First Independent Mena Newspaper
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) commended Morocco’s tax reforms which enabled an enlargement of the tax base, narrowed the fiscal deficit and helped finance key reforms. “As a result, tax revenues in 2024 have been greater than expected. With only a small part of the additional tax revenues being saved, the central government’s deficit for […]
Guinea’s military junta, led by Colonel Mamady Doumbouya, is facing mounting resistance from the country’s resilient civil society and pro-democracy movement as it seeks to extend its hold on power. Since seizing power in a 2021 coup, Doumbouya’s government has delayed its promised return to constitutional order, now eyeing elections for 2025 after missing a […]
The recent withdrawal of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger from the regional ECOWAS bloc has drawn attention to the escalating security crisis in the Sahel region where JNIM, an umbrella coalition of aligned groups, is fast emerging as a dominant jihadist force. These countries, now members of the newly formed Alliance of Sahel States (AES), […]
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development injected 38.4 million euros-via a green bond issuance- in Moroccan rail operator ONCF, as the latter expands its network. “Issuing the bond will partially refinance the debt from ONCF’s latest development round designed to modernize and electrify the network; acquire and upgrade electric rolling stock; address safety units […]
The Sudanese army chief has announced plans to form a technocratic wartime government once the capital, Khartoum, is fully recaptured from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). After months of intense fighting, the army has recently made significant strides in regaining control of the city, including areas in the proximity of the symbolic presidential palace […]
Speaker of the French Senate Gérard Larcher will pay a four-day visit to Morocco starting Feb.23 at the invitation of Moroccan peer Mohamed Ould Errachid. During the trip, the French politician will visit Rabat and Laayoune, capital of the Moroccan Sahara, where he will meet local officials, notables, and elected officials of the region. According […]
Morocco’s Royal Navy rescued 41 Sub-Saharan migrants off Tan Tan, in the southern provinces, the Sahara. The migrants were aboard a dinghy heading to the Canary Islands, which reported record arrivals last year. Last year, Morocco rescued 18,645 at sea, as the number of departures from West Africa surged. In total, Morocco foiled 78,685 migration […]
French culture minister Rachida Dati will be paying a visit to Morocco on February 16-18, during which she will visit the Southern Provinces, the Sahara, where she will inaugurate a French cultural center in Laayoune. The center was promised after France backed Morocco’s sovereignty over the Sahara, followed by a visit by French President Emmlanuel […]
Karlina Valeiko, deputy digital editor at National Geographic Traveller, has succumbed to the charm of Essaouira and to its rich cultural heritage and vibrant artistic scene, praising the Moroccan Atlantic port city for blending Amazigh, Arabic, and European influences to create a unique atmosphere that continues to attract visitors. Over the centuries, the city’s famed […]
Less than two months was enough for a volt-face of the Algerian regime on the transition authority in Syria, where it dispatched its ambivalent foreign affairs minister in an act of repentance. Algiers has backed the bloody Syrian regime of Bashar Al Assad to the bitter end, while describing the HTS of current president Ahmed […]