S&A Retired Bound

A militant fuel blockade has brought much of Mali and its key trade routes to a halt, sparking shortages, shuttering schools, and disrupting daily life from Bamako to Dakar. With convoys targeted and fuel prices soaring, the region faces mounting economic and security risks.

West Africa’s latest elections—including Guinea and Côte d’Ivoire—are marked by steep entry fees, stage-managed rallies, and entrenched support for incumbents. Despite the promise of fresh leadership, the region’s new faces continue delivering the same old politics.

Morocco’s 2026 Finance Bill expands state hiring across security, health, and education, creating 36,000 new public positions—mainly in the Interior and Defense Ministries—but the scale underscores political rather than economic priorities, in a country where unemployment hovers near 13 percent and youth joblessness exceeds a third of the labor force.

A whistleblower case and an embezzlement probe have intensified scrutiny of Algeria’s government ministries amid an expanding anti-corruption campaign.