
Senegal's 2025 budget projects a dynamic economy with 6.7% growth, a slight acceleration from 2024. State revenues are expected to reach 4,477.1 billion FCFA, an 11.8% increase, indicating strong public resource mobilization. Expenditures are set at 5,864.6 billion FCFA, with a controlled execution rate of 93.9% of forecasts. The budget deficit is projected at 1,387.5 billion FCFA, lower than initial expectations, representing 6.44% of GDP against a target of 7.82%. These figures reflect an improvement in budget management but also confirm that achieving public finance balance remains a significant challenge, as analyzed by Djibril Gueye.
Free daily or weekly digest of the most important stories from across 18 African countries. No spam, unsubscribe any time.
This summary was AI-generated from a story originally published by SeneNews.

Three Egyptian men residing in Croatia were found dead in the Sava River, which flows through Zagreb, police announced on Tuesday. Their disappearance was reported on Sunday by a friend who last saw them heading towards the river to swim. A search operation involving police, firefighters, and rescue services was immediately launched. On Tuesday, special police units located and recovered two bodies from the river, and firefighters later found the third. An investigation is underway to determine the circumstances of their deaths. In 2025, over 5,500 Egyptians obtained work permits in Croatia, an EU member state. Egyptians represent the ninth-largest group of foreign workers in Croatia, a country facing labor shortages, particularly in its tourism sector, which is a key economic driver.
Must ReadViolent protests in Jeffreys Bay, South Africa, fueled by rising xenophobia, are raising questions about migration management just months before municipal elections. South African soldiers and police are patrolling the township, searching homes and vehicles for loot after a march against undocumented migrants turned violent. This incident follows a June 30 deadline set by groups for undocumented migrants to leave the country, maintaining a volatile atmosphere. The government is attempting to balance its international reputation with criticism from South Africans who feel foreign nationals are prioritized over them, according to the Justice Minister. The unrest, occurring less than four months before municipal elections, shows no signs of abating, with Jeffreys Bay highlighting the risk of escalation. Unidentified individuals fired shots at a crowd attempting to evict undocumented migrants, injuring three people. Police deny their forces were involved, while witnesses and protest organizers accuse individuals protecting "spaza shops," often run by foreign nationals. Twenty-three such shops were looted during the third anti-migrant march in Jeffreys Bay since May. Muse Ismail, a 52-year-old Somali national and manager of a spaza shop, described how his shop was vandalized by residents. Police have arrested 69 people in connection with the Jeffreys Bay incidents, a significant number compared to the 350 arrests nationwide between May and July 8 for migrant-related movements. Zel
Must ReadUN experts have called for an end to the "terror" imposed by the anti-government armed group M23 in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo DRC, reporting the group's use of sexual torture and assassinations. The eastern DRC has experienced conflict for over 30 years, with the M23 seizing large territories in North Kivu and South Kivu provinces. The 12 independent experts, including Alice Jill Edwards, Special Rapporteur on torture, and Matthew Gillett, Chair of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, stated that "rape, gang rape, extremely violent assaults, and assassinations of civilians constitute a recurring characteristic of the M23's modus operandi." They noted that while these crimes are not exclusive to the M23, the number of affected individuals is alarming. The experts, mandated by the UN Human Rights Council but not speaking on behalf of the United Nations, warned that the M23, supported by neighboring Rwanda, has established a de facto authority system in controlled territories. This system uses arbitrary arrests and detentions, torture including sexual torture, forced labor, and forced armed recruitment to control the civilian population. Cases of kidnappings, arson, and blackmail have also been reported. The expert group indicated that arrested individuals are held in unofficial prisons with extreme overcrowding and unsanitary conditions, limited medical access, and are systematically deprived of food and water. They are also subjected to repeated physical violen