Latest news with #Senegal
The Guardian
2 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Zero review – Senegalese time-bomb thriller is a blast
Set in Senegal's capital Dakar, this action thriller is so strikingly shot, so propulsively edited and so confident in its tonal shifts that by the end viewers are likely to feel enervated and stunned, but in a good way. It has one of those literal ticking-time-bomb narratives; a corny device to be sure, but one that Congolese writer-director Jean Luc Herbulot, with assistance from main actor and co-writer Hus Miller, manipulates in fresh and interesting ways. Certainly it will inspire some viewers to take a plunge into Herbulot's back catalogue, which includes festival-anointed gangster-horror flick Saloum, another adept genre mash-up set in Senegal. The conceit here is that Miller's white, American-accented unnamed protagonist, called simply #1 in freeze-framed titles, wakes up on a Dakar bus with a sophisticated bomb strapped to his chest that is set to go off in 10 hours' time. The bomb is connected to a countdown-displaying mobile phone, and a young woman sitting nearby explains to him that he needs to put a Bluetooth earpiece in his ear and answer when he hears the phone ring. When it does, a croaky American-accented voice (Willem Dafoe, no less!) explains that #1 has a number of chores to perform that day before the bomb goes off. Soon he's hooked up with another bomb-bedecked American called #2 (Cam McHarg) and the two of them are sent on missions around the city. These tasks include finding assorted folks and giving them objects that in at least one case result in the recipient being blown up by another mini-bomb. The explosions are understandably interpreted as terrorist acts, breathlessly reported on the local news that acts as a sort of chorus throughout (another corny device), so #1 and #2 have to evade capture by both legitimate authorities and angry crowds. There are lighter moments along the way, like a bit where the two bomb-bearing protagonists are compelled to sniff metres of cocaine to appease a drug lord; they get so high that the film erupts into montage, backed by some spicy African hip-hop, resulting in an interlude that doesn't further the plot much and seems to exist primarily to appeal to a young male demographic. But the tone shifts towards something more serious and considered later on when we meet the duo's final assignation, Daniel (Gary Dourdan), who pulls the strands together with a polemical monologue set against another montage, this time showing filmed portraits of Dakar residents looking straight at the camera with blank expressions that might be accusatory or at least questioning, representing perhaps all the regular folk who suffer when nations and parties jostle in the streets over politics and control. Elsewhere, Herbulot and the camera department deploy drones to create all kinds of skewwhiff long-distance views of the action, while creative use of camera lenses create a sense of disorientation. It's all in service of depicting a modern African city full of relentless colour, texture and movement, an unceasing river of human traffic that weaves through dense residential areas, huge piles of debris, and areas of commerce – before reaching the Atlantic Ocean on the city's edge. This last setting is where the dark climax takes place, a finale that doesn't entirely pull off the tragic ending it's aiming for, but one that stays true to the film's intense energy. Zero is in UK cinemas from 25 July and on digital platforms from 11 August.
Reuters
7 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
Woodside beats Q2 revenue estimates, exits hydrogen project as costs bite
July 23 (Reuters) - Australia's Woodside Energy ( opens new tab reported a stronger-than-expected 8% rise in second-quarter revenue on Wednesday due to robust output from Senegal's Sangomar project, but took hefty writedowns on a failed hydrogen venture and aging offshore facilities. The revenue beat underscores the strong performance of the Sangomar project, which has contributed $510 million in revenue for the quarter. The company's overall production jumped 13% to 50.1 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe) during the quarter, up from 44.4 million boe in the same period last year. The country's top gas producer posted revenue of $3.28 billion for the three months ended June 30, surging 8% from $3.04 billion a year earlier and exceeding the Visible Alpha consensus estimate of $3.09 billion. Woodside also reduced annual unit production costs to $8-$8.50 per boe from $8.50-$9 per boe. Shares rose as much as 2.4% to a one-month high of A$25.44 by 0057 GMT, outpacing gains of over 1% in the broader energy sub-index (.AXEJ), opens new tab. However, the company said it was abandoning its H2OK hydrogen project in Oklahoma, citing cost escalation and weaker-than-expected demand in the low-carbon hydrogen sector. The exit will result in an impairment loss of about $140 million on a pre-tax basis. "We have made the decision to exit the H2OK Project, demonstrating our disciplined approach to portfolio management," the company said. Woodside also faces mounting decommissioning costs for its aging Minerva, Stybarrow and Griffin offshore facilities, with technical challenges at closed sites driving up expenses. The company expects to book $400-$500 million in pre-tax charges related to the decommissioning work. On the positive side, Woodside completed the sale of a 40% stake in its Louisiana LNG project to Stonepeak for $5.7 billion in June, with the buyer agreeing to fund 75% of the project's capital expenditures in 2025 and 2026. The company said it continues to attract interest from potential partners for further stakes. Woodside in late March agreed to sell offshore oil and gas assets in Trinidad and Tobago to London-based Perenco, which included production facilities and interests in shallow water fields. As a result of the asset sale, Woodside marginally adjusted its 2025 production forecast to between 188 million and 195 million boe, compared with its previous guidance range of 186 million to 196 million boe.
Reuters
8 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
Woodside's second-quarter revenue beats estimates on Sangomar output; trims 2025 outlook
July 23 (Reuters) - Australia's Woodside Energy ( opens new tab reported a stronger-than-expected 8% rise in second-quarter revenue on Wednesday due to robust output from Senegal's Sangomar project, though it marginally lowered its annual production forecast following an asset divestment. Woodside in late March agreed to sell offshore oil and gas assets in Trinidad and Tobago to London-based Perenco, which included production facilities and interests in the shallow water Angostura and Ruby fields within the Greater Angostura project. The country's top gas producer posted revenue of $3.28 billion for the three months ended June 30, surging 8% from $3.04 billion a year earlier and comfortably exceeding the Visible Alpha consensus estimate of $3.09 billion. The revenue beat underscores the strong performance of the Sangomar project, which has emerged as a key growth driver for the company. Overall production jumped 13% to 50.1 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe) during the quarter, up from 44.4 mmboe in the same period last year. As a result of the asset sale, Woodside marginally adjusted its 2025 production forecast to between 188 and 195 mmboe, compared with its previous guidance range of 186 to 196 mmboe.
France 24
17 hours ago
- Health
- France 24
The Bright Side: Madd fruit boosts Senegalese economy during rainy season
The tangy and rich in vitamin C Madd fruit, eaten fresh or processed, is a crucial source of income for thousands of families who live off its harvest in the region of Casamance, south of Senegal. In the village of Thiobon, over 450 kilometres south of Dakar, local producers are sustaining the sector and thanks to a 2024 Protected Geographical Indication, Madd is becoming more widely available. Backed by the World Intellectual Property Organisation, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation and the French Development Agency, this classification is bringing new hope to an entire community. From Dakar's markets to Casamance villages, people are willing to pay more than 14,000 CFA francs this year – just over €20 – for a sack of the fruit. 'The fixed price works well for us. If there's a lot or a little amount of Madd, people still buy it at the same price, so that's an advantage for us who harvest it," explained 29-year-old Madd picker, Lansana Mané. Madd is only harvested for three months a year and processing remains largely artisanal, which is a challenge for producers. 'We don't yet have large-scale systems, so we rely on a few freezers in our processing units,' said Maimouna Sambou Diedhiou, president of the Association for the Protection and Promotion of the Madd Geographical Indication of Casamance. 'Manual work limits production to small quantities, making year-round operations difficult. One of the biggest challenges is industrialising the process and creating systems to preserve semi-processed products, like Madd nuts.' According to industry insiders, the Madd sector generates an average of 500 million CFA francs, more than €750,000 each year.
France 24
18 hours ago
- Politics
- France 24
Duplomb Law: Feeding France, but at what cost?
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