First Independent Mena Newspaper
The drop of benefits prompted banks, fast earning mongers, to proceed to a wave of dismissals. In 2011, Barclays already split up with more than 4,400 employees, Crédit Suisse planned to expel 2,000 persons and Lloyds Banking Group, 10,000. The massive suppression of jobs is a trend that has affected the financial world for many […]
Doing business in North Africa seems to be very challenging and still largely for the intrepid. The World Bank’s annual survey ‘Doing Business’ provides data on the relative easiness (or difficulty) of running a business around the world. A high ranking on the ease of doing business index means the regulatory environment is more conducive […]
In the context of the Arab Spring, the use of the term “Islamism” is very common. The new political elites throughout the North Africa, commonly referred to as the “Islamists”, often talk of replacing the old and more or less authoritarian secular regimes in the Middle East. Journalists also use the term quite excessively and […]
It has been more than a year since Muammar Gaddafi died during the Battle of Sirte, his home town, thus symbolically bringing Libya’s 42-year-long nightmare to its end. Since then, Libya has experienced a relatively speedy transition from Gaddafi’s brutal dictatorial regime to a fledgling democracy when it held, in July 2012, its first free […]
Middle income nations often share the same social and political issues, with education being an important yet contentious issue for many developing countries which are trying to move forward and become effective global players. Indonesia, as well as many North African countries, faces a ‘financing gap’ with constraints in mobilizing the funds needed to invest […]
It is not a secret that the relationship between Turkey and the European Union is going through a rough period. The solution to this deadlock for Ankara is to diversify away from the declining European economy and search for new markets which will also provide Turkey with a more prominent role on the world stage. […]
Arab Spring means we’re not losing our religion at least. But at what cost? Martin Jay argues that political upheaval by citizens rather than institutions is paving the way for terrorist groups to take route across the Arab World. There used to be an old Woody Allen gag which parodied two old women in a […]
Euro-Atlantic Region Facing the Russian Challenge Jakub Janda (European Values Think-Tank) Euro-Atlantic Region Facing the Russian Challenge The Russian position in the Euro-Atlantic geopolitical region was supposed to turn towards careful cooperation following two major doctrinal shifts which have occurred recently. Obama’s policy of restarting the US-Russian relations (including the signing of the START treaty, […]
Last December, the U.N. Security Council passed a cautious resolution that outlined steps to be taken before an international military intervention into Mali to deal with the deteriorating security situation in the country. But in a surprise move on 11 January, French President Francois Hollande authorized airstrikes in Mali to stop a sudden southward push […]
When President Barack Obama, in a speech in Cairo University in 2009, pointed to education and innovation as being the mechanisms of progress in the 21st century, these ideas must have resonated in capital cities across North Africa. Although different countries in the region have made various efforts to improve education and innovation and create […]