LISTENERS swayed as the celebrated Malian duo Amadou and Mariam sang from a stage on the banks of the Niger River at an annual festival coloured this year by political shifts roiling West Africa.
Tens of thousands of people from Mali and elsewhere in the region flock each February to the town of Segou, 230km northeast of the capital Bamako, for a week-long showcase of Malian music, visual art, theatre and dance.
