Author: Aïcha Abdou

Gabon has entered the 81st United Nations General Assembly, underway in New York since 22 September, carrying a fresh institutional responsibility. Elected in June as a vice-president of the Assembly, Libreville is marking its debut on the General Committee of the UN’s principal deliberative body. That upgraded status adds weight to Gabon’s presence in New York. It comes as Libreville works to deepen its multilateral engagement and advance its priorities on major global issues. Marie-Édith Tassyla-Ye-Doumbeneny is leading the Gabonese delegation in this context, raising a key question: can this…

As world leaders gathered in New York for the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly, a crucial question hung over the continent’s security debate: can the principle of good neighborliness actually stop terrorism from crossing Africa’s porous frontiers? Benin’s foreign minister, Corinne Amori Brunet, put that question squarely on the table on Wednesday, September 23, 2026, when she chaired the 1369th ministerial meeting of the African Union’s Peace and Security Council (PSC). The session, held on the sidelines of the UN gathering, brought together representatives of PSC member…

SocietyCameroon Cameroon’s youth online: what if the real social media battle is happening off-screen? SocietyCameroon Kyrielle Ayombi | Elisabeth Asen 24/09/202624 September 2026 In this edition of #PasSansElles, young people speak up about their experiences, their concerns and their views on the impact of social media in their lives. https://p.dw.com/p/5MgmF They inform, entertain and bring people together… but they can also manipulate, divide and expose. In Cameroon, social media has become an inescapable part of daily life for young people. Between learning opportunities, digital entrepreneurship and freedom of expression, these…

Economy Gabon’s poultry import ban: can a market shutdown build a real industry before 2027? Libreville, Thursday 24 September 2026 – The dispute now pitting Libreville against Washington over poultry imports goes far beyond what sits in a freezer. It tests whether a state can shield a strategic sector, organise its domestic market, and turn food demand into productive activity. The real question is not whether Gabon should open or close its market, but under what conditions it can back local production without breaking international trade rules. As the 81st…

In Burkina Faso, the boundary between fighting armed extremism and suppressing religious freedom has rarely been so blurred. The dilemma the country now faces is as uncomfortable as it is unavoidable: can a government claim to be protecting its people while silencing the Muslim clerics who help hold that same people together? Since the transitional administration led by Captain Ibrahim Traoré began tightening its grip on religious life, a Muslim-majority nation has watched its imams, preachers and Islamic associations come under a level of pressure it had never known before.…

Can Burkina Faso still hold the ground just beyond its own capital? That is the uncomfortable question hanging over Boussouma, a village barely 77 kilometres north-east of Ouagadougou that has been emptied of its inhabitants under pressure from armed groups. Once a trading crossroads and a symbol of community cohesion, the locality now stands as a test case: if a settlement this close to the seat of power can slip away, how far has the state’s reach actually retreated? A trading hub 77 km from the capital, now emptied Less…

Why is Gabon reopening fisheries negotiations with the European Union? Gabon is preparing to return to the negotiating table with the European Union over a new sustainable fisheries partnership, and the talks will go far beyond the simple question of European vessels accessing Gabonese waters. After the previous arrangement lapsed, Libreville is determined to redefine the economic, industrial and operational terms of a cooperation that governs the exploitation of its marine resources. On 18 September 2026, the Gabonese government approved the opening of negotiations for a new Sustainable Fisheries Partnership…