Skip to contentA good cast iron skillet is one of the few “must have” items in any serious kitchen. With this single dish you can sear, bake, sauté, pan-fry, braise, broil, roast and more. It works on stovetops, ovens, grills and even campfires. I even use a 10″ Lodge skillet for steam injection at my nano-bakery. The bread crust comes out better that way.In spite of its versatility, not every cast iron skillet is going to be the right fit for your kitchen.For some people, a $20 American made skillet will do more than they ever need it to. For others, a $200 enameled French skillet is...…Skip to contentA good cast iron skillet is one of the few “must have” items in any serious kitchen. With this single dish you can sear, bake, sauté, pan-fry, braise, broil, roast and more. It works on stovetops, ovens, grills and even campfires. I even use a 10″ Lodge skillet for steam injection at my nano-bakery. The bread crust comes out better that way.In spite of its versatility, not every cast iron skillet is going to be the right fit for your kitchen.For some people, a $20 American made skillet will do more than they ever need it to. For others, a $200 enameled French skillet is...WW…

By , BAMAKO (Reuters) - West African countries will send a delegation to Mali in an effort to reverse a military coup, presidents from the region said, as an opposition coalition there joined the junta in rejecting foreign interference.Leaders of the 15-nation Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) convened over the crisis on Thursday, after it suspended Mali, shut off borders and halted financial flows in response to Tuesday’s overthrow of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita.The coup, which has rocked a country already in the grip of a growing insurgency by Islamist militants and...…By , BAMAKO (Reuters) - West African countries will send a delegation to Mali in an effort to reverse a military coup, presidents from the region said, as an opposition coalition there joined the junta in rejecting foreign interference.Leaders of the 15-nation Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) convened over the crisis on Thursday, after it suspended Mali, shut off borders and halted financial flows in response to Tuesday’s overthrow of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita.The coup, which has rocked a country already in the grip of a growing insurgency by Islamist militants and...WW…

By , NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya has offered free COVID-19 vaccines to all diplomats based there, including thousands of United Nations staff, even though it has not completed inoculating its own health workers, other frontline staff or elderly, drawing criticism from local medics.The offer was made in a March 18 letter sent by the Ministry of Foreign affairs to diplomatic missions and seen by Reuters. Macharia Kamau, the foreign ministry’s principal secretary, said the shots being offered had been supplied via the World Health Organization (WHO) co-led COVAX vaccine access scheme.Kenya,...…By , NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya has offered free COVID-19 vaccines to all diplomats based there, including thousands of United Nations staff, even though it has not completed inoculating its own health workers, other frontline staff or elderly, drawing criticism from local medics.The offer was made in a March 18 letter sent by the Ministry of Foreign affairs to diplomatic missions and seen by Reuters. Macharia Kamau, the foreign ministry’s principal secretary, said the shots being offered had been supplied via the World Health Organization (WHO) co-led COVAX vaccine access scheme.Kenya,...WW…

By , WASHINGTON/NAIROBI (Reuters) - The United States believes Eritrean soldiers have crossed into Ethiopia to help Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government battle a rebellious northern force, despite denials from both nations, a U.S. government source and five regional diplomats said.Abiy and Eritrea’s President Isaias Afwerki signed a peace pact ending two decades of hostilities in 2018 and now regard the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) as a mutual foe.The U.S. assessment creates a potential policy predicament as Washington views Ethiopia as a major ally in the volatile Horn of...…By , WASHINGTON/NAIROBI (Reuters) - The United States believes Eritrean soldiers have crossed into Ethiopia to help Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government battle a rebellious northern force, despite denials from both nations, a U.S. government source and five regional diplomats said.Abiy and Eritrea’s President Isaias Afwerki signed a peace pact ending two decades of hostilities in 2018 and now regard the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) as a mutual foe.The U.S. assessment creates a potential policy predicament as Washington views Ethiopia as a major ally in the volatile Horn of...WW…

By , WASHINGTON/NAIROBI (Reuters) - The United States believes Eritrean soldiers have crossed into Ethiopia to help Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government battle a rebellious northern force, despite denials from both nations, a U.S. government source and five regional diplomats said.Abiy and Eritrea’s President Isaias Afwerki signed a peace pact ending two decades of hostilities in 2018 and now regard the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) as a mutual foe.The U.S. assessment creates a potential policy predicament as Washington views Ethiopia as a major ally in the volatile Horn of...…By , WASHINGTON/NAIROBI (Reuters) - The United States believes Eritrean soldiers have crossed into Ethiopia to help Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government battle a rebellious northern force, despite denials from both nations, a U.S. government source and five regional diplomats said.Abiy and Eritrea’s President Isaias Afwerki signed a peace pact ending two decades of hostilities in 2018 and now regard the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) as a mutual foe.The U.S. assessment creates a potential policy predicament as Washington views Ethiopia as a major ally in the volatile Horn of...WW…

By , NIAMEY (Reuters) - Six gunmen on motorbikes with AK-47 assault rifles kidnapped an American man from his home on the edge of a rural village in southern Niger in the early hours of Tuesday, multiple sources said.The kidnappers seized 27-year-old Philip Walton, who kept camels, sheep and poultry and grew mango trees near the border with Nigeria, at around 0145 local time (0045 GMT), a police source, two local officials and three security sources told Reuters.His wife, young daughter and his brother were left behind in their home in the village of Massalata, the police source said.The...…By , NIAMEY (Reuters) - Six gunmen on motorbikes with AK-47 assault rifles kidnapped an American man from his home on the edge of a rural village in southern Niger in the early hours of Tuesday, multiple sources said.The kidnappers seized 27-year-old Philip Walton, who kept camels, sheep and poultry and grew mango trees near the border with Nigeria, at around 0145 local time (0045 GMT), a police source, two local officials and three security sources told Reuters.His wife, young daughter and his brother were left behind in their home in the village of Massalata, the police source said.The...WW…

By , NIAMEY (Reuters) - Six gunmen on motorbikes with AK-47 assault rifles kidnapped an American man from his home on the edge of a rural village in southern Niger in the early hours of Tuesday, multiple sources said.The kidnappers seized 27-year-old Philip Walton, who kept camels, sheep and poultry and grew mango trees near the border with Nigeria, at around 0145 local time (0045 GMT), a police source, two local officials and three security sources told Reuters.His wife, young daughter and his brother were left behind in their home in the village of Massalata, the police source said.The...…By , NIAMEY (Reuters) - Six gunmen on motorbikes with AK-47 assault rifles kidnapped an American man from his home on the edge of a rural village in southern Niger in the early hours of Tuesday, multiple sources said.The kidnappers seized 27-year-old Philip Walton, who kept camels, sheep and poultry and grew mango trees near the border with Nigeria, at around 0145 local time (0045 GMT), a police source, two local officials and three security sources told Reuters.His wife, young daughter and his brother were left behind in their home in the village of Massalata, the police source said.The...WW…