Energy & Mining Finance: Madagascar is seeking up to $5bn by partnering with London-based Gemcorp Capital Management to fund hydropower, solar and mining development via the Fonds Souverain Malagasy, with an office planned in Antananarivo. Digital Inclusion & Telecom Policy: A new push to make mobile internet truly accessible in Madagascar highlights the Electronic Communications Bill and calls for cutting telecom excise duties and mobile-finance taxes plus lowering import costs on entry-level devices. Agribusiness Partnerships: AfricaRice’s director met CIMMYT in Zimbabwe to deepen research links for resilient, climate-smart rice systems across southern Africa, including Madagascar’s role in scaling solutions. Critical Minerals Value Chain: A New York forum on financing Africa’s critical-minerals processing and manufacturing drew African leaders and U.S. investors, focusing on how countries can raise capital without losing control of assets. Regional Labor Shock (Madagascar Diaspora): A Comoros jobs law banning foreign nationals from certain work is worrying Malagasy traders and workers, with concerns it could push many women into deeper precarity. Health & Risk Watch: Reports of a suspected pneumonic plague case in Russia’s Siberia—after a lab worker’s death and near-200 contacts under observation—kept international attention on biosecurity and transparency.