First Independent Mena Newspaper
After two decades of autocratic rule, infirm President Abdelaziz Bouteflika announced he is not running for a fifth term as protests continued for three consecutive weeks asking for genuine reform to the opaque regime running the oil-rich country. Bouteflika, 82, said elections that were set for April 18 will be postponed, but he did not […]
As was expected, ailing president Bouteflika announced in a letter that he will succeed himself for a fifth term, but promised early elections within a year in a bid to stoke off public anger against his re-election while preparing to leave power on his own terms. In view of his frail health, Bouteflika hasn’t spoken […]
Protests are growing against a fifth term for ailing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika. So far, one protester was killed and dozens were injured in clashes with policemen in the capital. Anger is building up across the country threatening the fragile social peace and the country’s stability as time and money run out. Officials are toughening their […]
South Africa and Morocco have multiple cooperation prospects as two of the continent’s most advanced economies but the potential of their bilateral ties was left untapped due to Pretoria’s hostile stands towards the Kingdom’s territorial integrity. Pretoria has recognized the Algerian-backed separatist front of the Polisario in 2004. Since then diplomatic ties were downgraded. In […]
Thousands took to the streets of Algeria on Friday to vent their anger at the perceived disrespect shown to them by the ruling elites as they prepare for a fifth term for ailing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika. “The wall of fear was shattered when thousands marched last Friday,” said Moustapha Bouchachi, a prominent rights lawyer. Algerian […]
As popular protest build up across Algeria against a fifth term for ailing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, some voices within the regime are invoking the Syrian chaos to maintain the authoritarian status quo. “Citizens offered flowers to policemen. That is beautiful. But I remind them that in Syria it all started with flowers,” said prime minister […]
King Mohammed VI of Morocco on Monday called the countries of the Sahel region to fight for climate justice, which is a fight for access to a better, dignified life and to a bright future. “Climate justice should not be a mere slogan. It must be a requirement for all of us: a requirement to […]
Algeria has earned a notoriety for being one of the worst countries for doing business in the world, due in part to unfriendly regulations that thwart foreign investors. But that law is likely to change as an economic crisis bites with dwindling oil reserves and rising unemployment, fueling unrest and dissent across the country. Industry […]
Morocco and India have agreed to set up a Joint Working Group on Counterterrorism to develop a comprehensive approach to combat terrorism including cross-border terrorism, terrorist financing, and recruitment of terrorists. The agreement was signed Monday in Rabat by visiting Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Moroccan peer Nasser Bourita. The agreement setting […]
Morocco is celebrating a series of diplomatic victories on the Sahara issue, the latest of which is the US 2019 appropriation bill providing for extending the funds allocated to Morocco to the Sahara. The Polisario and its mentor Algeria have launched maneuvers aiming at undermining Morocco’s sovereignty over its southern provinces by using the economic […]