First Independent Mena Newspaper
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 […]
A Turkish company will invest $700 million in an Iraqi steel plant to upgrade its production capacity to 1 million tons per year. Under the 18-year deal with the Iraqi ministry of Industry and Minerals, the Turkish company will rehabilitate and develop the iron and steel plant located in the Khor Al-Zubair, in Basra, that […]
Pope Benedict XVI announced this Monday that he would be stepping down from office by the end of the current month, in an unexpected and unprecedented move in modern times. In a speech he delivered Monday before a church council, the Pope, 85, announced that he made his decision, which he described as “a decision […]
The stalled peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians, the civil war in Syria, Iran’s nuclear program, North Korea, the Arab Spring uprisings, Afghanistan, Iraq and the growing threat from Islamists in North Africa are among the major hot foreign policy issues awaiting America’s new Secretary of State, John Kerry. In addition to the thorny […]
Malta-based Michele Peresso Group, best known for its sportswear stores, is planning to open retail outlets in Libya while also expanding into solar energy production. Maltese Prime Minister, Lawrence Gonzi, said that it will be the first time the group goes into Libya’s market during a visit to the group’s Birkirkara head offices where he was […]
The King of Morocco has urged Muslim nations to address the endogenous reasons behind the crises facing the Muslim world rather than justify these crises by external factors. The Islamic world should stop justifying crises by casting all the blame on external reasons or factors, instead of addressing endogenous causes, underlined King Mohammed VI in […]
U.S. military had planned few years ago airstrikes against Algerian Jihadist Mokhtar Belmokhtar but the U.S. ambassador to Mali at that time opposed the plan, saying such action could trigger a backlash against Americans, reported the Washington Post. This Algerian terrorist, an Afghan war veteran, was closely watched by the U.S. intelligence military across the […]
Italian oil company Eni has started gas production in the Algerian Menzel Ledjmet East (220 km southeast of Hassi Messaoud) despite security fears exacerbated following last month hostage crisis that ended in a bloodbath in the North African country. Indeed, some 40 foreign workers, who were taken hostage by Islamist militants linked to Al Qaeda […]
Dustin Dehez Watching Obama’s second inaugural address, I was confident that the President would turn to foreign policy at some point. After all, Barack Obama has yet to leave his mark on the international stage and his recently announced nominations for his national security team indicated that he was finally thinking about a long-term U.S. […]
The European Union is negotiating with Morocco a new fisheries agreement that would allow European trawlers back in Moroccan waters in exchange for annual payments. So far, the European and Moroccan delegations held three rounds of talks for a new protocol to the Fisheries Partnership Agreement (FPA) which entered into force on February 28, 2007. […]