French President Emmanuel Macron with French troops during his 2017 visit to France’s Barkhane counter-terrorism operation in Gao, northern Mali.
EFE-EPA/Christopher Petit Tesson/Pool
French policymakers understand that sharing the burdens of military operations with global partners can help boost flagging support at home.
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Digital media shutdowns in Africa will lead to higher economic costs and greater public outrage.
Niger troops on patrol.
Photo by Sia Kambou/AFP via Getty Images
Although there had been an increase in violence in Niger since the last election results were announced, the attempted coup, on March 31, raised concerns to a new level in the volatile country.
Niger President Mahamadou Issoufou.
Ludovic MARIN/POOL /AFP
Issoufou has failed to strengthen fundamental democratic rights. If anything, the Issoufou era is a textbook case of democratic backsliding.
Nigerian security personnel inspect the site of a blast at Nyanya bus station in the outskirts of Abuja
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Due to the poor security response of the Nigerian state, insurgency will continue to pose a serious threat to its northeast border communities.
The doum palm is an indigenous tree in Kenya which produces edible fruit.
Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images
Africa’s key to future food-nutrition security may depend on the untapped potential of indigenous fruit trees.
Civil rights activists at a rally calling for the rescue of abducted Chibok school girls in Nigeria.
Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP via Getty Images
Adolescent girls face unique challenges in times of conflict and crisis yet they are rarely consulted about how to engender peace in their communities.
Activists stand together during a demonstration against the slave trade and human trafficking.
Photo credit should read GULSHAN KHAN/AFP via Getty Images
Descent-based slavery – when a slave status is ascribed to a person based on their alleged ancestry – continues to exist in Mali.
Following an inconclusive election in December 2020, Niger’s Independent National Electoral Commission is set for a runoff in February.
Photo by Issouf Sanogo/AFP via Getty Images
Although Niger’s quest for entrenching democracy is a good development, poverty and insecurity are obstacles.
European Council President Charles Michel takes part in a video conference with G5 Sahel leaders and United Nations representatives at the European Council headquarters in Brussels, on November 30, 2020.
Francisco Seco/Pool/AFP
The EU has already poured billions of euros into its assistance programs for the Sahel countries. The fundamental principles of this aid need to be rethought if it is to be truly effective.
A child who fled from Central African Republic attending a class at a refugee camp in Chad.
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Attacks on schools and children evoke a strong emotional response, which is a definitive goal of terrorist groups.
A maize farmer in Kenya surveys his degraded land.
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Regreening Africa works directly with 500,000 households to restore one million hectares of agricultural land.
Michelle Cattani/AFP via Getty Images
The shrinking of Lake Chad contributes to instability in the countries which sit around its expanse.
Examining the fossilised teeth of dinosaur species like Spinosaurus Aegyptiacus can reveal clues about their diets and place on the food chain.
YuRi Photolife/Shutterstock
Teeth can reveal a lot about diversity when they are reasonably well-preserved.
Cross-border smuggling is a persistent issue in Nigeria
Shynebeliz/Shutterstock
Stricter policing at the border does not address the root causes of Nigeria’s smuggling issue.
It’s not that people in poorer countries want to eat unhealthily - but cost is a huge factor.
Aleksandar Todorovic/Shutterstock.com/Editorial use only
The fact that relative food prices differ so markedly and so systematically provides a very strong rationale for nutrition-focused food policies.
Africa has tried for decades to develop robust intra-regional trade. Free trade agreement is the most recent effort
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Now that African countries have signed up for the continental free trade agreement, they must complete the institutional loop by jumpstarting the creation of the African Monetary Fund.
US National Security Advisor John Bolton sees China as a threat to Washington in Africa.
EPA-EFE/Shawn Thew
The US needs to review whether a security agenda based on US priorities will solve problems in sub-Saharan Africa.
An aerial view of the ever-changing Lake Chad.
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Scientists are trying to figure out what risks changes in Lake Chad’s levels pose to people in the region.
Two gorgonopsian rivals fighting and displaying their large sabre like canines.
Viktor Radermacher
The discovery of a fossilised large predator is a rare event that offers insight into these beasts from the past.