Tuareg Guitarist Omara Bombino Moctar and ‘Agadez’

Zambian DJ Mannasseh Phiri tells us about a recent CD by Tuareg guitarist Omara Bombino Moctar. Bombino is from Agadez, Niger and his latest release is called “Agadez.”

Ongoing Questions Concerning the Whereabouts of Muammar Gaddafi

Niger denies Gaddafi presence, but one high-level Libyan official was welcomed into the country earlier this week.

Niger’s songwriter Bombino

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We veer into the desert for the Geo Quiz. We’re headed to a West African city: the capital of Niger. The capital is pretty arid but it’s even dryer in towns like Agadez in the north. The climate is pretty inhospitable but the Touareg nomads who live there are warm and welcoming. One of them is musician Bombino. Download MP3

Etran Finatawa from Niger

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For our Geo Quiz we were looking for a northern African country that’s home to a number nomadic tribes. The answer is Niger. The band Etran Finatawa is from Niger. Its members come from two of the nomadic groups in the region, the Wodaabe and Touareg tribes. The band’s new album is called “Tarkat Tajje” or “Let’s Go!” Download MP3

• Etran Finatawa website
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African famines examined

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Famines often occur during times of drought, but their causes go much deeper than a lack of rain. With East Africa now facing widespread hunger, we look back at a major food crisis that struck the Western African nation of Niger in 2005. Reporter David Hecht examines the roots of that crisis and finds some of them stretching across Niger’s border, to the neighboring country of Nigeria. Download MP3

• 2005 Niger food crisis
• Niger country profile

Global Hit (4:00)

Anchor Marco Werman visited a slum in Lagos, Nigeria, to find out more about the environment that inspired the music of Afrobeat king Fela Kuti.