Mecca — A minor disturbance inside the Grand Mosque can reverberate across the globe in an instant. In the early hours of Friday, the spiritual epicenter for over 1.8 billion Muslims came dangerously close to chaos. As tens of thousands of worshippers performed the Tawaf circling the Kaaba, an incidentContinue Reading
Interpreting Benin’s 19th place in Africa’s tourism development ranking According to the World Economic Forum’s Travel & Tourism Development Index, Benin ranks 19th on the continent for tourism destination development. This isn’t just a matter of prestige—it’s a gauge of how advanced a nation’s infrastructure, business climate, connectivity, and sustainabilityContinue Reading
Bissau — The political deadlock in Guinea-Bissau has deepened dramatically. Exiled former president Umaro Sissoco Embaló has finally broken his silence, declaring his intention to return to Bissau and seek the presidency once more. The military High Command’s response was swift and blunt: a communiqué categorically barred his return, condemningContinue Reading
LOMÉ — The midday calm at Lomé’s Gnassingbé Eyadéma International Airport (AIGE) shattered in an instant when a pressurized sewage main, long past its service life, gave way above the central hall. What followed was not a simple leak but a violent rupture that sent a torrent of fecal sludge,Continue Reading
Behind Senegal’s special funds clash: why Sonko and Faye are heading back to the constitutional council The organic bill no. 38/2026, which modifies the Organic Law on Finance Laws (LOLF), was on the agenda of Thursday’s plenary session. A fresh power struggle between the Executive and the parliamentary majority isContinue Reading
BAMAKO — On Thursday, October 1, the official start of the 2026-2027 school year in Mali was proclaimed with pomp and ambition. Transitional President General Assimi Goïta declared it the “Year of Education and Culture.” But behind the official slogan lies a stark, painful truth: more than 2,400 schools willContinue Reading
Every 1 October, Cameroon marks the anniversary of the 1961 reunification that joined the former French colony with Southern Cameroons, then under British administration. For many anglophone Cameroonians, however, that union remains contested. It was on this same date in 2017 that separatists in the North-West and South-West regions declaredContinue Reading
Cotonou — Benin has secured 500 million euros in a landmark financing operation, but the real story lies in the financial engineering that made it possible. In partnership with the African Development Bank Group, the West African nation tapped international capital markets at a time when many emerging economies areContinue Reading
The dust had barely settled on the military outpost at Lalgaye when the first claims began to circulate. On Thursday, 1 October, the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM) formally acknowledged responsibility for a wave of simultaneous assaults that had struck Burkina Faso five days earlier, onContinue Reading
Un héritage contesté : répression, déplacements et souveraineté Quatre ans après la prise de pouvoir du capitaine Ibrahim Traoré au Burkina Faso, le pays reste profondément marqué par un conflit armé qui continue de faire des victimes civiles et de déplacer des millions de personnes. Si la junte revendique desContinue Reading
Air Sénégal faces storm amid crew suspension on Dakar-Paris route The abrupt suspension of all flight attendants and pilots on the Dakar-Paris route has sent shockwaves through the airline industry and raised urgent questions about passenger safety and corporate accountability in West Africa. The decision, announced on September 17, hasContinue Reading
Behind the diplomatic push: Tshisekedi’s urgent message to AU mediator Gnassingbé A new chapter in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) peace efforts unfolded this week as Congolese officials personally delivered a written appeal from President Félix Tshisekedi to Togolese leader Faure Gnassingbé. The move comes amid rising tensionsContinue Reading