First Independent Mena Newspaper
It was an excruciating experience for observers and journalists alike. Following the coup of 3 July 2013 and the quiet consolidation of power by army chief al-Sissi, the United States had to weigh its future policy vis-à-vis Egypt carefully. But nobody quite expected the diplomatic tussle that followed – an administration unwilling to recognise a […]
After he had been elected best Finance Minister for the MENA region for 2012 and Minister of Finance of the year 2012 by the «The Banker», a magazine of the Financial Times press group, Morocco’s former Minister of Economy and Finance, Nizar Baraka, earned another consecration in 2013, this time from the World Bank and […]
Israel has shown concerns about United States announcement to suspend some of its aid to Egypt unless it is satisfied with its democratic efforts could jeopardize the long standing peace treaty. Israel and Egypt signed a peace treaty in 1979 to end hostilities against each other and the US aid has been fundamental in maintain […]
Officials in Tripoli are unpleased by the US Special Forces raid in Libya to capture Nazih Abdul-Hamed al-Ruqai, alias Anas al-Libi. They have released a statement criticizing US actions on their soil without their approval and referred to the capture and detention of Al-Libi as a “kidnapping.” Al-Libi has been on FBI’s most-wanted list with […]
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 president office’s spokesman, Adnene Manser, has described the criticisms made by the US government through its Tunisian embassy after the last week sentence of 20 assailants of the U.S. embassy in Tunis as “unacceptable” during an interview on Kalima; a private radio station. Washington considers the judgment rendered by the court is lenient and […]
The United States has for years voiced support to the settlement of the Western Sahara in the context of the United Nations and when in 2007 Morocco proposed a plan providing to grant a large autonomy to the disputed territory, Washington has expressed in unequivocal terms backing to the Plan and subsequently to the Moroccan […]
The terrorist bombing that hit lately French embassy in Tripoli has tested the Libyan security apparatus and showed its vulnerability as the North African country is experiencing a turbulent and shaky transition after years of autocratic rule under Gadhafi regime. The attack comes as the new Libyan government is battling to disarm the militias which […]
Saudi authorities have caught 18 people having direct link to Iranian intelligence services, exacerbating secret war and tensions between the Sunni Arab monarchies and Shiite Persian Iran accused of seeking to destabilize the Gulf countries by inciting their indigenous Shiite communities to stage demonstrations during the Arab Spring. According to Saudi Interior ministry, the spy […]
Officials from the United States and Algeria held a meeting in Algiers this February 10-11 to consult on ways to strengthen their cooperation in struggle against nuclear smuggling, the U.S. State Department announced in a press release. The discussions that furthered a first round of bilateral consultations initiated in January 2012 also addressed border security. […]