of Senegal from the 15th century onward. The Portuguese first established a post on the island of Gorée in 1444, from where they organized a slave trade. The island was captured by the Dutch in 1588, where they established defensive forts and developed trade further. In 1659, France established the trading post of Saint-Louis, Senegal.
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The African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States is a group of countries in Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific that were created by the... Georgetown Agreement in 1975. The group's main objectives are sustainable development and poverty reduction within its member states, as well as their greater integration into the world's economy. All of the member states, except Cuba, are signatories to the Cotonou Agreement with the European Union. The Cotonou Agreement is the successor to the Lomé Conventions. One of the major differences from the Lomé Convention is that the partnership is extended to new actors such as civil society, private sector, trade unions and local authorities. These will be involved in consultations and planning of national development strategies, provided with access to financial resources and involved in the implementation of programmes. Many small island developing states are ACP states; the fourth Lomé Convention was revised in 1995 in Mauritius and gives special attention to island countries in this agreement.
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The African Development Bank Group is a development bank established in 1964 with the intention of promoting economic and social development in... Africa. The Group comprises the African Development Bank , the African Development Fund , and the Nigeria Trust Fund . AfDB provides loans and grants to African governments and private companies investing in the regional member countries in Africa. It is owned and funded by member governments, and has a public-interest mandate to reduce poverty and promote sustainable development. Its headquarters is in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. Following the end of colonial period in Africa, growing desire for more unity within the continent led to the establishment of two draft charters, one for the establishment of the Organisation of African Unity , and for a regional development bank.
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The African Union is a union consisting of 54 African states. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established on 9 July 2002,... the AU was formed as a successor to the Organisation of African Unity . The most important decisions of the AU are made by the Assembly of the African Union, a semi-annual meeting of the heads of state and government of its member states. The AU's secretariat, the African Union Commission, is based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Among the objectives of the AU's leading institutions are: The African Union is made up of both political and administrative bodies. The highest decision-making organ is the Assembly of the African Union, made up of all the heads of state or government of member states of the AU. The Assembly is chaired by Yayi Boni, president of Benin, elected at the 18ordinary meeting of the Assembly in January 2012. The AU also has a representative body, the Pan African Parliament, which consists of 265 members elected by the national parliaments of the AU member states. Its president is Idriss Ndele Moussa.
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The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programs. The World Bank's official... goal is the reduction of poverty. According to the World Bank's Articles of Agreement all of its decisions must be guided by a commitment to promote foreign investment, international trade and facilitate capital investment. The World Bank differs from the World Bank Group, in that the World Bank comprises only two institutions: the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Development Association , whereas the former incorporates these two in addition to three more: International Finance Corporation , Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency , and International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes . The World Bank is one of five institutions created at the Bretton Woods Conference in 1944. The International Monetary Fund, a related institution, is the second. Delegates from many countries attended the Bretton Woods Conference.
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Julia Sarr is a Mezzo-soprano born in Dakar from the Serer ethnic group. As one of the most sought after backing vocalist, she has worked with... several prominent artists over the years including Youssou N'Dour and Patrice Larose. Julia launched her singing career based on West Africa’s polyrhythmic signatures rooted in her Serer heritage with Fela Kuti who was a Nigerian multi-instrumentalist musician and composer as well as the pioneer of Afrobeat music. Julia became one of the most sought-after backing vocalist in Paris where she has lived for over twenty years working with artists like Jean-Jacques Goldman, Michel Fugain, MC Solaar, Julio Iglesias and the celebrated Senegalese singer Youssou N’Dour. For several years, Julia Sarr had shared the stage and studio with the Congolese singer, songwriter, guitarist and producer Lokua Kanza. She has also worked with Jean-Claude Petit singing in a cappella in his score for Raoul Peck's film Lumumba starring Eriq Ebouaney.
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Aliaune Damala Badara Thiam , better known as simply Akon , is a Senegalese American R&B recording artist, songwriter, record producer,... entrepreneur, philanthropist and businessman. He rose to prominence in 2004 following the release of "Locked Up", the first single from his debut album Trouble. He has since founded two successful record labels, Konvict Muzik and Kon Live Distribution. His second album, "Konvicted" received three nominations for the Grammy Awards in two categories, Best Contemporary R&B Album for "Konvicted" album and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for "Smack That" and "I Wanna Love You". He is the first solo artist to hold both the number one and two spots simultaneously on the Billboard Hot 100 charts 'twice'. Akon often sings hooks for other artists and is currently credited with over 300 guest appearances and 35 Billboard Hot 100 songs. He has worked with numerous performers such as Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, Dr. Dre, Eminem, R. Kelly, Diddy, Lil Wayne, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Whitney Houston, Gwen Stefani, Lady Gaga and many more artists.
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Youssou N'Dour is an actor.

Mali /ˈmɑːli/, officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger... on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with a population of 14.5 million. Its capital is Bamako. Mali consists of eight regions and its borders on the north reach deep into the middle of the Sahara, while the country's southern part, where the majority of inhabitants live, features the Niger and Sénégal rivers. The country's economic structure centers around agriculture and fishing. Some of Mali's natural resources are gold, uranium, livestock, and salt. About half the population live below the international poverty line of US$1.25 a day. Present-day Mali was once part of three West African empires that controlled trans-Saharan trade: the Ghana Empire, the Mali Empire , and the Songhai Empire. In the late 19th century, during the Scramble for Africa, France seized control of Mali making it a part of French Sudan.
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Mauritania /mɔrɪˈteɪniə/ , officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a country in West Africa and in the Maghreb. It... is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean in the west, by Western Sahara in the north, by Algeria in the northeast, by Mali in the east and southeast, and by Senegal in the southwest. It is named after the ancient Berber Kingdom of Mauretania, which later became a province of the Roman Empire, even though the modern Mauritania covers a territory far to the south of the old Berber kingdom that had no relation with it. The capital and largest city is Nouakchott, located on the Atlantic coast. The government of Mauritania was overthrown on 6 August 2008, in a military coup d'état led by General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz. On 16 April 2009, General Aziz resigned from the military to run for president in the 19 July elections, which he won. In Mauritania about 20% of the population live on less than US$1.25 per day.
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Guinea-Bissau, officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau /ˈɡɪni bɪˈsaʊ/ , is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by... Senegal to the north and Guinea to the south and east, with the Atlantic Ocean to its west. It covers 36,125 km² with an estimated population of 1,600,000. Guinea-Bissau was once part of the kingdom of Gabu, as well as part of the Mali Empire. Parts of this kingdom persisted until the 18th century, while a few others were part of the Portuguese Empire since the 16th century. It then became the Portuguese colony of Portuguese Guinea in the 19th century. Upon independence, declared in 1973 and recognised in 1974, the name of its capital, Bissau, was added to the country's name to prevent confusion with the bordering Republic of Guinea. Guinea-Bissau has a history of political instability since gaining independence and no elected president has successfully served a full five-year term. On the evening of 12 April 2012, members of the country's military staged a coup and arrested the interim president and a leading presidential candidate.
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The Republic of The Gambia, commonly referred to as The Gambia, or Gambia /ˈɡæmbiə/, is a country in West Africa. Gambia is the... smallest country on mainland Africa, surrounded by Senegal except for a short coastline on the Atlantic Ocean in the west. The country is situated around the Gambia River, the nation's namesake, which flows through the country's centre and empties into the Atlantic Ocean. Its area is 11,295 km² with an estimated population of 1.7 million. On 18 February 1965, Gambia gained independence from the United Kingdom and joined the Commonwealth of Nations. Banjul is Gambia's capital, but the largest conurbations are Serekunda and Brikama. Gambia shares historical roots with many other West African nations in the slave trade, which was the key factor in the placing and keeping of a colony on the Gambia River, first by the Portuguese and later by the British. Since gaining independence in 1965, Gambia has enjoyed relative political stability, with the exception of a brief period of military rule in 1994. Thanks to the fertile land of the country, the economy is dominated by farming, fishing, and tourism.
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