At the intersections of migration control, securitization, and neo-imperialism, this piece unpacks how Niger has become a testing ground for Europe's externalized border policies.

This drought-prone country of 16 million is so short on food that it is ranked dead last by international aid organization Save the Children in the percentage of children receiving a 'minimum acceptable diet'. The consequences are dire. A total of 51 per cent of children in Niger are stunted, according to a report published in July by Save the Children. The average height of a 2 1/2-year-old girl born here is around 3 inches (8 centimeters) shorter than what it should be for a child that age.

Since December 2011, the food crisis in Niger has displaced large numbers of people from areas of scarcity to parts of the country that enjoyed better harvests. The social impacts for these internal migrants are serious, not least in terms of disruption of education. According to estimates from the Ministry of Education, around 45,000 children have left school this year for reasons linked to the food crisis.

Christine Lagarde's crass comments on Greece have caused an understandable furore in that country. But in Niger, there must be just as much contempt for the IMF director. For in dismissing the plight of mothers in Greece, Lagarde also said she felt more sympathy for 'the little kids from a school in a little village in Niger'. If 'sympathy' is what characterises the IMF's approach to Niger, then Greece would do better to avoid it. Niger comes into news headlines on a fairly regular basis – associated as it is with cycles of famine and constantly high levels of malnutrition. Less reported is the role of the IMF, along with sister organisation the World Bank, in fuelling this suffering, writes Nick Dearden in the London Guardian.

Niger employees of Areva must benefit from the same compensation as their French colleagues, a Niger non-governmental organisation said Friday after a court near Paris said the French state-owned nuclear firm was liable. The court at Melun ordered 200,000 euros ($260,000) in damages to be paid by France's state health fund to the widow of an employee of the Areva subsidiary Cominak, a Niger company which runs an Areva uranium mine at Akokan. The deceased, Serge Venel, died of lung cancer in July 2009 at the age of 59.

Libya has demanded Niger hand over one of Muammar Gaddafi's sons who is under house arrest in the neighbouring nation after he warned in a television interview that his homeland was facing a new uprising. Mohammed Hareizi, spokesman for the ruling National Transitional Council (NTC), said on Saturday that Niger must extradite Saadi Gaddafi and other ex-regime officials to 'preserve its relationship and interests' in Libya. Saadi Gaddafi and more than 30 other loyalists fled to Niger after Tripoli fell to rebels in September.

Muammar Gaddafi's son Saadi has been granted asylum in Niger on humanitarian grounds, the country's president confirmed. Mahamadou Issoufou insisted he knew nothing of the whereabouts of another of the slain Libyan leader's sons, Saif al-Islam, who is wanted by the international criminal court (ICC). 'We have agreed on granting asylum to Saadi Gaddafi for humanitarian reasons,' Issoufou said during a visit to Pretoria in South Africa.

Niger, where Libya's fugitive Saif al-Islam Gaddafi may be headed, risks a backlash from nomad Tuaregs in its north if it follows through on its obligation to hand him over to the International Criminal Court. Libya's aid-reliant southern neighbour has vowed to respect commitments to the ICC, but knows that could spark unrest in Saharan areas where a string of past rebellions against the capital were nurtured by Muammar Gaddafi, feted by many in the desert as a hero. The Hague-based ICC said Gaddafi's 39-year-old son Saif al-Islam was in contact via intermediaries about surrendering for trial, but it also had information that mercenaries were trying to spirit him to a friendly African nation.

Several major new dams are being constructed on the Niger River. The new dams not only raise ecological concerns, but are also provoking difficult negotiations over equitably sharing the resources of a river basin that extends over two million square kilometres. 'There are nine countries in the Niger basin, but their interests are divergent. There are certain countries - such as Mali and Niger - which don't want any dams constructed upstream,' said Bi Tozan N'Guessan, an expert at the Côte d'Ivoire Water Ministry.

This video shows how African women have, for a long time, been taking a back seat in many aspects of life, but also that the trend is changing and now women are taking on men, even in such areas as the crowded entertainment industry in Niger.

The families of 90,000 Nigerien migrants forced home because of the uprising in Libya face greater hunger and poverty now they no longer receive regular remittances, the International Organisation of Migration (IOM) said. The men were mostly working on construction sites and farms in Libya, which borders Niger. An IOM poll showed 86 per cent used to send enough money to support five family members in Niger, and that their return had 'an overall negative impact' on the lives of hundreds of thousands of others living in areas hit by chronic food insecurity and underemployment.

The New York Times carries a report that officials in Niamey, Niger are warily watching and bracing for what they call the disaster scenario that has not yet happened: a huge influx of defeated soldiers loyal to the fallen Libyan leader, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi.

Security forces broke up demonstrations by hundreds of people after weeks of electricity cuts in Niger, with several protesters wounded and arrested Monday 1 August, radio reports and police said. Police fired tear gas to disperse demonstrators who took to the streets of the central town of Tanout after a first day of protests on Sunday, private Anfani radio said.

While the Niger Delta amnesty could be seen as a ‘modest success’, writes Uche Igwe, it is now time to direct resources towards the pursuit of ‘verifiable physical development in the region’.

Niger's appeals court has dropped all corruption charges against ousted President Mamadou Tandja and ordered his release from jail. It said that under the country's law it was not possible to try a head of state after he had left office. Soldiers led the coup in February 2010 - angered that after 10 years in power, he was seeking a third term in office. Tandja was accused of embezzling state funds worth $1m (£670,000). He was also linked to a corrupt fertilizer deal worth between $9m and $10m.

The Niger River, which runs for 550 kilometres through the southwest part of Niger, has for decades been faced with the phenomenon of siltation of its bed, accelerated by the severe desertification of the catchment areas, according to environmental experts. A programme is focused on slowing this phenomenon, which is seriously compromising socio-economic activity around the river. The measures taken include building berms, stabilising sand dunes, and planting trees.

A new book on the Niger Delta is 'an invaluable resource for understanding the complex and interrelated dynamics of violence, exploitation, resistance and social change' in the region.

Niger inaugurated its new parliament 30 March for a term of five years following an election on 31 January that ended a year of military rule, reports Bloomberg. The parliament has 107 of its full complement of 113 lawmakers after elections in the northern Agadez region were annulled due to irregularities. The vote will be held again on 16 May.

Niger's presidential run-off election was free and fair and the two candidates should respect its verdict, regional observers said on Sunday. Nigeriens voted on Saturday, a year after soldiers ousted ex-president Mamadou Tandja for outstaying his term in office in the uranium-producing state. Provisional results from the poll, which pits opposition leader Mahamadou Issoufou against a Tandja party ally Seyni Oumarou, are due on Monday.

Niger's 10 presidential rivals have asked the ruling military junta to delay elections by three weeks to 20 February and to replace the electoral commission after problems with local polls held earlier this month. The presidential elections are meant to restore civilian rule after a military coup in February 2010 toppled the former president, Mamadou Tandja.