The decision was as sudden as it was shrouded in mystery: on 15 September, four months before Gabon joined the Security Council, the UN told Gabonese peacekeepers deployed in the Central African Republic to leave the country, citing cases of sexual abuse.
Repelled by DRC mines' bad reputation, BMW has turned to Morocco and Australia for its cobalt supplies, while Volkswagen prefers to deal with Chinese battery manufacturers. At the same time through their supplier BASF, the car makers are funding a project to support Congolese artisanal mining cooperatives, managed by German development agency GIZ.
Breaking news, published on 20/02/22, at 19h45 - To put an end to the legal action Kinshasa has been planning to launch against him over the past months, mining magnate Dan Gertler has struck a compromise financial deal covering all claims against him.
One of the flagship contracts of the 2016-2020 military budget, the construction of four military hospitals in Ivory Coast, is on the verge of being awarded to Casablanca-based TGCC. This is much to the dismay of its Ivorian rivals, who had been banking on home advantage, and Indian firms, which had secured the financing.
The Grand Master of the Grand Orient de France, one of the main French Masonic orders, Georges Sérignac, has just wrapped up a low-key African tour on 21 February to Togo and Benin.
The African Union's most sought-after commissioner, Bankole Adeoye, has finally found a way to hire advisers to help him manage a portfolio where crises and coups are piling up dangerously.
The Oromo Federalist Congress is uninclined to take part in the national dialogue process, according to internal sources, because of uncertainty about the future of its leaders Jawar Mohammed and Bekele Gerba following their recent release from prison.
During the Dubai Diamond Conference, the Angolan government will showcase its new Saurimo diamond hub, which has been slow in finding investors.
Zimbabwe has called upon Armenian IU Networks, specialised in IT solutions for former Soviet block countries, to design and implement a new system for its revenue authority.
South Africa has only one oil refinery left in operation and even that could close within a year following the string of cancelled projects and accidents on out-dated facilities.
Russia is pushing for the departure of the UN's de facto representative in Libya, Stephanie Williams, while the United States wants her to stay. Among the names mooted to succeed her are a German diplomat and a former Ghanaian minister.
Minister of Industry and Energy Neila Gonji is increasing her goals for solar and wind power, with plans to build an additional 1500MW of capacity. She has pitched the project to the Saudi Fund for Development.
On 3 February, ICSID suspended arbitration proceedings between US investment fund Carlyle and Morocco at the request of both parties.
