By Naomi Schwarz 

Hotel owners, neo-traditional craftsmen, and others in the tourism trade from Senegal and the Gambia convened in Senegal's capital, Dakar, this week for the first ever sub-regional tourism fair to promote responsible tourism.

Participants say events like these will create connections across the region that will help them compete better with the big international tour companies. Naomi Schwarz has more from the fairground in downtown Dakar.

By Kari Barber

A United Nations helicopter carrying three crewmembers crashed in northern Liberia on Friday.  A U.N. spokesman says two of the three crewmembers are dead and the condition of the third is unknown.  The names and nationalities of those on board have not yet been released. Kari Barber has more from our West Africa bureau in Dakar.

Ben Malor, spokesman for the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) says the helicopter was on a routine flight from the border with Guinea to the border with Ivory Coast when it went down.