First Independent Mena Newspaper
Owing to its security troubles and fight against terrorism, Iraqsigned an arms deal with Iran in spite of U.N sanctions;a report from Reuters has revealed. The deal was reached at the end of November when the US fell short in its supposed arms deliveries despite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s visit to Washington lobbying for extra […]
Three years down the road from the wave of Arab Spring revolutions that affected the Middle East and North Africa region, MENA economies remain depressed. Egypt’s gross domestic product contracted by about 3 percent in the second quarter of 2013 while the growth rate amounted to only 2 percent last year, when compared to 2.3 […]
Oil production for OMV, Austrian oil and gas group, has recovered in Libya adequately to reach its 2014 output target of 320,000 to 340,000 barrels of oil per day if it continues at current levels, according to OMV’s chief executive Gerhard Roiss. Libya has proved to be a difficult place for business especially for companies […]
The Pew Research Centre has recently compiled the results of its research on the opinions of people in different countries across the MENA region on the way women dress. Respondents from seven MENA countries – Tunisia, Egypt, Turkey, Iraq, Lebanon, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia – were asked which of the six styles of Muslim women’s […]
International Anti-Corruption Day was celebrated all across North African earlier this week with dismal news on the fight against bribery. Overall, the latest Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) from Transparency International showed little to no improvement in graft around the region. For example, in Libya, the situation got even worse when the country was ranked as […]
A Turkish delegation headed by its Energy Minister Taner Yildiz met with Iraq’s Deputy Prime Minister for Energy, Hussain al-Shahristani, in the Iraqi capital to foster bilateral relations which were affected by a deal between Ankarra and the regional autonomous Iraqi Kurdish region. Baghdad has always maintained that all oil deals should be approved by […]
Iraq’s Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari will be on a working visit to neighboring Turkey as both countries continue to reinforce their bilateral relations. Ahead of his arrival on Friday, Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yıldız said that they are implementing projects worth billions of dollars in Iraq and willing to continue abiding by its rules. During […]
No one can deny that Arab dictatorships have protected religious minorities across the Middle East and North Africa region for decades as a result of tactical decisions meant to win the political backing of Western powers and the financial support of funding agencies. The nomination of Jewish and Christian leaders to cabinet posts in many […]
While more and more voices, including those of Congressmen and editorialists, are criticizing the Obama Administration’s stand on the crisis in Egypt and denouncing as incoherent its foreign policy, President Barack Obama announced that the United States is cancelling its biennial joint military exercise with Egypt, initially scheduled for September. “While we want to sustain […]
The production of oil in the leading oil production country in Africa has suffered a drastic decline since its civil war in 2011. The ongoing protest in Libya has led to the closure of two export terminals and an entire oil field. Frequent disruptions in the MENA region has led to North America leading the […]