First Independent Mena Newspaper
Seven years after the fall of the Gaddafi regime, Libya remains in turmoil, battered by infighting between heavily armed militias and a political crisis that has divided the country. The initial euphoria is a distant memory as little have changed since the fall of Gaddafi’s dictatorship. A 2015 UN-backed deal to set up the unity […]
The Syrian war has taken a new turn with the downing of an Israeli fighter jet conducting airstrikes against Iranian targets. The incident signals the beginning of a direct military confrontation between Israel and Iran on Syrian soil. Syria today is better described as several intersecting wars, rather than the government-versus-rebels narrative it started out […]
European legal experts are increasingly warning of the dangers of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) meddling in EU international treaties. This came after the EU-Morocco fisheries deal was invalidated in a non-binding opinion by ECJ advisor Melchior Wathelet claiming that the deal “violates the rights of people from Western Sahara.” Should the ECJ follow […]
Israeli media is awash with reports and analyses on an upcoming war on Iran-backed Shiaa militia Hezbollah. Buoyed by inroads in the Syrian war, Hezbollah has bolstered its regional foothold, raising fears in Israel that it may have acquired and smuggled game changing weapons into its Lebanese strongholds, and prompting Israel to carry strikes inside […]
The return of Morocco to the African Union and its recent membership in the pan-African organization’s most important body, the Peace and Security Council, is vindicating the fears of the Polisario separatists and their mentor, Algeria. As the noose tightens around the Polisario in the Tindouf camps, where combustible factors of unrest, corruption and oppression […]
Morocco is making its fifth bid to host the 2026 World Cup, the first edition to involve 48 teams and 80 games packed into 32 competition days. The North African nation’s bid to host the World Cup will yet be an up-hill battle as it runs up against the joint might of the United States, […]
The worsening economic conditions and the lack of structural reforms to improve the living standards of the population is auguring ill for the MENA region, which should brace for a surge of civil unrest in 2018 says an analysis published on the website of the UK’s leading Think Thank, Chatham House. The analysis, signed by […]
The recent death of three Moroccan women in a stampede at the Ceuta border crossing, has cast light on an unsustainable situation in the Spanish-occupied city in northern Morocco. From smuggling to illegal immigration and extremism, the northern city -called Sebta by Moroccans- has become a tinder box waiting to explode with the issue of […]
Since its triumphal return to the African Union, Morocco continues to score precious diplomatic points on the Sahara issue at the continental level. The speech given by the Chairperson of the African Union’s Commission, Faki Mahamat at the opening of the 30th Summit of the pan-African organization is indicative of a U-turn in how the […]
Morocco has gradually entrenched its foothold at the African Union, reaping the benefits of its triumphal return with a landslide support within the pan-African organization. The election of Morocco to the AU Peace and Security Council is a step forward towards putting the AU on track of addressing Africa’s pressing issues of security and stability […]