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
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
By AMINATA KABORE — JournalistContinue Reading
The financial circles of Dakar and Abidjan are reeling from a suspected bank fraud involving an estimated 1.9 billion CFA francs. Two banking institutions were reportedly caught off guard by forged transfer orders that enabled large sums to be moved fraudulently. In Dakar, the Section de Recherches has already madeContinue Reading
By AMINATA KABORE — JournalistContinue 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
The Beninese government has taken a decisive step in preparing the 2027 fiscal year by forwarding its draft finance bill to the National Assembly for scrutiny and approval. At 4,757.029 billion FCFA in both resources and spending, the budget climbs 14.7% above the 4,148.357 billion FCFA revised for 2026. TheContinue Reading
Benin has taken a decisive step in shaping its 2027 fiscal year. The draft finance bill has been sent to the National Assembly for review and vote, carrying a balanced envelope of 4,757.029 billion FCFA in both resources and expenditure. That is a 14.7% jump from the 4,148.357 billion FCFAContinue 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