First Independent Mena Newspaper
The legal battle surrounding Senegal’s Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko has entered a pivotal new phase. His lawyers filed this week a request for a review of his July 2025 defamation conviction, which had rendered him ineligible to contest the 2024 presidential election. The appeal targets the case brought by former Tourism Minister Mame Mbaye Niang […]
UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Wednesday called on eligible voters in the Central African Republic to participate fully in the country’s nationwide elections scheduled for December 28, urging authorities to guarantee a peaceful, orderly, inclusive and credible process. In a statement issued by his spokesperson, Farhan Haq, Guterres appealed to all stakeholders to refrain from […]
The 2022 Qatar World Cup scenario repeats itself once again during the ongoing 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco, as fans struggle to get match tickets due to networks illegally selling them. Moroccan police have opened a judicial investigation into the illegal sale of AFCON tickets under the supervision of the relevant public […]
Morocco’s AFCON 2025 is rapidly transforming into a national festival, well beyond the boundaries of its world-class stadiums, thanks to a network of fan zones designed to bring the tournament to every corner of the host cities. These zones are drawing thousands of supporters daily, offering free entry with a simple FAN ID from the Yalla […]
In the early hours of Sunday, 21 December, a group of armed men attacked KwaNoxolo tavern in Bekkersdal, 46 km west of Johannesburg, killing nine people and injuring at least ten others. Around 12 gunmen in a white minibus and a silver sedan opened fire on patrons and continued shooting randomly as they fled. Some […]
Morocco’s central bank, Bank Al-Maghrib (BAM), has issued a MAD 250 silver commemorative coin and a MAD 100 commemorative banknote to celebrate the 35th Africa Cup of Nations – AFCON Morocco 2025. The silver coin features a portrait of King Mohammed VI, with the inscription “Kingdom of Morocco” and Mohammed VI” in Arabic, the Tifinagh […]
Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have officially launched a joint military force aimed at tackling Islamist insurgencies and cross-border insecurity, deepening their security cooperation outside the framework of West Africa’s ECOWAS bloc. The new formation, called the United Force of the Alliance of Sahel States (FU-AES), was unveiled on Dec 20 at an airbase in […]
The Algerian regime has suffered another humiliating diplomatic setback after Moscow excluded again Polisario from the Russia-Africa cooperation forum held over the weekend in Cairo. By excluding the separatist group from such an international event, Russia confirms its unwavering position that participation in its forums is open only to sovereign States recognized by the United […]
More than 107,000 Sudanese civilians have been displaced from El-Fasher and surrounding villages in North Darfur amid worsening insecurity, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Sunday, December 21. According to the UN agency, an estimated 107,294 people, representing about 24,221 families, fled the area between Oct. 26 and Dec. 8, after the paramilitary […]
Nigeria has introduced a comprehensive ban on the export of wood and allied products as part of a renewed strategy to curb illegal logging and deforestation, local media reported on Thursday, December 18, 2025. The policy, anchored in a presidential executive order, will see all previously issued export licences and permits revoked. The announcement was […]