First Independent Mena Newspaper
Senegal’s ruling PASTEF party has achieved a decisive parliamentary victory, securing 130 of 165 seats according to provisional election results. This overwhelming majority empowers newly elected President Bassirou Diomaye Faye to implement his comprehensive reform agenda targeting corruption, fishing industry revitalization, and natural resource management. The opposition coalition, led by former President Macky Sall, captured […]
Libya has been elected to chair the International Olive Council (IOC), formerly the International Olive Oil Council, for a one-year term. The election took place during the 120th session of the IOC, held this week in Spain. Libya competed against Uruguay and Israel for the position. Iran, the outgoing chair, had sought an extension of […]
Egyptian MP Essam Diab has urged Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and Communications Minister Amr Talaat to ban TikTok, accusing the platform of undermining societal and family values. Diab described in a Facebook statement, the app as a source of “debauchery and obscenity” threatening Egyptian identity and ethics. Diab, who submitted a formal briefing request, argued […]
Kenya has backpedaled on a $2 billion deal under which it was expected to hand over Nairobi’s airport to India’s Adani Group. The deal was canceled after India’s richest man, Adani, was indicted in the US for fraud for allegedly orchestrating a $250m bribery scheme and concealing it to raise money in the US. “I […]
The United States has reaffirmed its support for the Morocco-proposed autonomy initiative as a serious, credible, and realistic solution to the Sahara issue, and hailed King Mohammed VI’s continued and valuable support to stability, security, and development across the region and the African continent. The remarks were made by U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for […]
The Islamic State’s Somali branch is still small but steadily growing, due to in part to what United Nations experts describe as an “influx of foreign fighters,” a new report published by the UN Sanctions Monitoring Team for Somalia warns. “Foreign fighters arrive in Puntland [Somalia] using both maritime and overland routes,” says the report, […]
China’s president Xi Jinping on his way from a G20 summit in Brazil stopped for a short visit in Morocco, an event that is reflective of the interest of Beijing in Morocco as a rising regional power and economic hub. Xi Jinping was received in Casablanca by Crown Prince Moulay El Hassan and Prime Minister […]
Moroccan competition regulator fined Viatris $0.7 mln for failing to notify it of a merger, sources told Reuters. Viatris was created out of a merger between Upline and Maylan, which has business in Morocco. The fine amounts to 2.5% of Vitaris local Morocco operations and was already paid to the treasury. The council was also […]
Morocco and Spain conducted a joint operation dismantling a terrorist cell loyal to IS with operations in the Sahel, Moroccan anti-terrorism agency BCIJ said. Nine individuals have been arrested in this operation in the Moroccan cities of Tetouan and Fnideq and in Madrid, Ibiza and Ceuta. BCIJ said the equipment seized during the operation, including […]
The whereabouts of the renowned Algerian novelist and intellectual Boualem Sansal have been unknown since he landed in Algeria on November 16. His wife and friends fear he has been persecuted because of his ideas, as part of a larger crackdown on dissidents. Sansal, who was traveling from France, is an outspoken critic of the […]