Military officers in Gabon staged an apparent coup attempt early on Monday (January 7), seizing the state radio station and declaring their dissatisfaction with President Ali Bongo, who is recovering from a stroke in Morocco.

Gabon coup attempt: rebel chief arrested and two soldiers killed

After effectively taking control of African soccer, FIFA says its mission to speed up reforms on the continent is complete.

French football fans descend upon the Stade Oceane to watch PSG face Le Havre in one of the first matches open to the public in months. The French government has set a limit of 5,000 people in stadiums due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. PSG stars Neymar and Kylian Mbappe are back on the pitch.

Former Defense Minister Rose Christiane Ossouka Raponda has been promoted to prime minister, making her the first woman to hold the role in Gabon's history.

Since April, Gabon has been under a health state of emergency. The Central African country is facing a major economic hit as a result of Covid-19 lockdown measures and the fall in oil prices. The scars from this unprecedented crisis could remain on Port-Gentil, its oil capital, for a while. Businesses, shops, transport, tourism and other sectors in the country's economic hub are all struggling. Port Gentil has lost millions of euros over the last six months and is relying on public investment to survive. Our team reports.

The mats are falling apart, the safety ropes have snapped and the acrobatic nets are long gone. Gabon's only circus troupe -- and its only circus school -- is facing ruin. Demand for circus shows was dwindling even before the pandemic hit, a disaster that has cemented the troupe's problems.

Dozens of children live and work in sweltering heat in the Mindoube landfill in the Gabonese capital Libreville, searching for copper or aluminium items they can then resell. In Gabon, one of Africa's largest oil producers and one of the richest per capita in the region, one-third of the population lived below the poverty line in 2017, says the World Bank. "There are a lot of children here who...spend all their time in the landfill," says an activist.

In this edition, hundreds of Gabonese peacekeepers are being withdrawn from CAR following the latest sex abuse allegations. Gabon says that the most recent accusation is exceptionally serious. Also, dozens of civic groups in Uganda have been suspended. Many human rights workers say it is part of a pattern of repression. And, South Africa’s largest rhino breeder is pushing to sell horns he trims legally off his animals to keep poachers at bay.

Leading Gabon football coach accused of raping young players, president demands probe. A former coach for Gabon's under-17 football team, Patrick Assoumou Eyi, sexually abused young players in his care, according to a report on Thursday in British daily The Guardian.

More than a hundred jihadists surrender to the Nigerian army. Also, as the excitement of the Africa Cup of Nations winds down in Cameroon, Gabon is left with abandoned stadiums from its own tournament in 2017. And a 92-year-old Malawian singer becomes a TikTok sensation, which leads him to celebrating his birthday with the president.

The Commonwealth has admitted Gabon and Togo as its 55th and 56th members respectively. Both countries are former French colonies.