First Independent Mena Newspaper
Egypt’s foreign ministry has reacted to the joint statement signed by the U.K, France, Germany, Japan, Turkey, the US and 21 other European countries by summoning their Ambassadors. The joint statement called on Egyptian authorities to respect the rights and liberties of individuals following the crackdown on protesters since the arrival of the military backed […]
Last Friday (March 7) saw hundreds of Libyans marching in the streets of Benghazi to call for security – only one day after the international community gathered in Rome to discuss the security in Libya to find ways to forestall its further descent to lawlessness. The French Foreign Minister, Laurent Fabius, said that the situation […]
The attack of last February 16 near the resort of Taba, claimed by Sinai-based Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis group, has heavily impacted Egyptian tourism as many Western countries have warned their citizens to avoid visiting Egyptian tourism sites, including in the Sinai and Taba. Meanwhile, Club Med has closed at least until the end of March […]
A groundbreaking ceremony was held in Tripoli for a new national football stadium at the western edge of Libya’s capital city as part of preparations geared towards hosting the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations. The ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Ali Zeidan who laid the foundation stone and 68-year-old German football legend Franz Beckenbauer […]
First Paris and then Brussels announced last Friday (14 February) that they would boost their peace-keeping forces in the strife-torn Central African Republic. Following a meeting of the national Defence Council at the Elysée Palace, France announced it would deploy 400 more soldiers and gendarmes, bringing its total forces in its former colony to 2,000. […]
Libya has become free of all chemical weapons it inherited from dictator Muammar Gaddafi, after having destroyed these banned deadly weapons and completed the disarmament process which begun under the former regime but interrupted by the war that rocked the North African country According to Libyan foreign minister Mohamed Abdelaziz, “this achievement would not have […]
France on Monday made an announcement refusing Niger’s appeal, last week, for western military action against Islamist fighters who have established bases in Southern Libya since the 2011 overthrow of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi. Niger’s call for help is a desperate one as Islamist attacks and kidnappings on its mineral-rich soil have posed a threat to […]
European Union foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on Monday (20 January) agreed to dispatch a battalion-sized force counting up to 1,000 soldiers to Central African Republic (CAR) to help to stabilize the war-torn African country. Being effectively the EU’s first major army operation in six years, the intervention by the 28-nation bloc comes after UN […]
A new fisheries agreement between the European Union and Morocco has finally been approved on Tuesday by the European Parliament after two years of long and arduous negotiations. The new four year fisheries agreement, approved at a plenary session by 310 votes to 204, with 49 abstentions, will allow fishing vessels from 11 EU countries, […]
The EU’s defense ministers are to discuss next week the call for the Union to consider equipping African armies. This highly controversial idea that was put forward by a group of countries led by Germany is likely to trigger a sharp debate within and between the EU’s institutions. Proponents of the idea argue that the […]