First Independent Mena Newspaper
Nearly 2,000 civilians were displaced from Sudan’s western city of Heglig in West Kordofan after a nine-day journey following the city’s seizure by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), local media reported on Tuesday, December 16. Qamar El-Din Mohamed, governor of White Nile State, said that 1,850 displaced individuals arrived in the city of Kosti, […]
The Alliance of Sahel States (AES), comprising Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, has created a regional investment bank with an initial capital of 500 billion CFA francs (about $820 million), aimed at financing infrastructure and development projects across the three countries. The institution, named the Confederation Bank for Investment and Development (BCID-AES), is designed to […]
Rabat will host the headquarters of the African Capitals of Culture Committee after African Union ministers unanimously endorsed the move at a meeting in Burundi last week, cementing Morocco’s role as a driver of cultural diplomacy on the continent. The decision, adopted during the fifth session of the AU’s specialized technical committee on youth, culture […]
Sudan’s Sovereign Council head, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, concluded a one-day visit to Riyadh on Monday, 15 December 2025, holding talks with Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman to strengthen bilateral relations and advance a sustainable strategic partnership. Ambassador Muawia Osman, Undersecretary at Sudan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the discussions focused on establishing a Strategic […]
A rights group in Sudan’s North Kordofan state said on Sunday, 14 December, it documented the rape of 12 women by members of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the town of Bara, following the group’s seizure of the area in late October. The Gender Equality Network said it verified that the assaults occurred during […]
Despite a last‑minute venue ban and what organizers described as attempts by Algerian authorities to derail the event, the Kabyle independence movement MAK on Dec 14, as planned, proclaimed the independence of Kabylia at a ceremony in central Paris, unveiling the name Federal Republic of Kabylia. The event took place in a venue near the […]
Sweden and Norway have taken sharply different paths on aid to Africa, with Stockholm cutting aid while Oslo increases allocations for humanitarian support. On Dec. 8, Sweden announced it will phase out bilateral development assistance to five countries, including four in Africa: Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Mozambique and Liberia. The goal was to free up about 10 […]
South Sudan announced, on Thursday, 11 December, that it has secured a tripartite agreement with the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to protect the Heglig oil field, after the RSF seized the site earlier in the week. Information Minister Ateny Wek Ateny said in Juba that the accord was reached […]
African trade ministers and senior government officials held a coordination meeting on Thursday in Marrakesh aimed at consolidating Africa’s position on key issues that will be on the agenda of the 14th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO), scheduled for March 2026 in Yaoundé, Cameroon. The discussions and interventions at this meeting—presided over […]
President Salva Kiir convened, on 10 December 2025, a rare gathering of South Sudan’s political leaders in Juba to recalibrate the final phase of the country’s long-delayed transition. Officials confirmed that the parties agreed to amend several provisions of the 2018 ‘Revitalized Peace Agreement’, aiming to clear obstacles to the December 2026 elections. The adjustments, […]