Gabon

Nine sailors were kidnapped during an attack on a trawler off the coast of Gabon the Ministry of Defense stated in a video released on Monday 12 January by several Gabonese media outlets; the attack was perpetrated by three armed individuals

The Women’s Rise Observatory, with Business & Professional Women Gabon BPW Gabon and the Bank for Commerce and Entrepreneurship of Gabon BCEG, launched 'Rising Star Gabon 2026' aiming to identify, support and promote projects led by women entrepreneurs

An intensive training in environmental and investigative journalism started in Libreville; organized by NGO WildAid with the Ministry of Communication, it aims to improve media coverage of nature conservation, environmental governance, eco-crimes

The wife of Ali Bongo, ousted leader whose family ruled Gabon for 55 years, had been accused of manipulating her husband to embezzle taxpayers' money and has been sentenced to 20 years for graft together with their son Noureddin after a two-day trial

President Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema chaired the ceremony for the distribution of computers to students of universities and grandes écoles, young entrepreneurs, influencers as part of the program “1 student – ​​1 computer”

The ban on single-use plastic bags has come into force in supermarkets in the municipalities of Akanda, Libreville and Owendo, press reports; the measure comes after a four-month awareness campaign launched on June 23

All the candidacies presented by the movement Reappropriation of Gabon and its Independence for its Reconstruction REAGIR party for the elections scheduled for 27 September have been annulled by the Constitutional Court, AGP reported

National goal of energy independence and universal access within ten years is pursued with new deals, as with Turkish Aksa Energy for design, financing, construction and operation of a 1.000MW gas power plant; the state utility SEEG still poses hurdles

Full membership of Gabon within the Commonwealth has been restored: it had been partially suspended in 2023 out of violation of the democratic principles of the Charter; progress towards fulfilling obligations remains in the agenda of upcoming meetings

2nd One Forest Youth Forum, a pan-African initiative of youth environmental engagement, will open today in Libreville; 1.500 young leaders will discuss "Engaging African Youth in Green Volunteering to Protect Forest Ecosystems and Preserve Biodiversity"

French mining group Eramet has pledged to safeguard over 10.000 jobs in Gabon as the country brings on its plan to ban raw manganese exports from 2029 in a bid to protect local economy

Gabon will stop raw manganese export by 2029 to boost local industry and renew its economy: manganese, with oil and timber, is a top revenue source; in the same economic transformation frame, chicken meat imports will be banned from 2027