Politics

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Irregular Migration to Spain Falls Sharply in 2025 With Decline in Atlantic Crossings$

After reaching a historic high in 2024, irregular migration to Spain fell sharply in 2025. Official data show a decline of more than 40% compared with the previous year, driven largely by a collapse in arrivals via the Atlantic route to the Canary Islands. Spanish...

How the US Intervention in Venezuela is Reviving Global South Fears of Power Politics$

The US raid that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is resonating across Africa as part of a broader pattern of great‑power behavior that many on the continent see as a return to old hierarchies, rather than an isolated episode in Latin America. The...

Burkina Faso Faces New Security Tensions Amid Coup Allegations$

Burkina Faso experienced a sudden spike in political and security tension overnight in early January, with coordinated public mobilizations in Ouagadougou and Bobo-Dioulasso following warnings of a possible attempt to destabilize the country’s transitional...

U.S. Immigration Policy and the Changing Landscape of Africa-U.S. Travel$

As the United States prepares to implement a new round of immigration and visa policy changes in 2026, the effects are being felt across Africa and parts of the Middle East. What began as a technical overhaul of screening and enforcement procedures has evolved into a...

The UAE’s Growing Role in African Conflict Zones$

Saudi–Emirati tensions over Yemen open a wider question: to what extent is the UAE using proxy actors, media leverage, and selective alliances to reshape crisis zones from Libya and Sudan to the Western Sahara file, often in ways that cut across Algerian and broader...

Sahel: Niger Declares General Mobilization Amid Escalating Jihadist Violence$

Niger’s military-led authorities have announced a nationwide general mobilization that allows for the requisitioning of people, property, and services as part of their campaign against armed jihadist groups operating across the country. The decision comes amid...

Sahel: French President makes pragmatic decision to step away from NigerF

French withdrawals from Africa After Mali, Burkina Faso and the Central African Republic, France is being forced to withdraw troops from yet another former African colony that pivoted to Russia after souring on Paris: Niger. Faced with growing anti-French sentiment...

Niger junta creates anti-corruption commissionF

The military regime in Niger that seized power in a coup said late Wednesday it has created an anti-corruption commission to recover public assets. Niger's military took power on July 26, toppling democratically elected president Mohamed Bazoum. The military chiefs...

Sahel: The demise of the ancient city of TimbuktuF

When jihadists in Mali announced they would blockade the ancient city of Timbuktu, residents thought it was just another intimidation tactic. But a month and a half later, the tens of thousands of inhabitants remain almost completely cut off from the world with the...

Niger and ECOWAS: The cost of collective punishmentF

Lines of hundreds of trucks stretch back many kilometres close to Benin's northern border with Niger, their cargo wasting and their drivers going broke after weeks stranded at the closed frontier. Almost two months since a coup ousted Niger's president, the trucks...