IMF Support for Niger: Niger is set to receive about $33m after a staff-level agreement on the ninth ECF review, with disbursement pending IMF Executive Board approval, as the programme runs through Dec 2026. Niger Basin Climate Push: Government moves to speed up the Niger Basin climate programme ahead of its closing, with a near CFA134bn budget and support from the AfDB, GCF, EU and German cooperation. Structured Finance Deal: NAB Consulting says it has completed a EUR 250m structured finance facility for Niger, co-arranged with Coris Bank Niger and provided by Afreximbank, targeting agriculture, energy, health, infrastructure and SMEs. Oil Investment Pipeline: Niger’s petroleum minister says Niger has 35 oil blocks open to investors (44 total), with plans to sustain 110,000 bpd production across discovered fields. Regional Rail for Trade: RMB helped close a $1.8bn financing deal for the Kano–Maradi railway, a key corridor linking Nigeria and Niger. Anti-LGBTQ Law: Niger enacted a new penal code criminalising same-sex relations, with penalties up to 10 years for intimacy and 20 years for LGBTQ associations. Security & Courts (Niger State): A federal high court in Abuja jailed five suspects linked to the 2025 abduction of Catholic school students in Niger State for 25 years each on terrorism-related counts.