First Independent Mena Newspaper
Atlantique Finance, a subsidiary of Morocco’s pan-African Banque Centrale Populaire (BCP) group, has emerged as the leading investment and brokerage firm in West Africa’s economic and monetary union, achieving a remarkable 25% market share and transaction volume of 235 billion CFA francs (approximately $358 million) in 2024. The firm’s ascent to market leadership among 36 […]
The African Union’s (AU) Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) is making significant strides, with 39 African nations now part of the initiative, promising the make air travel around the continent more affordable. Speaking at the AU Summit, AU commissioner for infrastructure and energy, Amani Abou-Zeid, emphasized that the SAATM is a critical component in […]
As the war in Ukraine winds down, African leaders are increasingly alarmed by reports that Russia may be sending ex-convicts disguised as mercenary forces to the continent. These individuals, initially recruited to fight on the Ukrainian front, are now feared to be relocated to Africa, raising concerns over escalating violence and instability. Reports suggest that […]
A senior US counterterrorism official has raised alarms about the increasing threat posed by global jihadist groups, warning that they are, for example, expanding their activities from Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso into Benin and Togo, which had once had little exposure to jihadi threats. Speaking at a recent Washington conference, Sebastian Gorka noted that […]
Human rights advocates and local politicians in the Central African Republic (CAR) have accused Russia-backed mercenaries for being behind the disappearance of two soldiers, amid a mountain evidence pointing to crimes, including murder, torture, execution, abductions, rape, theft, that are credibly linked to Wagner forces and their successor entities. The two soldiers, ,Celestin Bakoyo and […]
The M23 rebels, backed by Rwanda, have seized control of Bukavu, the second-largest city in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), raising fears of a regional escalation. Their rapid advance through the South Kivu region, after an earlier lightning-speed offensive on Goma in neighboring North Kivu, marks a significant escalation in the ongoing conflict. […]
Transparency International’s 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) paints a bleak picture of corruption worldwide, with many African countries showing their worst results in over a decade. The report, released on Tuesday (11 February), reveals that 47 countries out of 180 surveyed scored their lowest marks since 2012, signaling an alarming global rise in corruption. On […]
China is intensifying its space cooperation with Africa, securing agreements with 23 African countries to fund satellite and ground station projects that collect valuable imagery and data. This effort is part of a broader strategy to boost China’s global influence in space and surpass the United States in technological advancements at a time when Washington […]
The ongoing civil war in Sudan, now entering its second year, has led to what the African Union (AU) has called the “worst humanitarian crisis in the world.” The conflict between Sudan’s military government and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has displaced millions and left hundreds of thousands of children malnourished, with dire shortages […]
A deadly assault by the Islamic State (ISIS) targeted a Puntland military base in Somalia’s Bari region, resulting in at least 100 fatalities among both the militants and soldiers. The attack, which reportedly took place in the Togga Jacel area of the Cal Miskaad mountains in Puntland’s Bari region, saw ISIS militants using suicide car […]