First Independent Mena Newspaper
Morocco’s special forces will receive $18 million dollars as part of a US administration plan worth hundreds of millions of dollars to equip allies in the MENA region to counter the IS threat as the group seeks to relocate its terrorist activities from Iraq and Syria to Africa. The news was relayed by Al Monitor […]
Libya managed to reduce its budget deficit in 2017 thanks to a sharp rise in oil revenues totaling $14 billion, the Libyan Central Bank said. The exponential increase in oil revenues up from $4.8 billion in 2016 is still much below the $50 billion registered in Libya before the fall of Gaddafi’s rule. The Central […]
Morocco and China have agreed to establish an academic institute tasked with conducting studies on the “Belt and Road” initiative, the Chinese news agency announced. The joint institute will be built by China’s Ningxia University and Morocco’s Hassan I University. The Chinese news agency reported a group of delegates from Ningxia University visited the Hassan […]
After the ban imposed by the US Federal Aviation Administration on Air Algérie, China followed suit banning the Algerian flag carrier from landing in its airports. The ban was issued by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), which has barred Air Algérie along with China United Airlines, MIAT Mongolian Airlines and Ariana Afghan Airlines […]
The Chilean parliament adopted with a sweeping majority a resolution supporting Morocco’s initiative to grant the Sahara a substantive autonomy. Sixty-six Chilean MPs voted in favor, 11 against and 22 abstained. This outspoken support for the autonomy initiative, which Morocco presented to the UN in 2007 as a lasting solution to the Sahara dispute, is […]
Morocco has become member of the Government Debt and Risk Management (GDRM) program of the World Bank Treasury. The GDRM Program provides assistance to middle-income countries (MICs) to improve macroeconomic and fiscal management by reducing vulnerability to financial and other shocks. The GDRM Program brings a tailored approach to each country’s priorities and provides expert […]
Emboldened by Algeria’s military and diplomatic cover, the Polisario inaugurated 2018 with a resumption of provocations in the Guerguarat area, the southernmost tip of Morocco’s southern provinces, the Sahara. Three armed Polisario men have barred the road for an hour and a half to participants in the Desert Sahara Challenge rally competition departing from Dakhla […]
Algeria has earmarked $9.37 billion to military expenditures in 2015, the US Department of State said in its 2017 World Military Expenditures and Arms Transfers report. The report notes that Algeria slashed military spending in 2015, compared to $11 billion in 2014 and $9.89 billion in 2013. Cash-strapped Algeria, which faces an impending depletion of […]
US Africa Command has warned against a terrorist plot being prepared by ISIS militants against Libya’s Oil Crescent, which is located 500 km east of the capital Tripoli, and includes the country’s largest oil reserves and export terminals. In a statement to Asharq Al-Awsat, AFRICOM spokeswoman Robyn Mack said: “at the moment, we believe that […]
The Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Vella Gulf has taken part in naval drills alongside Morocco’s frigate Sygma Sultan Moulay Ismail on the coast of Agadir, Moroccan media reported. The naval war games took place on the sidelines of a visit by the USS Vella Gulf to Agadir in December. “The visit serves to enhance US-Morocco […]