Category: Top Stories

The standoff that almost derailed Senegal’s budget revision For days, the fate of Senegal’s 2026 revised finance bill hung in the balance. A deadline set by the Prime Minister’s office came and went. Accusations flew. And the President of the National Assembly, Ousmane Sonko, publicly declared he had received no notification of the text. The question on everyone’s mind: would the government miss its own budget timetable, or would the bill finally arrive? On Friday, September 18, 2026, the National Assembly announced it had received the draft revised finance bill…

Published today at 7:04 PM Reading time: 7 minutes. File generated on Read in the app Mehdi Ba Journalist at Jeune Afrique, specialist on Senegal Bassirou Diomaye Faye Kiiraay – Les Patriotes républicains By Ousmane Tandja — Senior correspondent

Cotonou, Benin — The strategic dilemma facing West Africa’s monetary union is blunt: can the region’s own savings be converted into the capital that funds its development, or will it remain dependent on external financing? That question framed the second edition of the Regional Shareholding Forum, held in Cotonou on 17–18 September 2026, where institutional actors, business leaders and market specialists demanded a deep shift in investment habits across the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA). Under the theme “Shareholding and financial sovereignty: mobilising savings to accelerate economic transformation”,…

Libreville’s top prosecutor job: can Alain-Georges Moukoko turn green justice credentials into real results? Libreville, Friday 18 September 2026 – The general prosecutor’s office in Libreville is changing hands at a moment when Gabon’s judiciary is under pressure to prove it can be faster, tougher and more credible. On 16 September 2026, in Port-Gentil, the Superior Council of the Judiciary appointed Alain-Georges Moukoko as general prosecutor at the Libreville Judicial Court of Appeal. He takes over from Eddy Narcisse Minang as part of a sweeping reshuffle decided at the highest…

Benin and Cuba have reopened a channel that spent years on standby. In Cotonou, Cuba’s ambassador Denisse Amaro Salabarría met the leadership of Benin’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI Benin) for a diplomatic audience that ended with one shared pledge: to breathe new life into economic and commercial exchanges between the two countries. The question now hanging over the file is simple, and far from rhetorical. Will this revival produce signed contracts and moving cargo, or will it stay at the level of warm statements? An old friendship now…

Twelve months to the day. That is how long has passed since Marguerite Essossimna Gnakadé, a former minister of the armed forces, was taken into custody on 17 September 2025. The anniversary pushes an awkward question to the centre of the debate in Lomé: under President Faure Gnassingbé, can any critic cross the line of dissent without triggering an institutional or judicial response? For ordinary citizens and regional observers alike, the case of the former defence chief has come to embody a doctrine of power refined over many years. When…

What does Gabon stand to gain from its new ambassador in Washington? That is the question at the heart of Baudelaire Ndong Ella’s official entry into office, which took place last Tuesday in the US capital. The Gabonese diplomat presented his credentials to President Donald Trump during a ceremony at the White House, formally opening a mission he intends to use to strengthen the partnership between Libreville and Washington. A mandate built around economic diplomacy At the top of his agenda is economic diplomacy. Ndong Ella is expected to push…

Benin is taking a decisive step toward self-sufficiency in engineering with the launch of a groundbreaking sustainable engineering master’s program at Sèmè City. In a landmark partnership, the Sèmè City Institute of Technology (SCITI) has teamed up with the University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne (URCA) to introduce the Master in Design Engineering – Sustainable Engineering Track, marking the first-ever master’s degree offered by SCITI. This initiative represents a turning point for Benin’s higher education landscape, aligning with the government’s broader vision to transform the nation into a regional hub for innovation…

This article contains affiliate links to advertisers. Please gamble responsibly, 18+ Barcelona are showing no signs of slowing down: six wins from six league games, 28 goals scored and only six conceded, including a midweek masterclass against Racing Santander (7-2), highlighted by a Raphinha hat-trick. Deployed as a false nine by Hansi Flick, the Brazilian, alongside Lamine Yamal, spearheads an attack that is averaging nearly five goals per game. Meanwhile, Sevilla appear to have turned the page on a dismal last season that ended in 13th place, just one point…

The July 2023 events in Niamey marked a turning point for Niger’s military leadership—but behind the headlines stood an officer whose operational expertise was forged far from the Sahel. General Moussa Salaou Barmou, now Chief of the Armed Forces, spent years mastering advanced warfare techniques in the United States, bringing back a doctrine that has since redefined how Niger’s special forces operate against extremist threats. From American classrooms to Sahelian battlefields: the making of a special forces architect General Barmou’s professional journey reads like a masterclass in military excellence. His…