First Independent Mena Newspaper
Global food crisis is one of Russia’s “weapons of war“, said French President Emmanuel Macron during a visit to Cameroon on Tuesday (26 July), dismissing suggestions Western sanctions were to blame. It’s Macron’s first foreign trip since his re-election as he seeks to reset France’s post-colonial relationship with the continent. The French leader specifically denounced […]
The death toll following the protests against a United Nations peacekeeping force in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo this Tuesday (26 July) rose to 15. Three members of the MONUSCO mission and at least 12 protesters were killed in two cities of the North Kivu province, according to a UN spokesperson and the Congolese government. […]
Central Bank of Somalia (CBS) has recently granted its first two foreign banking licenses — to Turkey’s Ziraat Katılım bank and Egypt’s Banque Misr — in decades as the country seeks to rebuild its financial sector and attract international investment. Both state-owned financial institutions were approved by Somalia’s central bank at the start of July. […]
The number of bank cards increased in Morocco by 4.1 pc in 2021, compared to the previous year, reaching 17.9 million, says Morocco’s Central Bank in its latest report, noting that 88 pc of these cards were used for cash withdrawal. Over 5.4 million payment accounts were opened last year against 2.6 million transaction accounts […]
When Algeria halted its biggest gas pipeline with Spain in late 2021, decision-makers in Madrid knew that Algiers’ reliability as an energy supplier was called into question. In a series of self-defeating measures, Algeria has announced a technical problem in the small Medgaz pipeline, effectively halting all exports to Spain and further pushing the country […]
Ways of enhancing partnership between Moroccan and Israeli universities and research institutions were at the center of talks held Monday in Rabat, between Moroccan minister of higher education & scientific research, Abdellatif Miraoui and Israeli Minister of regional cooperation, Issawi Frej. The two ministers also discussed cooperation prospects in new technologies, digitalization and artificial intelligence […]
With the euro having recently declined to less than one US dollar, this development has a direct impact on the CFA franc, which has a fixed exchange rate parity value with the single European currency. The euro’s continued to slide toward the US dollar since 5 July has resulted in a 20-year low, according to […]
Nearly 60% of African countries remain dependent on exports of commodities despite decades-long efforts to diversify. Therefore, a shift especially to technology and financial services, among other sectors, could help them withstand economic shocks, a study recently published by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) argues. UNCTAD’s Economic Development in Africa Report […]
The rising price of basic foods is worsening South Africa’s food security crisis which could increase social instability and spark a repeat of the devastating July 2021 unrest that spiraled out of control. Meanwhile, in Uganda, people in the eastern city of Jinja have taken to the streets protesting the rapidly rising cost of living. […]
Following a visit to Egypt and the Republic of Congo, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has now (26 July) arrived in Uganda as Moscow aims at strengthening its ties with the continent. Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has a long history of balancing strong relations with Western allies and good ties with Moscow. Lavrov has earlier […]