First Independent Mena Newspaper
The National Oil Corporation (NOC) of Libya, through its technical Committee, announced the launch of a public tender offering 22 new onshore and offshore exploration blocks to international oil companies. This initiative is part of Libya’s strategy to attract foreign investment and expand its energy sector. The announcement was made during the eleventh meeting of […]
Morocco was re-elected on Friday as a member of the Executive Board of the World Food Programme (WFP) for another one-year mandate. The election took place during the 176th session of the Council of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), held in Rome December 2-6. This re-election reiterates the international recognition of […]
The Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum, led by Minister Karim Badawi, is set to launch a new gold and associated minerals exploration bidding process in the first quarter of 2025. This announcement came during a meeting with officials from South Africa’s AngloGold Ashanti, where discussions centered on the ongoing exploration and drilling operations in Egypt’s Sukari […]
An alleged US spy plane has been accused of breaching the airspaces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda, raising concerns that it may have been involved in possible espionage in sensitive areas with oil facilities and military bases. Fresh details have now emerged in Ugandan media, showing the aircraft could have photographed […]
The number of African countries offering e-visas has risen from 9 in 2016 to 26 in 2024, the latest addition of the Africa Visa Openness Index (AVOI) has revealed, with Benin, The Gambia, Rwanda and the Seychelles ranked the highest in visa openness, with Africans requiring no visas to enter these countries. The 2024 Africa […]
King Mohammed VI underscored Morocco’s transitional justice experience and the equity and reconciliation commission as a crucial “building block” in the transition to democracy, in the consolidation of the rule of law and of institutions, and in the protection of freedoms. This came in a Royal letter to the participants in an international symposium on […]
Director General of Morocco’s National Security and Territorial Surveillance (DGSN-DGST), Abdellatif Hammouchi, who paid on Thursday a working visit to Belgium, and the Commissioner General of the Belgian Federal Police, Eric Snoek, signed a joint action plan for the interim period 2025 and 2026 to strengthen cooperation in the field of combating organized crime and […]
The African Development Bank signed a loan agreement worth 350 million euros in support of Moroco’s economic governance, climate resilience, water management, and industry as it also plans to extend a financing of 650 million euros to help Morocco develop transport infrastructure. As part of the first loan, signed during the Africa Investment Forum (AIF) […]
Libya is enacting extraordinary measures to tackle its persistent liquidity crisis. On December 5, 2024, the Central Bank of Libya announced a partnership with the British company ‘De La Rue’ to print 30 billion dinars (approximately $6.25 billion) in new currency. This decision follows years of acute financial difficulties, compounded by political instability since the […]
The World Bank has approved $70 million loan for Morocco to enable country continue implementing ambitious social protection reforms seeking to facilitate access to social services in particular for vulnerable households. Building on the achievements of the first project, which saw a successful design and implementation of the National Population Registry, Unified Social Registry, and […]