State electricity utility Énergie du Mali is a crucible for political rivalries and the sacking of its boss highlights a split in the junta s ranks, As early as March, la canicule (the heatwave) is at work, with temperatures peaking above 40 degrees Celsius until June, and with it demand for electricity for air-conditioning. The state utility Énergie du Mali (EDM) habitually fails to deliver.
Moscow s military support for Mali s junta is raising tensions with France, and risks opening up old wounds in the north, Russia has delivered four military helicopters to Mali s military regime, just as the country s latest public row with former colonial power France floods the Bamako and Paris media with angry rhetoric.