With less than a month to go to presidential elections which look increasingly unlikely to take place, an independent UN report has reviewed the options available to Somalia to get out of its current difficulties.
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Diplomacy 
The Turkish group Summa is in talks with the Congolese authorities over an opportunity to take over the N'Djili international airport upgrades in what would be its first move in the country.
Government ministers clashed with the president's office over the route to be taken by the official convoy bringing FIFA chairman Gianni Infantino and his entourage to the opening match of the African Nations Championship (CHAN) between Cameroon and Zimbabwe in Yaounde on 16 January.
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Politics 
Ghana's 16,000-strong army has become one of the main levers of Accra's outsized diplomatic influence in Africa and beyond, with nearly 3,000 soldiers deployed across a dozen UN missions. President Nana Akufo-Addo is particularly fond of his country's armed forces and increasingly relies on his Chief of Defence Staff, Lieutenant General Obed Akwa.
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Diplomacy After presidents Mohamed Ould Ghazouani of Mauritania, Idriss Déby of Chad and Mahamadou Issoufou of Niger visited Emmanuel Macron in Paris, it's now Roch Marc Christian Kaboré's turn
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Diplomacy 
With the virtual summit of African Union heads of state scheduled for 6 and 7 February, the Ethiopian prime minister is working hard to bag a commissioner post for one of his loyal allies.
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Diplomacy Months ahead of the scheduled delivery in June of six locomotives from Spain's Serveis Ferroviaris de Mallorca, the procurement contract has already landed new Kenya Railways Corp (KRC) director Philip Mainga in the hotseat.
The World Bank's inspection panel has given itself an extra month to decide whether or not to launch an investigation into allegations of illegal expropriation against Mota-Engil in Uganda.
Jinchuan has found a way to make its Chibuluma copper mine in Zambia generate income again, after years of losses. It has also obtained a loan of $350m to develop Musonoi mine in the DRC.
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Mining The deepening but largely unacknowledged rift between President Andry Rajoelina and his omnipresent advisor, the businessman Maminiaina Ravatomanga, is having repercussions on the country's entire political apparatus as well as on key pillars of the economy.
Accused by Brussels and FATF of being too lenient on firms active in its offshore ecosystem, Mauritius is trying to clean up its act but in a measured fashion so as not to scare off its traditional clients.
Cabo Delgado is now a no-go zone for Total. Its giant LNG project is on hold until Mozambique can guarantee safety in the province.
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Energy 
As he tries to attract new firms into the upstream sector, the head of the state-owned oil company is weathering heavy criticism from companies already active in Tunisia.
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Energy Bonna Tunisia, a leader in the construction of water infrastructure, won a 115m dinar (€35m) contract on 29 December from Sonede.
