Affordable housing, smoother daily commutes, smarter waste collection, flood protection and job creation: Benin’s urban transition is gaining momentum, and the FIC 2026 forum in Cotonou offered a rare look at what is actually driving it. Behind the official theme of low-carbon territorial economies lies a more revealing story —Continue Reading
The eruption of an oil well in the Agadem basin has ignited serious environmental concerns and reopened the debate over the responsibility of Nigerien authorities, the terms of the partnership with China, and the tensions between Niamey and Beijing. As pollution risks loom, transparency and the protection of local populationsContinue Reading
By Alasane OUEDRAOGO — JournalistContinue Reading
By Alasane OUEDRAOGO — JournalistContinue Reading
By Alasane OUEDRAOGO — JournalistContinue Reading
The missile and drone assault on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, claimed by Yemen’s Houthi movement, represents far more than a single deadly incident. It exposes the fault lines of a conflict that has been quietly widening for months — and signals that the war in Yemen is noContinue Reading
Behind the pomp of a Beijing trip: the deeper calculus for Togo When Faure Gnassingbé lands in China from 9 to 16 October 2026, the official narrative will emphasise a strategic partnership stretching back decades. Yet the more revealing question is not what will be signed, but what structural forcesContinue Reading
When Niger’s negotiators sat down with the International Monetary Fund in Niamey from September 28 to October 8, 2026, the discussions produced more than just a headline figure. The staff-level agreement on a new 38-month financing program worth roughly $203 million — equivalent to 150.02 million special drawing rights —Continue Reading
In Burkina Faso, the government has decided to prohibit the exportation of certain flours until further notice. According to a directive from the Minister of Commerce, the measure applies to millet, maize and sorghum flours, as well as their derivatives. Special export authorizations previously issued for these products have alsoContinue Reading
On 10 October 2026, the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) reportedly launched a drone strike against positions held by Africa Corps and the Malian army in Soumpi, in the Timbuktu region. The incident brings an essential question back to the centre of the debate: after more than four years of securityContinue Reading
Niger’s transitional authorities have made “national sovereignty” and the “rejection of foreign oversight” a central pillar of their political messaging. Yet the arithmetic of public finance has once again forced its own verdict. On Thursday, 8 October 2026, the International Monetary Fund announced a staff-level agreement following a mission toContinue Reading
Niger’s Diffa oil leak crisis: governance failures behind an ecological emergency Diffa, Niger — For the best part of a week, a dark slick has been spreading across the land in the Diffa region of eastern Niger, and the silence surrounding it reveals as much about Niger’s environmental governance asContinue Reading