First Independent Mena Newspaper
A 2-dirham overnight rise in diesel prices at the pump has jolted Moroccan consumers and reignited a long-standing debate about the Kingdom’s structural vulnerability to global energy shocks. Triggered by the third week of Middle East hostilities and their impact on international oil markets, the price surge has exposed once again the fragile foundations of […]
Libya’s Ministry of Transport has convened an emergency meeting, on March 19, to evaluate the impact of an explosion involving a Russian liquefied natural gas tanker that caught fire off the country’s coast, triggering concerns over sea drift and environmental damage. The high-level meeting brought together key stakeholders, including officials from the environment ministry, naval […]
Sudan’s rival factions, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), have accused each other of responsibility for a deadly drone strike that killed 17 civilians in Chad on Wednesday, March 19. The Chadian government confirmed the attack occurred in the border town of Al-Tina and said the drone originated from Sudanese […]
Morocco’s February 2026 decision to ban sardine exports to the European Union has set off an industrial and diplomatic crisis in Spain, where the regional parliament of Galicia has passed a motion demanding urgent government action to negotiate the ban’s reversal with Rabat. Effective from February 1 and expected to remain in force for at […]
Marrakech-Menara Airport has received the award of the “Best Regional Airport in Africa” at the 2026 Skytrax World Airport Awards, the prestigious annual accolades often described as the “Oscars of the aviation industry”. The Moroccan airport has won the trophy during a ceremony held Wednesday in London on the occasion of the Passenger Terminal EXPO […]
The partial closure of the Strait of Hormuz in 2026, triggered by escalating US-Israel-Iran tensions, has exposed the fragility of global energy supply chains — and in doing so, has accelerated Morocco’s emergence as what geopolitical analyst Khaled Hamadé calls a strategic “resilience ark.” The president of the International Institute of Geopolitical Studies who presented […]
Authorities in Libya have heightened maritime alert levels after a Russian liquefied natural gas tanker, identified as ARCTIC METAGAZ, was spotted drifting uncontrollably towards the country’s territorial waters. The Ports and Maritime Transport Authority reported on Wednesday, March 18, that the vessel is unmanned and unable to manoeuvre, leaving it vulnerable to prevailing winds […]
Former White House Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt has warned that the Iran‑backed strategy of empowering non‑state armed groups is expanding into North Africa through alleged ties with the Polisario Front. In an opinion piece published by Semafor, Greenblatt argues that while global attention remains fixed on crises in the Middle East, “another Iranian proxy […]
British newspaper The Sun has cast new attention on Tangier, portraying the northern Moroccan port city as an accessible, low‑cost sunshine escape for travellers seeking short breaks just beyond Europe’s southern coastline. In its latest travel feature, the newspaper highlighted Tangier’s proximity to Spain, noting that the city sits only a brief ferry ride from […]
Morocco’s Competition Council has issued a wide-ranging advisory calling for structural reforms to the country’s pharmaceutical distribution sector, targeting regulatory bottlenecks, territorial inequalities in pharmacy coverage, outdated remuneration models, and insufficient digitalization across the medicine supply chain. At the heart of the Council’s recommendations is the urgent need to accelerate market authorization procedures. Currently, obtaining […]