Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Liberia are grappling with an increasing number of young people becoming addicted to a substance known as kush or K2. Abuse of the drug has already killed several people in the region.

The US, Canada, UK and Australia imposed sanctions on the election commission, energy and mining enterprises among others. The junta has said it will hold elections this year.

A group of Spanish ministers has joined Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in meeting with the Moroccan government in Rabat. Relations have begun to improve following a spat over Western Sahara.

Aid, personnel and equipment is arriving from around the world following the devastating earthquakes that have killed over 2,000 people in Turkey and Syria.

While on a trip to Mali, Russia's foreign minister Sergey Lavrov announced more military support for the Malian military junta. Moscow says it will assist Mali in its bid to defeat an Islamist insurgency in the Sahel.

Nigerians will head to the polls on February 25. Not only is incumbent President Buhari stepping aside, but this election also comes on the back of the #EndSARS protests which saw thousands of young people take to the streets against police brutality. In our latest Street Debate, Flourish Chukwurah speaks to young Nigerians to find out what they expect from their next leaders.

A critical radio host and an opposition leader are the most recent figures to be arrested. The wave of detentions point to a new repressive shift by President Kais Saied.

According to the Moldovan leader, Russia planned to use foreign saboteurs to overthrow the small, eastern European country's leadership and prevent it from joining the European Union.

An international soccer match in Moldova will be played in an empty stadium amid concerns over an alleged Russian plot to overthrow the government.

Brussels stopped short of labeling Revolutionary Guards a terrorist group in its latest raft of Iran sanctions. Meanwhile, the UK summoned a top Iranian diplomat over alleged threats to UK-based reporters.

Moldova's foreign minister told DW he believes "corrupt oligarchs" are working "shoulder to shoulder" with Russia to destabilize his country. Nicu Popescu called for the European Union to sanction those accused.

Vladimir Putin claims the Russian economy has withstood Western sanctions, as he prepares to mark one year since the invasion of Ukraine. While Russia's GDP has contracted less than many analysts expected, Beata Javorcik of the EBRD explains that's largely the result of years of "sanctions-proofing", and doesn't mean that households and businesses aren't suffering.