Vol 62 No 23 | MALI Meeting Moscow, battling Brussels 18th November 2021 European Union sanctions on those who impede the transition back to democracy, following those imposed by the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas), deepens confrontation with Bamako...
Vol 62 No 23 | GUINEA Conakry gets its new class 18th November 2021 Most of the 27 ministers in Guinea's new cabinet picked by junta leader Colonel Mamady Doumbouya are mostly youngish and mostly technocratic. Prime Minister Mohamed Béavogui, 68, is...
Vol 62 No 23 | CÔTE D'IVOIRE When the parties go to pieces 16th November 2021 All the main parties are floundering, seeking successors and relevance, as Gbagbo relaunches his political career Ex-President Laurent Gbagbo's Front populaire ivoirien (FPI) has splintered and its former leader helms a new party; President Alassane Ouattara's Rassemblement des houphouëtistes pour la démocratie et la...
Vol 62 No 23 | MALIRUSSIAUNITED NATIONS Bamako and Moscow defy Paris 11th November 2021 The Malian foreign minister's trip to Moscow will be read as a slap in Paris's face as the junta deepens relations with President Putin's government The visit by Mali's Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop to Moscow on 11 November flies in the face of French government complaints about Russia's state-backed mercenaries and their allied...
Vol 62 No 23 | GHANA Populist anti-gay bill divides churches and activists 5th November 2021 Advocates of a draconian anti-gay law are piling pressure on President Akufo-Addo and have sparked a rift with the Anglican church The Ghanaian Family Values Bill is likely to sail through Parliament if it is voted on in the coming weeks. The main opposition and governing parties are broadly... READ FOR FREE
Vol 62 No 21 | NIGERIA A splintered sect 21st October 2021 The death of a notorious jihad leader has shifted the balance of power among terrorist groups in the region An unrelenting campaign of terror by Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) continues to gather steam as it positions itself to succeed Boko Haram, from which it splintered,...
Vol 62 No 21 | CABO VERDE US gets its man 21st October 2021 The 16-month legal saga surrounding Alex Nain Saab Morán – accused of laundering hundreds of millions of dollars for Venezuela's government – came to an end on 16...
Vol 62 No 20 | NIGERIA Transfer window still open 7th October 2021 Ruling party apparatchiks are luring their opponents to defect as parties choose their presidential contenders Fear of the unknown and super-charged ambition are driving record numbers of opposition party governors and other top officials to cross over to the ruling party. Many more...
Vol 62 No 20 | GHANA Anti-gay bill heads to house 7th October 2021 The opposition is manipulating religious animosity against homosexuality to steal a march on the government A bill seeking to criminalise LGBTQ+ sexual relationships is expected to come before Ghana's parliament soon after it reconvenes on 19 October. And although it's being used as...
Vol 62 No 20 | MALI Toxic relationship in the Sahel 7th October 2021 Moscow's military support for Mali's junta is raising tensions with France, and risks opening up old wounds in the north Russia has delivered four military helicopters to Mali's military regime, just as the country's latest public row with former colonial power France floods the Bamako and Paris media...