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1. Africa: A Landmark for African Finance - Europe's First African Sovereign Bond ETF Opens a New Chapter

   [allAfrica] For years, African finance ministers have made the same case at investor conferences and multilateral summits: the continent is not short of bankable projects, it is short of affordable capital. This week, that case took a tangible step forward. Legal & General Asset Management, one of Britain's largest institutional investors, launched the L&G LSF African Government Bond (USD) UCITS ETF -- the first exchange-traded fund of its kind available to European investors -- built on the iBoxx

2. Benin: Ex-Benin President Talon Makes Political Comeback Via Newly Founded Senate

   [RFI] Benin's newly created Senate elected former president Patrice Talon as its leader on Thursday in Porto-Novo, less than three months after he left office. He will serve a five-year term at the head of the country's new second chamber of Parliament.

3. Ethiopia: Ethiopian Authorities Pursuing 'Campaign to Dismantle' Independent Newsroom - CPJ

   [Addis Standard] Addis Abeba -- The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has condemned what it described as an escalating campaign by Ethiopian authorities against Addis Standard, calling for an immediate end to actions targeting the publication following the detention and assault of its Editor-in-Chief, the raid on its newsroom, destruction and seizure of equipment, and an eviction order served against its offices.

4. Africa: Open Skies Delays Keep Africa's Trade Costs High

   [Capital FM] Nairobi -- African governments and aviation industry leaders are pushing for faster implementation of open-skies policies, warning that fragmented air transport markets are raising business costs and limiting the benefits of the African Continental Free Trade Area.

5. Liberia: Police Chief Denies Alleged Ties to Drug Cartel

   [FrontPageAfrica] Monrovia -- Coleman's statement, posted to his personal Facebook page, reads less like a routine institutional update and more like a man answering a question nobody asked him directly, because everybody has been asking it indirectly for weeks. "Criminal organizations thrive where fear, silence, and institutional weakness prevail. They will not prevail in Liberia again," he wrote. "The Liberia National Police will not be intimidated, distracted, or deterred from enforcing the law."