Several major firms are vying for a contract, worth up to €150m, to keep Senegalese territorial waters safe from pirates and illegal fishing. A bid by French IT firm Atos has already been rejected, but France's CS Group and Spanish and Emirati groups are still in the running.
The Congolese authorities are exploring the possibility of exporting the crude extracted from blocks 1 and 2 in the Graben Albertine area through a pipeline across Sudan.
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Energy Simone Bernard-Dupré has been told that she will no longer be representing Congo in the presidential Falcon seizure affair. The decision was taken by the Congolese task force overseeing the case in France.
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Business 
The next OIC summit, which is keenly backed by the Gulf oil monarchies and is due to be held in Gambia, has been repeatedly delayed. It is now scheduled for the first half of 2024.
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Diplomacy The French utility Veolia has discreetly contacted law firm De Gaulle Fleurance & Associés over a possible legal response should its business in Niger not be renewed.
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Business 
The next meeting between Darfur fighters in Libya and the Sudanese army is set to take place in Doha in early March.
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Diplomacy Australian exploration company Abyssinian Metals hired US law firm Marcus G. Faust PC on 12 January. The company could be looking for an exit strategy for its operations in Ethiopia, where it has faced a number of hurdles.
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Mining 
After a change of chief of staff, the Angolan president has appointed several generals to senior positions in the armed forces. The most notable change is in the foreign intelligence service.
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Politics US sanctions imposed on business baron Kudakwashe Tagwirei have deterred investors from helping Kuvimba Mining House resume activity at Zimbabwe's historic steel mill. To compensate, production at the Ripple Creek iron ore mine is expected to be restarted.
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Mining 
The recent North African tour of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, which concentrated on securing Italy's gas supplies from Algeria and Libya, left Italy's traditional partner, Tunisia, on the sidelines. The authorities in Tunis now fear that they could find themselves isolated on the regional energy map.
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Energy The Egyptian tycoon's La Mancha has been enjoined to pay sums owed by Cominor, whose bid to mine gold in France came to nought.
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Mining 
