Poverty-stricken et, particularly the vexed...

Reuters

A World Bank and IMF mission which has been in Niger since May 3 said on Saturday after talks with Hama it found the results achieved by the new government "encouraging."

Talks between the two sides collapsed in October when the previous government proved unable to satisfy IMF demands that it maximise government revenue -- through such things as taxes -- and bring the mainly because of falling world demand and prices.

Sources close to the mines and energy ministry said last week that the minister, Issoufou Assoumane, had asked Ashanti Goldfields of Ghana to make proposals on helping it develop gold mining.