West Africa

The cashew campaign is in full swing in West Africa, but production forecasts have been revised downwards as in India and Vietnam. As a result, prices are rising and Asia is expected to need African nuts more than usual this year. The misfortune of Asian cashew producers may well make their West African counterparts happy this year. Concerns are confirmed, the cashew nut campaign among the two major producers in India and Vietnam looks less promising this year. Probably for climatic reasons. As a result, Asian…

The demonstrations and riots that shook Senegal in early March were not only concentrated in Dakar. They had broken out after the case of Ousmane Sonko, the leader of the opposition party the Senegalese patriots for work, ethics and fraternity (Pastef), who is accused of rape and death threats. Other regions have been mobilized to "defend democracy", such as Saint-Louis, in the north of the country, a…

In the country, the degree of positivity is high. That is, out of the total number of tests performed, it turns out that a large number are positive for Covid-19. The situation is not yet critical in hospitals, but the epidemic is there and it is affecting more and more Ivorians. Out of five deaths recorded in December, the country has counted 17 in January, 35 in February and 30 died since early March. A total of 222 people have officially died of Covid-19 in Ivory Coast since the onset of the disease. This increase…

Customs duty is growing in Niger. On the evening of Monday, March 22, the government announced that attacks on Sunday against villages and camps in the Tahoua region near Mali resulted in the deaths of 137 people. These attacks are the deadliest committed in the country by suspected jihadists in recent years. A three-day national mourning was issued from this Tuesday.…

In addition to Bah N'Daw, the interim president with whom he had a working lunch, the former British leader met with officials responsible for organizing the election, including the presidential election scheduled for next year. The former Prime Minister's Institute is ready to provide support to Mali in the context of institutional reforms and the organization of future meetings.…

Crowds have died in the deadliest suspected terrorist massacre ever to hit Niger, the government said on Monday, underlining the huge security challenge facing new President Mohamed Bazoum. Government spokeswoman Zakaria Abdourahamane said 137 people had been killed in Sunday's raids on villages near Niger's border with Mali. "By systematically targeting civilian populations now, these armed bandits have gone one step further into terror and brutality," Abdourahamane said in a statement read on public…

Sierra Leone is celebrating this Tuesday the 30th anniversary of the civil war that erupted on March 23, 1991. A painful date for this country that has seen 120,000 people disappear in a conflict triggered by the rebels from the RUF, the revolutionary UN front. Thirty years later, women, men and children, victims of clashes between armed factions and government forces, bear witness to this period and their shattered lives, hard to rebuild. In the village of Bomaru, east of the country, Vandy Gbosso Kallon, traditional…

In Ivory Coast, it is a too-frequent “phenomenon” that arouses Abidjani's anger: building collapses due to poor craftsmanship. Ten days ago, a dozen people were killed in the collapse of a five-story building under construction in the Anono district of Cocody. Last Saturday, balconies in a three-story building fell without causing any casualties. Last year, eleven buildings in Abidjan collapsed. In Côte d'Ivoire, the rules for building permits are clear. The plans must be signed by an architect. For buildings with more…

All-round hearings of activists arrested on the sidelines of the "Sonko affair". Among them, Guy Marius Sagna, coordinator of the Frapp-France Degage movement, heard on Monday, March 22, about the merits of the examining magistrate. The activist, who was arrested on February 22, condemned a "conspiracy" against opponent Ousmane Sonko, who was accused of raping an employee in a massage parlor. The…

During a news conference Monday night, March 22, in Niamey, opponent Mahamane Ousmane challenged the presidential candidate's ruling from the Constitutional Court, which validated Mohamed Bazoum's victory. Mahamane Ousmane calls for a peaceful march across the territory, for the mobilization of the people and for the support of the constituted bodies and the armed forces.…