First Independent Mena Newspaper
Authorities overseeing the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) are considering the conversion of their debts of more than $5 billion into bonds. The idea came as proposals and discussions with the Egyptian Central Bank to scrutinize it have resulted in a positive outcome. These debts are owed to foreign oil companies operating in the country. […]
Prime Minister Zeidan has gone to Algeria for a brief visit to discuss “issues of mutual interest” with his counterparts. The rising security threats and smuggling was high on the agenda during their meetings. Both sides have agreed on taking common steps to curb it through their Joint Commission. Algeria’s Prime Minister, Abdelmalek Sellal has […]
Egypt’s Minister of Finance, Dr. Ahmed Galal, has declared that the government will increase its spending or at least maintain it without increasing taxes or imposing new ones. He claimed the government has “multiple resources” to support its budget. Morsi’s government tried to reduce public spending as requirements for a loan from the International Monetary […]
Many North African and Middle Eastern countries are in a state of great uncertainty. The struggles and revolutions of the Arab Spring struck down many oppressive governments, but violence has spread beyond North Africa and given way to insecurity in many states that were beyond the epicentre of the events – and these conflicts are […]
Simon Kuznets’ inverted U-shaped curve representing the hypothesis that with economic growth country’s inequality level initially increases and then decreases after reaching certain average income level has not yet found much support among the MENA economies. The MENA region has traditionally belonged to the most equal parts of the developing world as supported by the […]
Africa had its fair share of military power-grabs – actually, it had a good deal more than that. Throughout the Cold War, military coups were the rule, not the exception. And Egypt, the bridge between the African and Arab worlds, was no stranger to coups. After all, it was a coup by the Free Officers […]
Abdelbari al-Arusi, Libya’s oil minister has become desperate about the ongoing strikes in several eastern ports, which have reduced the country’s oil export to 30%. The minister has warned that if the situation continues, “Libya will plunge into darkness.” The oil rich country wants to surpass its pre-war production and exportations. However, frequent strikes have […]
Shortly after EU’s Catherine Ashton announced that she had an open and frank discussion with Mursi, the White House is planning to send John McCain and Lindsey Graham to meet Egyptian officials as early as next week. Both of them are republican senators for Arizona and South Carolina respectively. They have also met members of […]
Souad Mekhennet. The name sounds alien for English-speaking readers but not like the many foreign names that pop up if you Google USA-based journalists. It does not sound Irish, Russian, Polish, Korean nor Japanese. The surname is very familiar in the Arab world and the name is easily pronounced in the Middle East. The name […]
The offices of foreign missions have become the new targets of unknown attackers in Libya. Attacks on such institutions have been rising and the United Arab Emirates is the latest victim to such hostilities when a rocket-propelled grenade was directed to the building housing its diplomatic office and the ambassador’s residence. The attack came only […]