First Independent Mena Newspaper
Belgium has described autonomy under Morocco’s sovereignty as the basis for a political solution to the Sahara issue. The announcement was made in a joint declaration signed by the two countries’ foreign ministers, marking a significant shift in Brussels’ position and signaling deeper bilateral cooperation. Aware of the centrality of the Sahara issue to Morocco, […]
The Belgium federal government is expected to align its position on the Sahara with that of its major European allies (France, Spain, Portugal…) which support Morocco’s Autonomy plan offered for the territory under the Kingdom’s sovereignty, ditching the self-determination referendum option. According to “Africa Intelligence” media platform, Belgium will announce its new position by the […]
Royal Air Maroc (RAM) will significantly enhance its point-to-point network from Marrakech, reinstating direct flights to Lyon, Toulouse, Nantes, and Bordeaux from 10 October 2025. The national carrier will also increase services to Marseille and Brussels. According to CEO Hamid Addou, these developments align with RAM’s strategic roadmap to 2030, aimed at connecting Morocco’s major […]
In a landmark move, the French government has unveiled a new bill aimed at simplifying the return of cultural artifacts taken during the colonial period. Introduced by Culture Minister Rachida Dati, the legislation would allow items looted between 1815 and 1972 to be returned by government decree, bypassing the need for time-consuming parliamentary votes. The […]
Tunisia exported 39,745 tonnes of organic agricultural products between 1 January and 30 June 2025, generating 489.03 million dinars in revenue, according to the National Observatory of Agriculture (ONAGRI). The export sector was overwhelmingly led by organic olive oil and organic dates, which made up 86.8% and 22.7% of the total volume, respectively. Organic olive […]
Belgian prosecutors have announced on Tuesday, June 17 their intention to prosecute 92-year-old former diplomat Etienne Davignon for alleged involvement in the 1961 assassination of Congolese independence leader Patrice Lumumba. Davignon is the sole surviving member of a group of ten Belgians named in a 2011 lawsuit by Lumumba’s children, who accused them of complicity […]
Sierra Leone’s president Julius Maada Bio has fired Alusine Kanneh, the country’s head of immigration, following the publication of a video showing Kanneh with Johannes Leijdekkers, a notorious Dutch drug kingpin. The footage, which emerged on 7 March, shows Kanneh receiving a birthday gift from Leijdekkers, who is wanted across Europe for drug trafficking and […]
“Belgium deems the Moroccan Autonomy Initiative, presented in 2007, to be a serious and credible effort by Morocco and a very good basis for a solution accepted by all parties”, Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bernard Quintin, said during a press briefing following talks, on Wednesday in Rabat, with his Moroccan peer Nasser Bourita. Talks […]
Director General of Morocco’s National Security and Territorial Surveillance (DGSN-DGST), Abdellatif Hammouchi, who paid on Thursday a working visit to Belgium, and the Commissioner General of the Belgian Federal Police, Eric Snoek, signed a joint action plan for the interim period 2025 and 2026 to strengthen cooperation in the field of combating organized crime and […]
The Court of Appeals in Brussels has ruled that Belgium must pay reparations to five women who were forcibly taken from their mothers and put in orphanages in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) when it was still a Belgian colony because they were victims of “systematic kidnapping” by state. The appellate judges thus overturned […]