Dakar, Senegal
Eight West African countries agreed this week to replace $1 billion worth of paper currency with new bills. The countries that use the franc of the African Financial Community—known by its French acronym, CFA—as their common currency have seen a wave of bank robberies and counterfeitings in the past few years. The new money will have metallic strips to deter counterfeiters, and will feature designs of African art and animals. The changeover will also have a fringe benefit: cleanliness. CFA countries haven’t put fresh bills into circulation for more than 10 years, and many of the francs are so dirty they’re slimy.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Nepal chooses toddler as its new ‘living goddess’Under the Radar Girls between two and four are typically chosen to live inside the temple as the Kumari – until puberty strikes
-
October 5 editorial cartoonsCartoons Sunday's political cartoons include half-truth hucksters, Capitol lockdown, and more
-
Jaguar Land Rover’s cyber bailoutTalking Point Should the government do more to protect business from the ‘cyber shockwave’?
