The Americans, faced with Beijing's aggressive industrial strategy in Morocco in the electric vehicle sector, are trying to set up a mining partnership with the kingdom.
The bad news just keeps on coming for the young minister. Two agencies have downgraded Gabon's credit rating, concerned about the level of its debt, and a dispute has arisen over World Bank payments.
Yukuo Murata, a specialist in French-speaking Africa, has been appointed as Japan's new ambassador to Mali and is due to arrive next month.
The agenda for this month's Sudan peace talks, co-organised by the US and Saudi Arabia, dominated discussions at a mediators' retreat in Djibouti. Intended to harmonise initiatives, the event instead revealed the tensions that are shaking the Horn.
The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria is striving to maintain its influence in Kenya in the face of the pro-Kremlin Russian Orthodox Church's growing prominence.
Diplomats in Pretoria are particularly suspicious about the background to this merger, orchestrated by billionaire Vincent Bolloré, who has close ties with the French far right.
After Morocco's dire wheat harvest last season, the country is looking to boost its grain trade with the Russians. For the first time, this year Russia became one of the kingdom's top three wheat suppliers, a trend likely to continue in the coming years.
By delivering 50,000 tonnes of durum wheat on time, the firm further consolidated its place as the Tunisian grain board's go-to supplier.
