First Independent Mena Newspaper
At least some 37 foreign workers, who were taken lately hostage by Islamist militants linked to Al Qaeda at a gas plant in Southern Algerian city of In Amenas, were killed during a military operation launched by the Algerian Special Forces to release the captives and retake to the gasfield compound. The identified slain hostages […]
Two years ago, Tunisia’s Jasmine Revolution toppled Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali’s dictatorship and ignited the first flames of what would be called the Arab Spring. At the same time, it kindled Tunisians’ hopes and dreams for a better future, a better Tunisia where democracy, freedom and social justice will prevail. Two long years have elapsed, […]
When President Barack Obama, in a speech in Cairo University in 2009, pointed to education and innovation as being the mechanisms of progress in the 21st century, these ideas must have resonated in capital cities across North Africa. Although different countries in the region have made various efforts to improve education and innovation and create […]
Climate change has emerged as one of the greatest challenges to international community. Increasing frequency and intensity of natural calamities caution that changing climate would have severe implications for economy and society and have potential to alter the course of development across the world. In absence of robust infrastructure, resources and technologies to cope with […]
As many as 41 people – including American, British, French, Japanese, Norwegian, Irish and Austrian nationals – are being held hostage by armed Islamist militants after storming a gas facility in Algeria. The gas production facility attacked on Wednesday by the terrorists is located in the town of In Amenas (near the Libyan border). The […]
At least eight foreigners, including Britons, Norwegian and Japanese nationals were seized Wednesday in Algeria by Islamist militants in an attack on an oil facility in the south-eastern region of the North African country. The terror attack, which targeted a BP gas plant in the town of In Amenas (near the Libyan border), also claimed […]
It seems that Egypt is heading for more trouble and showdown between the Muslim Brotherhood and the Liberals as the country braces for the re-trial of the toppled former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. This retrial is a real test of the independence of the judiciary system under the Muslim brotherhood-led government. Mubarak, who was sentenced […]
Egypt’s Central Bank proclaimed their foreign reserves reaching the “critical” levels after it had sold about 75 million USD in its first private auction to banks, Bloomberg reports. Egypt’s foreign reserves are well below the levels prior to 2011 uprising against former President Mubarak, when the Central Bank commenced to support the Egyptian pound by […]
The transitions away from authoritarian rule in North Africa and Burma (also known as Myanmar) have often been compared to one another, highlighting major challenges but also reasons for hope. When Aung San Suu Kyi, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and leader of Burmese opposition, addressed the Clinton Global Initiative Conference in New York in 2011, […]
When Susan Rice withdrew her name from the consideration for nomination for Secretary of State, she did so largely to save the White House from a costly political fight. Over the previous weeks, Senators John McCain, Kelly Ayotte, and Lindsay Graham had attacked her vigorously for not calling the attack on the US consulate in […]