First Independent Mena Newspaper
The health of Algeria’s currency, the dinar, has always been measured against oil prices. The end of the era of expensive oil in late 2014 has sent the dinar dwindling in value as Algeria continues to squander its oil mantra avoiding painful reforms to diversify its economy. Since the beginning of this year, the dinar […]
The numbers of terrorist attacks and deaths worldwide declined in 2017 for the third consecutive year, according to latest data released by the University of Maryland’s National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START). Last year, there were 10,900 terrorist attacks around the world, which killed more than 26,400 people, including […]
Algeria, France and Mali are said to have reached a secret deal under which they will grant asylum to Al Qaeda and other terrorists in return for laying down arms, the Middle East Eye reported. The media cited an Algerian security source who asked not to be named. The news came after the “surrender” of […]
One cannot continue to play by the same rules and expect different results. Since it put forth an autonomy plan, Morocco has engaged in UN-brokered negotiations with the Polisario to no avail. Before that the referendum option, now considered obsolete and unfeasible, has been discarded in view of irreconcilable differences over who should vote. With […]
Algerian business tycoons’ close ties with the opaque Algerian regime are making genuine reforms harder to implement as the country faces a crisis reminiscent of the era preceding the 1990s civil war. The Financial Times has published an analysis on the Algerian regime’s vested interest in business and how top businessmen owe their success to […]
The abundance of sun and wind is increasingly attracting foreign firms to invest in Morocco’s south, the Sahara, as the government set the target of generating 50% of its energy mix out of renewable sources. The recent announcement by Soluna, a New York-based computing company backed by Brookstone Partners, to build a wind-powered center in […]
King Mohammed VI has called for a new social contract and outlined a roadmap for a complete overhaul of social dysfunctions, calling on the Government and all the stakeholders concerned to undertake an in-depth, thorough restructuring of national social welfare programs and policies. The call came in the speech of the Throne the king addressed […]
Although it is self-evident that Algeria backs the separatist Polisario fronts militarily, financially and diplomatically, Algiers refuses to pull its head out of the sand and formally acknowledge its responsibility in perpetuating the Sahara conflict. While Algerian officials and diplomats maintain that their country is not concerned with the Sahara issue, the Polisario has unveiled […]
Respect for territorial integrity of member states is a sine qua non for achieving the long-sought integration of the Maghreb Union (AMU), Morocco’s Lower House Speaker Habib El Malki told AMU’s Secretary General Taieb Baccouche. During a meeting in Rabat, the two officials highlighted the wasted potential of the Maghreb as it continues to be […]
The Financial Times has unveiled the reasons behind the support of the corporate barons of the bid of ailing Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika for a 5th term in office despite uncertainties over his health. “The businessmen have been one of the biggest interest groups behind Bouteflika, aged 81-year old. All made their money under him,” […]