First Independent Mena Newspaper
Algerian Islamist extremist Djamel Okacha has become the new commander of operations of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) in Northern Mali, replacing Abu Zeid who was killed in a French-led military campaign in the impoverished African country. The confirmed death of Abu Zeid, who raised millions of dollars from kidnapping of Western hostages, […]
At the end of the 17th session of the mixed Mauritano-Algero commission, both countries have hailed the achievements they were able to do together as milestones which will contribute to strengthen their bilateral cooperation and relations. Agreements under the development of water resources, animal health and marine fisheries were agreed upon and signed by the […]
Mauritania and Morocco were the only two Maghreban countries that took part in the international maritime security cooperation exercise organized lately off the Mauritanian and Senegalese coasts. This regional naval drill, dubbed “Saharan Express 2013”, aims to enhance maritime security and improve communication cooperation between the U.S., West African countries and their key European partners. […]
In the past ten years, North African countries progressed in liberalizing their trade relations with the EU as well as Korea. As part of the Euro-Mediterranean (Barcelona Process) Partnership, North African nations and the EU entered association agreements with provisions for free trade in industrial goods. This opened doors for European manufacturers to new export and investment markets. Most recently, North African nations and the EU launched initiatives to extend their agreements to trade in agricultural products, trade in services, government procurement, and trade harmonization. Trade between North Africa and Korea also exploded in the past five years. As latecomers to North Africa, […]
The Arab Contractors (AC), one of the leading construction companies in Egypt and the MENA region, has won a $30mln contract for the extension and modernization of the Abidjan International Airport cargo facilities. The project, funded by the Islamic Development Bank, will enable the Ivory Coast authorities to replace the old airport by a new […]
The European Union has decided to resume fully its development cooperation with Mali and will mobilize some €250 million for this purpose. “The swift adoption by the Malian authorities of a transition roadmap to restore democracy and stability has opened the door for lifting the precautionary measures taken after the coup d’état of March 2012 […]
The Pentagon is planning a drone base in northwest Africa to counter the growing terror threat posed by the Islamist extremists linked to Al Qaeda, says the New York Times on its web site. The base will be most probably established in Niger or Burkina Faso, sharing borders with Mali where French and Malian troops […]
The North African derby was settled by a late goal from Tunisia’s wonder boy, Youssef M’Sakni. Algeria proved to be the better side during the game but was unable to make their opportunities count as they continued to dominate possession. Tunisia was forced to make an early substitution after 16 minutes when Issam Jemaa was […]
Yahya Ould Hademine, Minister of Works and Transport paid a courtesy call to the town of Kaédi in the region of Gargol where he held a meeting with officials of the region and discussed subjects related to the rehabilitation of the airport Kaédi, which will be part of the five airports across the country meet […]
The air forces of the five Maghreb countries (Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania &Tunisia) and their European partners France, Spain, Italy, Malta and Portugal have staged lately a joint aerial military drill destined to counter terror threats. The joint regional exercise, code-named “Circaete 2012”, seeks to enhance the combat capabilities of the air forces to prevent […]