Moussa Kaka’s month-long disappearance in Niger: the widening toll on citizens, commerce and public trust

One month of silence, and a country left guessing In Niger, the pressure on independent journalism has now stretched past the one-month mark, and the consequences are rippling far beyond…

Is Barrick Gold’s Loulo-Gounkoto truce a strategic blunder for Mali’s mining future

A truce built on silence: what is Barrick Gold really hiding at Loulo-Gounkoto? The suspension of the strike notice at the Loulo-Gounkoto gold complex conceals a financial pact of a…

Can Niger’s judiciary still be trusted after lawyer Abdourahamane Lirwana’s jailing?

What does it mean when a lawyer is locked up for a Facebook post in Niger? That is the uncomfortable question hanging over Niamey after the arrest and detention of…

Benin’s 328 billion FCFA financing: can a €500 million bet on social investment deliver real change?

What does it take for an African nation to win the confidence of international lenders in a climate of tight global credit? Benin has just answered that question with a…

Burkina Faso: can Ibrahim Traoré’s official record answer the questions that truly matter?

When Ibrahim Traoré addressed the nation on 27 September 2026 to present the results of his four years in power, what emerged was primarily the government’s own reading of its…

Is Benin’s voice at UCESIF Bucharest strong enough to reshape francophone social dialogue?

Can a single delegation shift the balance of a whole network? That is the question hanging over Bucharest as Benin’s economic and social council takes its seat at the UCESIF…

Niger’s sovereignty question at the UN: can rhetoric outlast the SOMAÏR and SONIDEP collapse?

The question hanging over Niger’s UN appearance What is the real price of a speech? At the 81st United Nations General Assembly, Niger’s military-appointed Prime Minister, Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine,…

What will it take for South Africa to stop the bloodshed after 27 killed in Johannesburg and Cape Town?

A deadly day in South Africa: two shootings, 27 lives lost South Africa has been plunged back into the nightmare of mass gun violence after two separate attacks in Johannesburg…

Can Burkina Faso’s households withstand the loss of 1,917 public sector jobs?

As Burkina Faso opens its school year, a troubling social reality confronts countless families across the nation. Official figures reveal that the number of State civil service agents on the…

Simporé’s televised admission: the real cost of Burkina Faso’s collapsing security strategy

When General Célestin Simporé, Minister of Defence, appeared on the national broadcaster to praise the security record of Captain Ibrahim Traoré, he reached for a well-worn line: the country’s army…

Gabon’s ghost worker purge: what 1,473 dismissals and 11 billion CFA francs in savings mean for ordinary citizens

Gabon’s payroll cleanup: the real-world fallout of cutting 1,473 ghost workers The Gabonese government has taken a hard line. More than 1,400 state employees have been formally dismissed for abandoning…

How Burkina Faso’s anti-terror campaign is reshaping daily life for imams, traders and ordinary families

In Burkina Faso, the line between countering armed extremism and suppressing religious freedom has become dangerously blurred. Under the banner of national security, the transitional government led by Captain Ibrahim…