1 Up Front Bound

Algeria fires CEO of energy giant SonatrachF

Corruption and Politics: By Arezki Daoud:  Oil company Sonatrach is once again going through turmoil. This week, CEO Hakkar has been fired, in a case that sees business intersects with politics. As Algeria prepares for a presidential election in 2024, the various...

Egypt: Sisi wants to be reelected ASAP, before switch to flexible exchange rate that could exacerbate social tensionsF

Egypt will hold a presidential vote on December 10-12, the election authority said Monday, with the winner to be announced by December 18. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, a former army chief, has ruled for nearly a decade in the Arab world's most populous country,...

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 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...