An African success story: Togo’s princesses of wax print

An African success story: Togo's princesses of wax print

Togolese have cast their votes following protests in 2017 and 2018 against President Faure Gnassingbe's rule. Last year, Gnassingbe reformed the West African nation's constitution so he could lead until 2030.

Incumbent candidate Faure Gnassingbé has won his fourth presidential term. Both the president and challenger Agbeyome Kodjo had previously declared victory.

Preliminary result from Togo’s Electoral Commission shows the country’s President, Faure Gnassingbe, with a strong lead of 72 per cent of the vote. Samson Itodo, Executive Director of Yiaga Africa, an organization that monitors election in Sub-Saharan Africa joins CNBC Africa for more.

The Togolese government is taking part in the G-20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative, which suspends payments to bilateral Paris Club creditors from the first of May till the end of the year 2020. Ratings Agency, Moody’s says Togo’s participation in the initiative offers short term liquidity relief but poses risks for the private sector. Lucie Villa, Vice President and Senior Credit Officer at Moody’s joins CNBC Africa for more.

Togo Election: Togolese in Lagos call for the entrenchment of democracy

"We are happy to reopen even if it is with a very limited capacity," says the director of the Grévin Museum, a wax museum in Paris. After being closed for more than six months because of the pandemic, staff are carrying out the final touches to the wax statues before reopening to the public on May 19.

In Togo, a young lady is one of the few women to work as a motorcycle cab driver. She is facing gender stereotypes and dangerous traffic. But nothing will stop her to fight for her dream.

For the ninth edition of FIMO228, Togo's international fashion festival, the event's founder Jacques Logoh is training the spotlight on a diverse cast of models. Larissa Solim Amelete, the face of this year's event, has succeeded in getting her family to support her modelling career, while Cathy Crussy, a TV producer, is in her 50s. Then there's Rebecca Attiogbé, who drives a forklift truck for a day job, and Alex Sef, the androgynous muse for Ethiopian label Afropian this season. FRANCE 24 went to meet them.

The 9th edition of FIMO, Togo's international fashion festival, didn’t open with a series of fashion shows, but instead with a science symposium organised by the University of Lomé. The theme of the discussion: how to pursue ethical fashion production while Africa continues to be the recipient of thousands of tonnes of the rest of the world’s unsold merchandise? And how to make the most of the rich pool of African design talent? We get some insightful answers from designers, fashion students and academics.

The Commonwealth has admitted Gabon and Togo as its 55th and 56th members respectively. Both countries are former French colonies.

Togo's government has confirmed reports that Burkina Faso's ousted coup leader Paul-Henri Damiba fled there following a mutiny of junior officers. Meanwhile, ECOWAS envoys were being sent to Ouagadougou.