King Mohammed VI Iranian President

Tunisia deepens media crackdown with new journalist arrest

Tunisian authorities have detained prominent journalist Zied El Hani over comments posted on social media, reviving alarms among press freedom advocates who say President Kais Saied’s government is intensifying its campaign against independent media nearly five years after his power grab. El Hani was taken into custody last week after appearing before the National Guard’s […]

Morocco’s free trade agreements deepen trade deficit despite export gains

Morocco’s ambitious free trade strategy has expanded market access and boosted key export sectors, but widening trade deficits with major partners raise questions about the agreements’ overall economic impact, according to new analysis. The kingdom’s imports under free trade agreements reached 207.8 billion dirhams ($20.4 billion) in 2022, climbing 20.9% from the previous year, with […]

West African Sahel sees soaring drug seizures, as UN calls for dismantling trafficking networks

Drug trafficking in Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger continues to undermine security and economic development in the West African Sahel region, according to a new report from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) that calls for the dismantling of trafficking networks. In light of the soaring seizures of drugs, especially cocaine, […]