First Independent Mena Newspaper
A sharp restriction in off-continental irregular migration combined with escalating push factors will continue to shape governance and security priorities in Africa in 2025, according to a new report by the Africa Center for Strategic Studies (ACSS), which also highlights the urgent need for more regional cooperation to accommodate intra-continental population movements. The new analysis […]
The Algerian regime has blocked all attempts to bring closer the peoples of the Maghreb, former Tunisian president Moncef Marzouki said. Algeria has stood against all Maghreb integration initiatives, Marzouki, who led Tunisia from 2011 to 2014, said in a recent interview. While in office, Marzouki has tried to bring the two Maghreban heavy weights, […]
Morocco’s prime minister Aziz Akhannouch defended his government’s job creation policy despite a surge in unemployment which he blamed on drought. Speaking to members of the Upper House, Akhannouch said the jobs lost in the agriculture sector were already unstable fragile jobs. The unemployment rate surged to 13.3% in 2024 from 13% a year earlier, […]
Morocco’s water and electricity agency ONEE and Mauritania’s electricity supplier SOMEC signed an agreement to connect their electricity grids. The agreement was signed by head of ONEE Tarik Hamane with his counterpart Sidi Salem Mohaned Elabd in Nouakchott. The project “is part of the Royal Atlantic initiative that aims at promoting African integration and south-south […]
The four-day ‘Investing in African Mining Indaba’ that officially kicked off in Cape Town, South Africa, on Monday (3 January) features presentations from mining experts, delegates and influential policymakers and also includes discussions on the effects that US tariffs and the freeze on foreign aid might have on Africa’s mining industries. The African mining-focused event […]
Japanese companies have launched a prospecting mission in the automotive sector in Morocco, the aim being to strengthen economic ties between Morocco and Japan. The prospecting mission, running from February 3 to 5, seeks to introduce participating Japanese companies to Morocco’s business environment and the various potential opportunities in the automotive sector. At a meeting […]
A strike law that the government managed to pass in the Parliament’s two chambers has been rejected by the main labor union, who called for a nation-wide strike and protests. In addition to the law, the unions decry the impact of inflation, low wages and what they describe as deteriorating conditions of the working class. […]
Drought continues to slash jobs in rural areas leading to the surge of the unemployment rate to 13.3% in 2024, compared with 13% in 2023, the statistics agency HCP said. The number of unemployed people in Morocco reached 1.638 million people last year, ringing the alarm bell for the government. The unemployment rate was notably […]
The Kremlin has announced the expansion of the list of “friendly and neutral” African countries whose banks may now trade currencies and derivatives in Russia. By adding Nigeria, Tunisia and Ethiopia to the list, “the number of friendly and neutral countries whose credit institutions and brokers will be allowed to trade on the Russian foreign […]
Morocco’s tourism revenue grew 7% to 11.2 billion dollars thanks to increased arrivals, the tourism ministry said. With 17.4 million tourists visiting in 2024, arrivals were two years ahead of schedule or 20% higher compared with 2023, showing the country has turned the Covid-19 page thanks to major investments in its hospitality sector. Morocco plans […]