Features Headlines Libya

Libya considers breaking ties with Sudan

Libya has warned that it will break its diplomatic relations with Sudan if it continues to interfere in its internal affairs. Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni made this statement due to Sudan’s continuous denial that its military airplane which landed at Kufra airport, south of Libya, was loaded with ammunitions destined for the Islamist groups in […]

Egypt Features Headlines

Egypt: Central Bank blocks transactions with African and Arab banks

There are reports that Egyptian banks have been ordered by the Central Bank to refrain from doing business with some banks in African and Arab countries amongst which are Qatar, Libya, Syria and Sudan. The central bank’s decision is aimed at reducing the scale of money laundering in compliance with the anti-money laundering laws. Several […]

Egypt Features Headlines

Egypt seals military cooperation with South Sudan

Egypt has signed a military cooperation with Africa’s youngest state, South Sudan. The deal comes at a moment when both countries are experiencing violence from groups challenging the government’s authority. The conclusion of the deal could raise eyebrows in Khartoum which also agreed a bilateral military cooperation in Cairo. Sudan and South Sudan still have […]

Features Op Eds Opinions

Nile Dispute and the Dilemma of National Approaches

Amid deep political turmoil, there is a mounting concern in Egypt as Ethiopia forges ahead with its plan to build the $4.8 billion Grand Renaissance Dam on the Nile’s main tributary. The hydroelectric dam, to be Africa’s biggest, sounded the alarm bell for Egypt due to its possible impact on the flow of the river. […]

Features Headlines Libya

Escalating Violence: Libyan Deputy Minister Assassinated in Sirte

Libya’s deputy industry minister, Hassan al-Droui, was killed by unknown gunmen as he drove home from a shopping trip during a visit to his hometown of Sirte, east of the capital Tripoli. The government blamed the attack, which occurred during on late Saturday (11 January), on hard-line Islamist militants. It is the first assassination of […]

Africa Features International

Sudan’s Belated ‘Arab Spring’ – Is al-Bashir Finally Leaving?

It is often being said that events in the Arab World will inevitably find their way to the Sudan, though almost always belatedly. Now, some three years after the Arab Spring began to rattle the Maghreb region, demonstrations have filled the streets of Sudan’s capital Khartoum. What began as a protest against rising fuel prices […]

Business Emerging Markets Features

How to Attract FDI to Maghreb: Casablanca Financial City a la ‘Shenzhen’

When in January 2013 the chief of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Christine Lagarde, attended the 5th international conference of finance ministers and central banks governors of the Maghreb countries, she talked about the necessity of boosting growth and employment within the region, while also reminding the distinguished audience that political issues still constitute a […]

Egypt Headlines

Egypt-Ethiopia: a Looming Water War

Ethiopia’s project to construct the Grand Renaissance Dam, a $4.2 billion hydroelectric project that will divert the Blue Nile from its natural course, has flared up passions downstream in Egypt. Although some experts deem that Ethiopia’s move is largely technical and will not alter the water flow that is vital for both downstream states, Egypt […]

Headlines Libya

Libya Closes borders as War Clouds Gather in Mali

The newly formed Libyan government has ordered the temporary closure of the country’s borders with four of its neighbors and declared the southern region a restricted military zone. The land borders with Chad, Niger, Sudan and Algeria were shut in a bid to better control and fight “illegal immigration and illicit activities such as arms […]