French financial crimes prosecutors have been investigating Necotrans, a former champion of port logistics in Africa, for the past two years. Brothers Grégory and Emmanuel Quérel and their links with Guinea-Bissau President Umaro Sissoco Embalo are at the heart of the probe.
The Congolese government is still waiting on a delivery of armoured vehicles from Turkish group Katmerciler to ease pressure on the army, which is in need of equipment in its fight against the M23 rebels in the east of the country.
Alexei Mordashov's company is stepping up its efforts at its Bissa Gold concession in the centre of Burkina Faso, which is less exposed to security risks. At the same time, the Russian firm is trying to persuade the ruling junta to allow it to settle some of its tax and royalty dues in gold and to lift a ban on exporting its output.
On 10 January, Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara ordered the payment with arrears of the financial sum that Laurent Gbagbo had been claiming for over two years. Shortly afterwards, the two men spoke by telephone, and have agreed to meet in February.
Development of the Kingfisher and Tilenga fields has opened up wide-ranging opportunities for the oil industry service companies. The big contracts have gone to the major international groupings but some local companies have managed to win new business in their wake.
The West's special envoys for the Horn of Africa are due to meet in Khartoum in mid-February. They will discuss how they can best support the process that is supposed to lead quickly to the appointment of a prime minister and a government.
Mozambique's complex relations with neighbouring South Africa are to be supervised in future by Maria Manuela dos Santos Lucas, one of the Mozambican foreign ministry's most experienced diplomats. She will take up her duties in Pretoria in the next few weeks.
The Confederation of African Football was due to reveal which country would host the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations on 10 February. But the decision, in which Morocco and Algeria are currently favourites, has been put off for diplomatic and logistical reasons.
Algeria has faced serious drought for several years, but despite this the agro-industrial group Cevital insists that its water-hungry oilseed crushing plant will go ahead on schedule.
The European Union has contracted French, Irish, Danish and Spanish entities to provide technical assistance to Morocco's National Human Rights Council and to help strengthen civil society.