First Independent Mena Newspaper
The new Sahel nation states have obviously failed to embrace diversity and integrate the Tuareg people whose leaders in Mali and Niger consider a return to the armed struggle against the centralized states. The Tuareg are a nomadic Amazigh people scattered in the greater Sahara notably in what is now southern Algeria and Libya to […]
Niger’s new authorities who took power late July in a coup are planning to try deposed leader Mohamed Bazoum for treason amid international calls to release the 63-year old man. “The Nigerien government has gathered the necessary evidence to prosecute the deposed President and his local and foreign accomplices before national and international bodies for […]
Talks between a delegation of senior Nigerian Islamic scholars and the Niger’s coup leaders in Niamey have been “constructive” and the latter are open to diplomacy to resolve a standoff with West Africa’s regional bloc, ECOWAS, the Nigerian religious leaders said on Sunday (13 August). In a sign the ECOWAS bloc is still pushing for […]
The African venture-capital (VC) market witnessed a 40% drop in funding from the previous year in the first six months of 2023, reflecting cautious investor sentiment and sparking concerns for startups’ future. In the first half of 2023, a mere 263 VC deals were executed, collectively accounting for $2.1 billion, which represents a 40% decline […]
The Algerian regime has openly expressed its firm opposition to any military intervention by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) against the putschists who toppled elected President Mohamed Bazoum. Algeria says it opposes any military operation in Niamey for security reasons due to the fragile and instable situation in the Sahel. But in […]
Defense Minister of the Central African Republic (CAR) Claude Rameaux Bireau is set to visit Russia next week amid talks between the two countries for Moscow to set up a military base in the African country now very close to Russian President Vladimir Putin. CAR ambassador to Russia Leon Dodonu-Punagaza told the media about the […]
Spiro, a leading electric motorbike manufacturer and clean energy provider in Africa, has landed $63 million loan from GuarantCo, a company in the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG), and the French bank Société Générale to be used to expand its fleet of electric motorbikes, alongside the associated batteries and swap stations, in Benin and Togo. […]
Mali’s Foreign ministry announced Wednesday August 9 decision by authorities to suspend indefinitely issuance of visa to French nationals after the European country also made similar decision and classified the West African country “red zone” on the grounds of “strong regional tensions.” France’s embassy in Mali’s capital Bamako has closed its visa center and indicated […]
Ghana’s government has given the nod to a pioneering green-minerals policy that is aimed at helping the West African country manage the exploitation and production of lithium, a step towards tapping into the multibillion-dollar global industry. The “Minerals of the Future” policy, which was approved by the cabinet on 27 July, stands testament to Ghana’s […]
The number of people killed in Africa’s central Sahel region by insurgents, armed groups, state forces and foreign mercenaries has surged this year, according to data by The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), contradicting the claims by the military rulers of Mali, Burkina Faso and now Niger that they are tackling insecurity. […]