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Somalia is experiencing its worst drought on record, and 1 million people have been forced to flee, while in Kenya 2.5 million livestock have died and 2.4 million people are going hungry.

Cereal production in Niger has fallen by 40% owing to extreme weather, leaving 2.6 million people in a state of acute hunger, while the desertification of crop and pasture land in Burkina Faso.

Throughout 2021 and this year, attacks by armed Islamist groups and unlawful killings carried out by state forces and pro-government militias have destabilized Burkina Faso, according to Human Rights Watch.

Throughout 2021 and this year, attacks by armed Islamist groups and unlawful killings carried out by state forces and pro-government militias have destabilized Burkina Faso, according to Human Rights Watch.

Hundreds of Chadians are being rounded up and detained on the streets of a Libyan town for a ninth day in retaliation for the Chad government’s arrest of four Libyan men on suspicion of poaching endangered animals.

These are all food products deeply rooted in the landscape and its people. Some Welsh ingredients have barely hung on into the 21st century, victims of the globalisation of food and perhaps the lack of celebrity champions.

Travellers in a rush to reach Spain head for the Gare TGV, which opened in 2001. It is a good way south of the city centre in Courtine, a new suburb that was once a watery wasteland between the Durance and Rhône rivers. 

Those not in a hurry will find a far more interesting option for travel to Spain. The slow trains depart from Avignon Centre, the historic station by the walls of the old city. 

Architect Jules Bouchot also designed a similar station at Valence, down the Rhône Valley from Avignon. Both stations take architectural cues from the 7 chateau at Versailles.

Alas, the direct trains to London, Berlin and Milan are no more. The only trains from Avignon Centre that still venture beyond French borders are the thrice-daily regional services to Portbou in Spain.