Talks between the European Union and Burkina Faso on possible security support recently resumed. The EU is keen to maintain links with the junta led by Captain Traoré, but would freeze any aid plans if Ouagadougou signs a deal with the Russian paramilitary group Wagner.
Long-time contractor Ecolog is facing competition from Gulf Catering Services to supply the UN's mission in the Central African Republic. The tender was issued in June, but New York has put off making a decision.
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Business The American buyer of the Nkamouna mining project is working to mend fences with its public partner, the SNI, and the Cameroonian authorities, which had been damaged by the previous owner's procrastinations. After an audit by Deloitte, the firm now has to patch things up with the tax authorities and recruit a new management team.
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Mining 
The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) is about to launch a new programme, financed by the State Department, to encourage the return to civilian rule in Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea and Chad.
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Diplomacy 
Little has been heard of the former president since the man he had hoped would succeed him embarked on a crusade against the eventual winner of last August's presidential election. Kenyatta's people worry that rocking the boat could jeopardise the family's sprawling business interests.
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Politics Several officials of the Beninese football federation have been irked by arrangements for a recent Benin versus Rwanda football match, and suspect Kagame had a hand in the affair. The match was a 2024 African Cup of Nations qualifying game and was supposed to be played in Cotonou, but after being delayed by 48 hours, was finally held in Kigali.
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Politics 
The intuition of Namibia's best-connected businessman, Knowledge Katti, could make him one of the country's richest people. He has positioned one of his firms in the heart of the promising blocks in the Orange Basin.
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Energy A court case forced Cyril Ramaphosa to revoke the state of national disaster he had decreed in a bid to resolve South Africa's persistent electricity crisis. This was a slap in the face for the president, who was seeking to sideline heavyweight ANC ministers he holds partly responsible for the crisis.
More than a year after the vast project was declared operational, opposition from local residents and the absence of environmental guarantees could sound its death knell.
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Mining During his inspection of Cevital's new oilseed crushing plant in Bejaia on 16 March, the now former Minister of Industry Ahmed Zeghdar announced that production would begin in late April.
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Business 
