First Independent Mena Newspaper
Kenyan President William Ruto has pledged a record-breaking 600 million Kenyan shillings (approximately $4.6 million) to the national football team, Harambee Stars, should they clinch the 2025 Africa Nations Championship (CHAN). Addressing the players during a breakfast meeting in Nairobi over the weekend, Ruto described the moment as historic, noting that Kenya is hosting the […]
African nations are racing against time to renegotiate trade terms with the United States, as sweeping tariffs — initially set to begin 1 August — now loom for 7 August following a last-minute executive order by President Donald Trump. Trump’s latest executive order slaps a uniform 15% tariff on most African exports — threatening industries […]
Morocco’s Ministry of Energy Transition, led by Leila Benali, has initiated sweeping reforms to revitalize the mining sector as a strategic pillar of economic sovereignty and territorial development. The comprehensive overhaul includes legislative changes, digitalization initiatives, and targeted regional development programs designed to unlock the sector’s investment potential. A draft law amending Law No. 33.13 […]
Japan is intensifying its African engagement ahead of the ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD9), with ambitious plans centered on youth employment, digital transformation, and climate resilience. The Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has already deployed $2.9 billion of a pledged $5 billion private sector investment package, signaling sustained commitment despite global economic […]
Morocco’s unemployment rate declined marginally to 12.8% in the second quarter of 2025, down 0.3 percentage points from 13.1% in the same period last year, according to the High Commission for Planning (HCP). While the improvement breaks recent upward trends, it masks deepening structural vulnerabilities in the labor market, particularly affecting youth, women, and rural […]
Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has raised the red flag following revelations of $2.1 billion in suspicious cryptocurrency transactions across West Africa in 2024, according to a study by the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA). SEC Director-General, Emomotimi Agama, speaking at the recent West Africa Compliance Summit in Cape […]
A fresh wave of brutal attacks by armed groups in northern Mozambique has displaced at least 46,667 people in late July, compounding an already dire humanitarian crisis in the Cabo Delgado province, UN agencies reported. The violence, concentrated between 20 and 28 July across Chiúre, Ancuabe, and Muidumbe districts, has driven total displacement this year […]
US president Donald Trump reiterated his country’s recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over the Sahara and described autonomy as the only solution to the dispute. “I also reiterate that the United States recognizes Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara and supports Morocco’s serious, credible, and realistic Autonomy Proposal as the only basis for a just and lasting […]
The ambitious Nigeria-Morocco Atlantic Gas Pipeline project has reached critical milestones following high-level meetings in Rabat, positioning the 6,000-kilometer infrastructure initiative for imminent implementation. In December 2024, West African leaders approved the Intergovernmental Agreement during the 66th CEDEAO Summit, spelling out each country’s rights and responsibilities for the project. Morocco’s Minister of Energy Transition Leïla […]
Somaliland’s new president, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, is offering the United States access to a strategic military base near the Red Sea and critical mineral resources, including lithium, in exchange for formal diplomatic recognition. The breakaway region, which declared independence from Somalia in 1991, has yet to receive international recognition despite decades of stability and democratic […]