First Independent Mena Newspaper
As tensions surge between the world’s two largest economies, China is ramping up its global diplomacy, holding strategic talks with Saudi Arabia and South Africa to counterbalance the United States’ sweeping new tariffs. China’s commerce minister Wang Wentao recently held virtual meetings with his counterparts in Saudi Arabia and South Africa, focusing on responses to […]
Africa’s mounting debt burden — now standing at 64.3% of the continent’s GDP — is choking vital investments in health, education, and infrastructure, warns the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). Speaking at a recent Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development, UNECA executive secretary Claver Gatete painted a sobering picture: out of 144 Sustainable […]
Brice Oligui Nguema, the military leader who ousted long-time president Ali Bongo in a 2023 coup, has won Gabon’s presidential election with a staggering 90.35% of the vote, according to provisional results announced by the Interior Ministry. This marks the first election in over five decades not dominated by the Bongo family, whose rule was […]
A devastating wave of attacks by Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on famine-stricken displacement camps in Darfur has left more than 100 civilians dead, according to the United Nations. Survivors describe a scene of horror as the RSF intensified its campaign to seize control of the last army-held city in the region, El-Fasher. The […]
Former Congolese president Joseph Kabila’s unexpected return to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has ignited a political firestorm in a nation already engulfed by escalating conflict and growing insecurity in its eastern region. Announcing his return after six years of silence and exile, Kabila, once ousted amid mass protests, says he aims to help […]
At a hearing on Thursday, the United Arab Emirates contested the jurisdiction of the United Nations’ highest court over a genocide claim filed by Sudan. The UAE argued that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) had no authority to rule on the case, in which the Gulf country is accused of violating the Genocide Convention […]
Militant Islamist violence continues to escalate in the Sahel, shifting southward and westward to increasingly threaten security of coastal West African nations, according to a new report by Africa Center for Strategic Studies (ACSS). Countries like Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger remain at the epicenter of this violent surge, with fatalities and militant activity hitting […]
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has decided to terminate its six-month $5 million lobbying contract with the U.S. public relations firm Earhart Turner, instead preferring to pursue direct negotiations with the Trump administration. The lobbying contract, signed in March 2025, aimed to enhance Congo’s image in Washington, particularly in the context of a mineral […]
The Trump administration has reaffirmed its commitment to the $4 billion Lobito Corridor rail project in Africa, aiming to strengthen United States-Africa economic ties while countering China’s growing influence in the region. The initiative, which connects Angola, Zambia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), is seen as a vital trade route for transporting minerals […]
Terrorism continues to devastate Africa, with the Sahel and Somalia remaining epicenters of violent extremism, according to the latest Global Terrorism Index (GTI) 2025 report. The Sahel region, which is sometimes referred to as the “coup belt” of Africa, comprising Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, and surrounding areas, now accounts for more than half of the […]