In a late-September interview broadcast on BF1 TV, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, Burkina Faso’s transitional president, rejected any prospect of normalising diplomatic relations with France, using unusually blunt language to criticise Paris’s posture. The remarks fit a pattern that has defined his administration since it took power in September 2022: aContinue Reading
The machinery behind a celebrity real estate scandal in Côte d’Ivoire This investigation goes beyond a simple legal case. It exposes the inner workings of a system where fame, social media and real estate ambitions collided. Rita Bénédicte Djédjé Grahon, widely known as “Maman Caï-Caï”, now stands at the centreContinue Reading
The French government’s decision to designate two operatives of Niger’s intelligence service as personae non gratae — men formally assigned to Niger’s embassy in Paris — offers more than a fresh diplomatic headache. It exposes the structural decay of a partnership that has been unravelling since the summer of 2023,Continue Reading
The $1 billion sale of Oryx Energies tells a bigger story than a simple change of ownership. The deal, which values the Swiss hydrocarbon trader at roughly a billion dollars, reveals how Africa’s energy landscape has shifted: the real prize is no longer just buying and selling fuel, but owningContinue Reading
Benin’s decision to greenlight fourteen health centres and a full overhaul of the Ouidah zone hospital maternity ward is more than a routine infrastructure announcement. Meeting on Wednesday, October 7, 2026, the Council of Ministers authorised the government to sign contracts with the selected construction firms, clearing the way forContinue Reading
South of Benin’s economic capital, the coastal corridor stretching from Fidjrossè to Ouidah has quietly become a testing ground for a much larger question: how does a fast-growing country expand its tourist economy without paving over the very ecosystems that keep its coastline habitable? The creation of a dedicated publicContinue Reading
On 7 October 2026, Burkina Faso’s treasury returned to the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UMOA) financial market to raise 40 billion CFA francs from private investors. The operation was completed, but it exposes a structural tension that has been building for months: a government that publicly champions self-relianceContinue Reading
In Niger today, an intriguing paradox is unfolding: fuel queues are visible on the streets, yet they seem to vanish from official statements. This discrepancy raises profound questions about the nature of governance and communication in times of strain. The roots of the denial Behind the scenes, the dynamics areContinue Reading
Why Cotonou is scaling up its restitution strategy When Benin secured the return of 26 royal treasures from France in 2021, it looked like a one-off victory. Three years later, the machinery behind that success is running at full speed. President Romuald Wadagni has now formally asked his French counterpart,Continue Reading
By Alasane OUEDRAOGO — JournalistContinue Reading
By Alasane OUEDRAOGO — JournalistContinue Reading
Something more calculated than a routine diplomatic gesture is unfolding in Benin. On Wednesday, 7 October 2026, the European Union formally opened its first-ever economic mission on Beninese soil in Cotonou, bringing with it a delegation of European companies eager to scout local investment openings. The timing and scale ofContinue Reading