First Independent Mena Newspaper
The Washington Post and the New York Times revealed in recent stories that US troops are present in Algeria, a country that has for long rejected the presence of foreign troops while claiming a doctrine prohibiting the deployment of foreign troops on its territory. According to the Washington Post, Algeria was included in the list […]
The US Treasury has imposed new sanctions, including asset freeze, on several entities and individuals from Libya, Egypt and Malta believed involved in the smuggling of Libyan oil. The new sanctions from the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) have targeted six people, twenty-four companies and seven vessels. Assets belonging to targeted individuals and […]
US intelligence agencies have established a blacklist of individuals from around the world, including from Morocco, suspected of funding terrorist operations. The blacklisted are banned from accessing the US financial system. The CIA, the FBI, the US Treasury Department and the State Department coordinate their actions to hunt down a number of people from around […]
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Monday called on Egypt to hold free and transparent presidential elections next month in a vote that is smeared by crackdown on President Sisi’s rivals and marked by wave of oppression. Tillerson, who began a five-nation visit to the Middle East with a stop in Egypt Monday, touched […]
The US has designated Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, on a terrorist blacklist. The US State Department labelled Haniyeh a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist,” a title used to describe leaders of international terror organizations or perpetrators of mass-scale terror attacks. “Ismail Haniyeh is the leader and President of the Political […]
US Deputy President, Mike Pence, is paying a visit to Israel described by his aids as “personal” and by Palestinians as a continuation of the US blind support for Netanyahu government. Wearing a Jewish skullcap on his head, Pence prayed in the Western Wall amid tensions with the Palestinians over President Donald Trump’s recent decision […]
US President Donald Trump has acted on his threats to slash aid to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) withholding $65 million while offering only $60 million. A US official confirmed the news noting that the Trump administrations demands the UNRWA to carry out reforms to its system. US President Donald Trump earlier this […]
Morocco has been described as one of the few safest countries in the globe for travelers by the US travel advisory issued by the US Department, while Algeria has been included in tier 2 danger requiring “increased precaution” due to the threat of terrorism. The contrast reflects the security gap in the Maghreb between oil-rich […]
Laureate Education, a Baltimore-based company, said it will sell its university in Morocco, Université Internationale de Casablanca, for $53.6 mln to KMR Holding Pédagogique, a company that owns the Private University of Marrakech and invests in education in west Africa. The Université Internationale de Casablanca, which opened in 2010, is one of the few state-recognized […]
Morocco’s special forces will receive $18 million dollars as part of a US administration plan worth hundreds of millions of dollars to equip allies in the MENA region to counter the IS threat as the group seeks to relocate its terrorist activities from Iraq and Syria to Africa. The news was relayed by Al Monitor […]