First Independent Mena Newspaper
Wagner is taking advantage to recruit young fighters from the Polisario-run Tindouf camps in Algeria, where Jihadist AQMI and ISIS have found fertile ground to enroll fighters. The alarm bell was rang by FORSATIN, a Sahrawi forum that brings together advocates of Morocco’s autonomy plan. “The early April attack by Wagner fighters on the Mauritanian […]
The economy of Guinea Bissau remains highly dependent on Cashew nuts, whose exports dropped significantly last year depriving the country of much needed revenue to diversify the economy and curb poverty, the World Bank said. “While cashew production reached 260 thousand tons, the highest production yield on record, only 170 thousand tons were exported by […]
Ambassadors from several African countries hailed, Wednesday in Dakhla, the “credibility” and “boldness” of King Mohammed VI’s initiative to promote Sahel countries’ access to the Atlantic Ocean. “Despite the security challenges facing Sahel countries, Morocco, through the Royal Initiative, strives to make the Atlantic coast a large-scale economic integration center,” they stated during a panel […]
An activist and a preacher were arrested in Senegal and a well-known academic was sentenced to two years in prison in Mali, all for criticizing their respective governments, casting a shadow over basic human rights and mainly freedom of expression in both countries. The two individuals were taken into police custody in Senegal’s capital, Dakar, […]
Africa’s cotton industry is expected to grow to 7.7 billion dollars by 2029, from a market size of 6 billion dollars in 2024, Mordor Intelligence, a global market screener said. The World Bank and other development institutions are assisting key African producers to boost output. Nearly 50% of African cotton is produced in wet African […]
Carbon taxes, which the EU braces to impose, could slash by up to 10% South African exports, the central bank warned. The warning comes as the South African economy navigates tumultuous waters, with the flight of foreign investors, corruption, insecurity and electricity outages. The country produces 80% of its electricity from coal and is seeking […]
South Sudan is nearing an agreement with a UAE company for an oil-backed loan worth $13 billion, the largest in Africa’s newest nation’s history. The news was reported by AP citing an unnamed UN source which said the deal is close to being signed. “Servicing this loan would likely tie up most of South Sudan’s […]
Africa accounts for a staggering 19% of all seizures of illegal wildlife materials worldwide, with virtually all of the seizures having been made in the sub-Saharan subregion, according to the latest World Wildlife Crime Report 2024. In terms of global trade flows, a majority of seizures — 44% of all records — between 2015–2021 was […]
Senegal’s newly elected president Bassirou Faye said he will seek the re-integration of military ruled Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso to the Western African community ECOWAS. The three states have jointly announced their withdrawal from the ECOWAS, in protest over sanctions it imposed on them to pressure for a return to constitutional order. “We can […]
Southern African countries hit by extreme El Nino weather phenomenon made an appeal for $5.5 billion to assist some 61 million affected people. The call was made by the Southern African Development Community, which brings together 16 members. Some countries in the region such as Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi saw their crops sapped by extreme […]