• Senegalese people are called to the polls on Sunday to elect their new president in the most open election ever held in the country. An election which comes a few weeks after a deep political crisis caused by the cancellation and then postponement of the presidential election.

  • In Niger, twenty-three Nigerien soldiers died in "an ambush" set by "terrorists" during a "combing operation" by the army in the west, near Mali and Burkina Faso, announced, Thursday evening, the Nigerien Ministry of Defense.

  • Surprise in Algeria where the presidency announced on Thursday that the presidential vote would take place on September 7, three months before the date initially planned. No reason has been given to justify this change in the electoral calendar.

  • In the Democratic Republic of Congo, Congolese journalist Stanis Bujakera, correspondent for Jeune Afrique magazine and the Reuters news agency, was released from prison Tuesday evening. Detained for six months, he was convicted for an article implicating military intelligence in the death of Congolese opponent Chérubin Okende.

  • New wave of kidnappings in Nigeria, where more than a hundred people were kidnapped in the northwest during two separate attacks in Kaduna state, local authorities said Monday. Last week, gunmen also kidnapped dozens of people in another village in Kajuru district.

  • Egypt signed a 7.4 billion euro partnership agreement with the European Union on Sunday. This partnership aims in particular to stem the flow of migrants crossing the Mediterranean, despite criticism from human rights NGOs.

Niger: after the departure of France, the failure of the soft American method

While France immediately condemned the July 2023 coup in Niger, the United States was less critical, focusing on dialogue with the new authorities. Washington thus hoped to influence the country's strategic choices and maintain its military base in Agadez. But a few months after the departure of the last French soldiers, the American soldiers in turn saw themselves pushed out. Decryption.

Niger © Graphic studio France Médias Monde

Gambia: towards decriminalization of excision?

The Gambian parliament examined a bill on Monday that could once again legalize excision, a practice banned since 2015. But excision is still deeply rooted in the country. According to Unicef, 75% of Gambian women aged 15 to 50 have been victims of this genital mutilation. This bill scandalizes human rights defenders. Details from France 24 regional correspondent Sarah Sakho.

00:58

             Fight against cyber violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Verbal escalation and online harassment, particularly against female personalities. How to fight against hate speech on social networks in DR Congo? It is to answer this question that a network of Congolese political scientists launched “le politoscope” at the beginning of March, a monitoring and awareness tool on verbal cyberviolence. Report from Kinshasa by Aurélie Bazzara-Kibangula.

02:00

“A tomb for Kinne Gaajo”, by Boubacar Boris Diop: an ode to the Wolof language

The writer Boubacar Boris Diop was this week the guest of the France 24 cultural program to present his new book. With a sharp pen, he bears witness to the torments of our time. His work was awarded the Neustadt Prize in 2022, considered the second literary prize after the Nobel. As an experienced disciple of Cheikh Anta Diop, writing in Wolof, he has contributed for several years to making this language of Senegal a language of scholarship and literature.

“I have a diploma but I can’t find a job”: what are the expectations of young Senegalese?

In Senegal, the campaign is coming to an end and the candidates are redoubling their efforts to convince voters. In a country where 75% of the population is under 35, promises are multiplying to improve the daily lives of young people. Amadou Ba wants to be "the president of youth employment", Idrissa Seck promises a special program dedicated to young people, Anta Babacar Ngom wants to "create a million jobs". France 24 met young people in Dakar to talk about their daily lives and their expectations. 

04:13

Presidential election in Senegal: what are the expectations of young Senegalese? © France24

@france24 Presidential election in Senegal: what are voters' expectations? #senegal #election ♬ original sound - FRANCE 24

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