First Independent Mena Newspaper
The United States military commander is making a rare trip to Africa for talks on maintaining some of his troops’ presence in West Africa, after US troops were forced to withdraw from Niger and Chad and the Sahel countries’ shift to Russia for security. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General CQ Brown arrived […]
Mali’s revenue from gold mining activities fell by 26% due to lower taxes, official figures showed. Mali is the fourth largest gold producer in Africa. The mineral accounted for 80% of its exports and represents some 10% of its GDP. The revenue paid by mining companies to the Treasury fell to 563.8 billion CFA francs […]
Newly elected Senegalese president Bassirou Faye started a regional visit with Mali and Burkina Faso in a bid to strengthen ties with neighbors that quit the regional bloc ECOWAS in protest over sanctions following their consecutive coups. In Bamako, Faye held talks on the ECOWAS with Mali’s leader Col. Assimi Goita. Following the talks, he […]
“If we don’t act now,” the humanitarian crisis that is unfolding in the Sahel will “become a problem for the world,” a senior UNHCR official has warned, echoing a senior UNICEF official that has condemned a “distressing” 70% rise in grave violence against children in several strife-torn countries in the region plagued by jihadists and […]
Russia and Mali are working together to build a solar plant that would cut Mali’s electricity deficit. Only about 50% of Malians have access to electricity, with outages so commonplace since the coup which set the country at odds with ECOWAS. Mali struggled to get steady fuel supply for its thermal stations, which disrupted electricity […]
Morocco and Mali agreed, Thursday in Bali (Indonesia), to strengthen their cooperation in the water sector. “We have agreed to strengthen bilateral cooperation between our two countries in the water sector”, said Equipment and Water Minister, Nizar Baraka, following a meeting with Mali’s Minister of Environment, Sanitation and Sustainable Development, Mamadou Samake, on the fringes […]
An activist and a preacher were arrested in Senegal and a well-known academic was sentenced to two years in prison in Mali, all for criticizing their respective governments, casting a shadow over basic human rights and mainly freedom of expression in both countries. The two individuals were taken into police custody in Senegal’s capital, Dakar, […]
A national dialogue in Mali- boycotted by the opposition- suggested that the current military rule should continue for more years and that military ruler Assimi Goita should bid when elections are held. Goita came to power on the back of a coup in 2020 and has maintained a firm grip on state institutions since then, […]
China’s Ganfeng Lithium Group Co. plans to acquire 40% of the Goulamina lithium project in Mali from Australia’s Leo Lithium Ltd, to take full control of the precious mine. Lithium together with Cobalt and other critical minerals for energy transition are at the heart of fierce competition in Africa between Chinese and Western companies. A […]
Drug trafficking in Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger continues to undermine security and economic development in the West African Sahel region, according to a new report from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) that calls for the dismantling of trafficking networks. In light of the soaring seizures of drugs, especially cocaine, […]