Bike hopes for Ghanaian school kids

Samuel Takyi made history by winning Ghana's first Olympic medal in 30 years. But more importantly, his success has given young Ghanaian boxers something to aim for - and believe in!

In Portugal's Agueda valley, south of Porto, the bike manufacturing industry is flourishing, particularly for electric bicycles. No other EU country makes more bikes than Portugal. The nation of 10 million inhabitants, or just over 2 percent of the EU population, produces a quarter of the bloc's bicycles. This reindustrialisation success story is the consequence of a growing passion for cycling in Europe. Our regional correspondents report.

CCTV footage captures the moment a thief rams an allegedly stolen front-end loader into a shop and attempts to make off with two motorcycles in the Australian state of Queensland on Friday morning. Police give chase as the driver of the tractor ditches the motorcycles and attempts to flee through the streets of Ipswich, west of Brisbane.

Getting husbands to join their wives for postnatal services was a tricky task for clinics. But one clinic in northern Ghana has found a way - and it's yielding results!

While most people stayed at home as the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged New York, Ghanaian national Paul Ninson sifted through storage containers and struggling bookshops in order to build what he says has become the world's largest collection of African photography books. His collection now consists of more than 30,000 books. He plans to bring them back to Ghana and open a photography museum with help from a crowdfunding campaign that raised more than a million dollars in two days.

In a dimly-lit room with racks of women's clothing, Ghanaian artist and LGBT+ activist Va-Bene Elikem Fiatsi prepares herself for the day, pairing a dress with carefully applied makeup. Transitioning is not illegal in Ghana, but it will become so if a new law is passed, intended to tighten already strict anti-LGBT+ regulations which render same-sex relations illegal. Homophobia is pervasive in the West African country and trans people are generally considered to be gay.

Bandit attacks using motorbikes have increased in northwestern Nigeria leading to the loss of lives and properties. The region has a long history of bandits raiding villages, conducting kidnappings and stealing cattle.

Ghana's only glass blower says he is on a mission to reduce the country's glass waste and wasteful imports. Michael Tetteh built his own glassblowing studio in 2012 from scrap metal and clay bricks and today produces dozens of eclectic pieces each week from recycled TV screens, window panes and soda bottles.

Striking school cooks in Ghana want a year's backdated salary and an increased feeding grant. Caterers blame soaring prices on the war in Ukraine. Millions of children will not be fed until the issues are resolved.

Kunle Adeyanju rode for 12,000 kilometres and through 13 countries to raise funds for eliminating polio. He also spent time sensitizing communities along the way from London to Lagos about the disease. GuardianTV sat with the rider to discuss how the long journey went through.

The books and computers in a Lagos slum library are a ray of hope for children living in Ajegunle, many of whom can't afford to go to school.

When Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, Ghanaian student Dorcas Djabatey decided to wait it out. But as days turned to weeks, it became clear that she had to get out of the country, putting her dream of becoming a medical doctor in limbo. Here's her story of escape and hope.