First Independent Mena Newspaper
Africa is rapidly emerging as China’s most dynamic export market, fueled by a combination of shifting global trade dynamics, aggressive Chinese investment, and growing demand for infrastructure. As Bloomberg calculations based on China Customs data have revealed, in the first seven months of 2025 alone, Chinese exports to Africa soared 25% year-on-year to $122 billion […]
Egypt has reaffirmed that safeguarding the nation’s water security remains a foremost national priority, while calling for collaboration and shared prosperity with all Nile Basin states. Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and Water Resources and Irrigation Minister Hani Sewilam underscored on August 14 that Egypt’s water interests and its neighbors’ development ambitions are compatible, provided […]
Egypt’s National Election Authority (NEA) has announced on Tuesday, August 12, a 17.1 percent voter turnout in the 2025 Senate elections, with 195 of the 200 contested seats decided in the first round. NEA Chairman Hazem Badawy said at a meet-the-press that 11.8 million ballots were cast out of 69.3 million eligible voters, with 95.6 […]
Burkina Faso has received a significant shipment of Chinese-manufactured military equipment, marking a notable step in its armed forces’ modernization and further consolidating Beijing’s growing defense footprint across Africa. The delivery, unveiled via social media and confirmed by defense analysts, includes VN22B wheeled fire support vehicles, PLL-05 120mm self-propelled gun-mortars, and SR5 multiple rocket launch […]
Egypt’s 2025 Senate elections began on a somber note as the National Elections Authority (NEA) confirmed three deaths on the first day of voting. Judge Ahmed Bendary, Executive Director of the NEA, revealed at a press conference this Monday that the deceased included the principal of Kafr Hamad School in Sharqia, who died while on […]
Japan is intensifying its African engagement ahead of the ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD9), with ambitious plans centered on youth employment, digital transformation, and climate resilience. The Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has already deployed $2.9 billion of a pledged $5 billion private sector investment package, signaling sustained commitment despite global economic […]
Dozens of Egyptian aid trucks carrying essential humanitarian supplies began entering Gaza on Sunday, July 27th via the Karm Abu Salem crossing, Al-Qahera News reported. The convoy, which originated from the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing, included food, flour, and reconstruction materials. In a parallel effort, the Egyptian Red Crescent launched a major aid […]
Morocco maintained a trade surplus with Africa in 2024, though it declined significantly to 7.2 billion dirhams from 12.6 billion dirhams the previous year, according to the Foreign Exchange Office’s annual report on Morocco’s foreign trade. The deterioration stems primarily from an increased trade deficit with Egypt, which widened by 3 billion dirhams, combined with […]
Egypt’s current account deficit narrowed significantly to $13.2 billion during the first nine months of the 2024/2025 fiscal year, down from $17.1 billion a year earlier, the Central Bank of Egypt announced on Tuesday, July 22. This improvement was driven primarily by an 86.6% surge in remittances from Egyptians abroad, reaching $26.4 billion, and a […]
Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Karim Badawi, has affirmed the government’s commitment to ensuring a stable and sustainable supply of natural gas this summer, particularly for the electricity and industrial sectors. His remarks came during an inspection of the National Advanced Transmission and Automation Centre (NATA), as the country faces soaring electricity loads […]