As the two top presidential candidates, deputy president William Ruto and Raila Odinga - now backed by his former rival President Uhuru Kenyatta - ramp up their campaigns, a tug-of-war is emerging behind the scenes between newcomers wanting to make their mark and long-standing advisers.
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Politics 
Ever since Félix Tshisekedi came to power, PR and lobbying firms have been flocking to Kinshasa in the hope of landing a contract with the Congolese authorities. The DRC is one of the few heavyweights on the continent that is not handled by a public relations company.
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Business Just as Ali Bongo is scheduled to attend the EU-AU summit in Brussels on 17 February, organised by the French president's office, his inner circle has been summoned by the French judge who is investigating the imprisonment of his former chief of staff, Brice Laccruche, who holds French citizenship.
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Diplomacy 
Many Burkinabés were disgruntled over the lack of transparency in the mining sector under President Kaboré and felt that the people benefitted little from the wealth it generates. The junta that overthrew Kaboré last month is hoping it can win some popular support by promising mining reform.
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Mining Boosted by strong financial results, US junior Vaalco Energy has plans for new acquisitions, and has its sights set on fields operated by oil majors ExxonMobil and Chevron in Equatorial Guinea.
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Energy 
The usually travel-shy Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni went to Congo on 11 February to meet Denis Sassou Nguesso. The trip, which also took him to Dakar, was prepared by Jean-Yves Ollivier, a champion of backchannel diplomacy, and was aimed at setting up the African Global Security foundation.
AMISOM will benefit from the revival of a major contract for counter-IED training services. The American Bancroft and other industry heavyweights have come forward to attempt to win the contract from the UK's SafeLane.
The state-owned Hwange Colliery Co. has been ordered to suspend production at one of its coal mines pending the final verdict in a case brought by a contractor, putting a dent in its coal output.
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Mining Shell's success on its first well drilled in the Orange Basin spells good news for the Namibian state, which has reason to believe TotalEnergies' forthcoming announcement of the results of its exploration well on Venus will confirm the area's oil potential as a future money-earner.
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Energy 
The 9th electoral constituency for French citizens living abroad, which has historically been a hotly contested region despite record abstention rates, is seeing an increase in the number of candidates. While LREM and the PS have still not officially appointed a candidate, the campaigns have begun, and many applicants have ties with Morocco.
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Politics The US conglomerate has won a reprieve in the lawsuit filed by Zurich Insurance in relation to a defective turbine.
The Moscow-Kyiv crisis is leading to a drastic reduction in the volume of grain shipped from Black Sea ports. Fearing a Russian offensive, shipping companies are now refusing to make new commitments to traders. This situation particularly affects Algiers, which has been relying on supplies from this region to compensate for its halt in French purchases, but it is also of consequence to Egypt.
The Egyptian construction and civil engineering giant Arab Contractors may see the Tit Mellil-Berrechid motorway project slip through its fingers, with ADM currently vocal about its desire to favour the 'Moroccan ecosystem' for its projects.
