Yusuf Zakariya Alkanawi created a new script for the Hausa language after discovering that the original had disappeared following centuries of interaction with Arabic and Latin scripts. The Quranic school student hopes that more Hausa speakers will embrace the new script.

Benin's position not to allow ships carrying Nigerien crude oil to enter the ports in Benin threatened the survival of Niger's military junta. More than 90,000 barrels of crude per day were earmarked for shipping to China through a pipeline that travels through Benin.

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