Becca Milfeld
@beccamilfeld.bsky.social
Dakar-based AFP journalist covering West Africa. Former Washingtonian, always a Texan.
Illegal and industrial fishing wreak havoc for dwindling fish populations and fishers off the coast of Senegal :
'Plundered': Senegal fishers feel sting of illegal, industrial vessels
Ibrahima Mar first lost his livelihood then lost his son when the fish off Senegal's coast began to disappear, rupturing a way of life that had sustained his family for generations.Colourful pirogues ...
yahoo.com
With the fate of The Gambia's female genital mutilation ban before the country's Supreme Court, women share the harrowing details of their experiences with AFP:
'Everything was removed': Gambians share pain with FGM ban in balance
Fatou Sanyang still experiences extreme pain she says feels like "hot water is being poured on me" decades after undergoing female genital mutilation (FGM) as a girl in The Gambia."And again, when I'm...
yahoo.com
Michel Tama Sadiakhou's future changed course some 15 years ago thanks to a clan of spear-wielding apes: instead of the dangerous work in informal gold mines that is the fate of many in Senegal’s far southeast, he now researches rare chimpanzees. u.afp.com/SBkg by @beccamilfeld.bsky.social
I recently got to follow around a fascinating community of wild apes, who live on the savannah instead of the forest and have developed a unique set of behaviours as a result. Here's the article:
Senegal's spear-wielding savannah chimps yield clues on humanity's past
A shriek broke the dawn on the savannah, followed by more screeches and the rustle of branches: The wild Fongoli chimps were bidding each other good morning in the dry, scraggly Sahel.
france24.com
Senegal's trendy, colorful baskets are a hit at home and abroad, often selling for loads of money in other countries, but the women who make them aren't necessarily reaping the financial benefits. My story for @AFP www.france24.com/en/live-news...
Senegal baskets are hot, but women weavers ask where's the money?
Under the shade of a large mango tree in her sandy courtyard in a village in northwest Senegal, Khady Sene rhythmically threads together reeds, the beginning of a new basket.
france24.com
The biggest local news story of my childhood. #Austin
DNA evidence links a dead man to the 1991 killings of 4 girls at Texas yogurt shop
Austin police have identified a new suspect in the 1991 yogurt shop murders of four teenage girls. They announced Friday that DNA tests point to Robert Eugene Brashers, who died by suicide in 1999.
apnews.com
In Senegal, the summer's cinematic hit was not "Jurassic Park" or "Superman" but director Angèle Diabang's adaptation of the beloved novel "So Long a Letter," about the place of women in West Africa, as well as polygamy and friendship
'So Long A Letter': Angele Diabang's Hollywood-defying Senegalese Hit
A crowd streamed out of a major Dakar cinema on a recent Tuesday night after watching Senegal's movie of the summer: a book adaptation with no special effects or Hollywood stars that nonetheless has t...
barrons.com
Would you live in a bubble home? My article about Dakar's disappearing balloon houses:
In Senegal, the last of Dakar's 'bubble homes' at risk
Marieme Ndiaye emerged from her igloo-shaped home in Senegal's capital, its 1950s space-age aesthetic in sharp contrast with the boxy, multi-storey apartments being built nearby.
france24.com
Originally slated to train in the US this week, Senegal's women's basketball team is instead practising in their home country, an abrupt change of plans highlighting the frustrations for many attempting to enter America under tightened border controls
For Senegal women's basketball team, show goes on without US visas
Members of the Senegal women's national basketball team hustled across the court in central Dakar, dribbling and pivoting as the scuffing noise of their trainers echoed across the empty arena.Wearing ...
sg.news.yahoo.com
Yesterday I met Assane II, so-called "King of the Corniche," the main highway here in Dakar. "Noble, imposing and perfectly built," he's rumored to be the most expensive ram (2.5 mn XOF / $4,350) ahead of Tabaski (Eid al-Adha), when the animals are sacrificed for a family feast
"The draft executive order to be signed by President Trump would eliminate Africa operations and shut down bureaus working on democracy, human rights and refugee issues."
Trump Draft Order Would Drastically Overhaul U.S. State Department
The draft executive order to be signed by President Trump would eliminate Africa operations and shut down bureaus working on democracy, human rights and refugee issues.
nytimes.com
Little upside down note at the bottom of my brunch menu feels like a metaphor.
NEW: Right-wing voices have flooded social media with disinformation and posts attacking diversity initiatives as wildfires burn through Los Angeles. "It's the exact opposite of what keeps people safe and ready to recover," one expert told @manonjacob.bsky.social. www.france24.com/en/live-news...
Right-wing disinformation targets DEI, 'liberal' policies as LA burns
Months of dry weather and recent strong winds created optimal conditions for the deadly wildfires engulfing Los Angeles, but narratives on social media falsely single out "liberal" policies -- includi...
france24.com
This was my fourth time reporting on President Carter from Plains, GA. And now that he's gone, I'm feeling particularly sad I might never be back.
In Carter's hometown hamlet, a long anticipated goodbye begins
In Jimmy Carter's tiny hometown of Plains, Georgia on Monday, the former US president's death was only beginning to sink in, even if friends and neighbors have been bracing for it since he went into h...
sg.news.yahoo.com
The politics of sludge and the PFAS in that sludge... www.nytimes.com/2024/12/06/c...
Their Fertilizer Poisons Farmland. Now, They Want Protection From Lawsuits.
A company controlled by Goldman Sachs is helping to lead a lobbying effort by makers of fertilizer linked to “forever chemicals.”
nytimes.com
A few #AFPgraphics on PLASTICS ✅Recycling generates microplastics ✅Lifecycle of plastics (far from circular) ✅Microplastic discharge into waterways ✅Sectors of plastic use
"Even though not a single Republican in the House or Senate backed the Democratic package, today there likely isn’t enough support in Congress to pass a repeal, according to Capitol Hill watchers and former Trump administration officials who worked on energy policy."
Trump Vowed to Kill Biden’s Climate Law. Republicans Say Not So Fast.
Billions of dollars and tens of thousands of jobs are at stake in red states.
wsj.com
Good read on personal vs government or corporate action on climate
What if Everyone Did Something to Slow Climate Change?
Researchers are looking at the impact that individuals’ actions can have on reducing carbon emissions — and the best ways to get people to adopt them.
nytimes.com
Friday night = party time. I'm going to reminisce about this week's chip buffet at my office.
For nearly 20 years the US bat population has been ravaged by a fungus in one of the most significant losses of wildlife in modern history. However scientists are testing some handy solutions to help these little guys. My article for @afpnews.bsky.social
New Tools Give Researchers Hope For Fungus-ravaged US Bats
Standing at a woodland entrance to the world's longest cave system in Kentucky, a park ranger warns those about to enter of an extremely deadly fungus -- not for humans, but for the bat populations it...
barrons.com