Japan is pivoting from aid to strategic investment in Africa to compete with China and Russia while boosting development and Japanese business engagement.

The Sahel states and Russia are deepening their strategic partnership, with a particular focus on military cooperation, built on shared interests to confront mounting security challenges and to shape an alliance independent of former colonial powers.

From Ghinda to Keren and Asmara, the pattern repeats: historic Islamic schools closed, mosques demolished, and hundreds of scholars and preachers arrested or forcibly disappeared in a society where Muslims make up half the population.

The Trump administration is moving quickly to implement its plan to deport undocumented migrants to third countries rather than sending them back to their homelands, with Africa at the center of the effort.

Between diplomatic mediation and targeted investments, the US administration continues to strengthen its influence on Africa, setting its sights beyond critical minerals.