North Africa

A big crowd of protesters marched through central Algiers on Wednesday to demand that a presidential election planned for Thursday be canceled, chanting that they would not vote in a poll they regard as a charade. Thousands of people crowded through the capital to demand that the vote be canceled …

Turkey and Libya can carry out joint exploration operations in the eastern Mediterranean after the two sides signed a deal on maritime boundaries, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan told state broadcaster TRT Haber on Monday. He also said Turkey would procure a new drilling ship to continue activities in the eastern …

The U.S. military believes that an unarmed American drone reported lost near Libya’s capital last month was in fact shot down by Russian air defenses and it is demanding the return of the aircraft’s wreckage, U.S. Africa Command says. Such a shootdown would underscore Moscow’s increasingly muscular role in the …

Greece said on Friday it was expelling the Libyan ambassador, angered by an accord between Libya and Turkey signed on Nov. 27 that maps out a sea boundary between the two countries close to the Greek island of Crete. Libya called the move unacceptable. Turkey dismissed it as outrageous. Greek …

The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) will provide Egypt with $1.1 billion to support the import of petroleum products and basic goods in 2020, Egypt’s petroleum ministry said on Wednesday. The funds are part of a $3 billion agreement between Egypt’s investment ministry and ITFC signed in January 2018. …

Government supporters took to the streets in Algeria on Saturday to show solidarity ahead of next month’s elections that are opposed by a long-running mass protest movement. The marches, organized by the General Union of Algerian Workers (UGTA), attracted over 10,000 people across several cities. They are the biggest public …

Tunisian police used tear gas to disperse dozens of protesters who blocked roads in the southern town of Jelma on Saturday following the death of a young man who burned himself to death, witnesses said. Abdelwahed Hablani, 25, set himself on fire and died in hospital on Friday in protest …

Algeria’s upper house of parliament passed the country’s new energy law on Thursday aimed at reviving the key oil and gas sector by making it more attractive to investors. Parliament also agreed the 2020 budget, which also contains reforms to open other sectors of the economy to majority foreign ownership …

Turkey and Libya’s internationally recognized government have signed an agreement on maritime boundaries in the Mediterranean Sea as well as a deal on expanded security and military cooperation, the Turkish government said on Thursday. There were no immediate details on the maritime accord, which could further complicate disputes over energy …

Egypt said on Saturday it had signed several multimillion-dollar energy investment accords including a $430-million deal for Texas-based Noble Energy to pump natural gas through the East Mediterranean Gas Company’s pipeline. Under another agreement with Noble, which will also be financed by the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, the energy …

Ismahane Elouafi was on her way to becoming a fighter pilot in the Moroccan army when the country decided to shelve plans for female captains. So she ended up at the agricultural university. The military’s loss is a gain for the fight against world hunger as 48-year-old Elouafi is among …

The United States on Friday called on eastern Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar to stop his offensive on the capital held by the internationally recognized government and warned against Russian interference. Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA) has been trying since April to take Tripoli, part of a power struggle in the …

A court in Algeria sentenced 21 protesters on Tuesday to six months in jail for “undermining national unity”, official media reported, a month ahead of a presidential election. The verdict by the court in central Algiers also included additional six-month suspended sentences for the protesters, who were arrested for raising …

Five candidates will run in Algeria’s presidential election next month, including two former prime ministers, the head of the election authority said on Saturday, amid mass protests rejecting the vote. The authorities have repeatedly said the Dec. 12 vote would be the only way to get out of a crisis …

Riad Mostefai has marched through the capital of Algeria every Friday since February to demand a purge of the ruling hierarchy, an end to corruption and the army’s withdrawal from politics. Though some of his demands have been met, Mostefai plans to keep on marching each week along with tens …

Tunisia’s Prime Minister Youssef Chahed has dismissed the foreign and defense ministers after consultation with the newly elected President Kais Saied, a statement on the presidency’s website said on Tuesday. Chahed has appointed Karim Jamoussi, the justice minister, as acting defense minister, and Sabri Bachtabji as the acting foreign minister, …

Spain’s Naturgy Energy Group SA (NTGY.MC) and Algeria’s Sonatrach have agreed to buy Abu Dhabi state fund Mubadala’s 42.09% stake in the Medgaz pipeline, which carries natural gas from Algeria to Spain, Naturgy said Tuesday. The deal values the infrastructure at 1.9 billion euros including debt. Following the close of …

Dr. Noureddine Salmi, Tunisian Minister of Equipment, Housing and Territorial Development, stated that the UAE’s experience in creating smart and sustainable urban cities is inspiring for many countries because of its unique model of integrated infrastructure. In an interview with the Emirates News Agency, WAM, Dr. Salmi said that Tunisia …

In cooperation with the Moroccan Embassy in Abu Dhabi, the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, SCCI, today organised the UAE-Moroccan Business Forum to discuss economic relations and ways to boost trade and investment cooperation between Sharjah and Morocco. While receiving a high-level Moroccan delegation from the Chamber of Commerce, …

The UAE today hosted the 36th session of the Arab Ministerial Council for Housing and Construction. The meeting was attended by Arab ministers of housing and construction, as well as Victor Kisob, Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), Kamal Hassan Ali, Assistant …

More than seven million eligible voters both in Tunisia will head to the polls Sunday to elect a new parliament in a fiercely contested election.   By Arthur Blok* Despite a lingering economic crisis Tunisia has worked hard in the past years to remain an island of political openness in …

Mohammed bin Ahmed Al Bowardi, Minister of State for Defence Affairs, on Monday received Dr. Mohamed Saeed Al-Assar, Egypt’s Minister of State for Military Production, and his accompanying delegation, and explored ways of enhancing cooperation to achieve common interests. At the meeting, which was held at the ministry’s premises in …

Tens of thousands of demonstrators marched in the center of Algiers on Friday in the first significant test of the months-old protest movement since the government called an election for December, a Reuters journalist said. They were marching despite several high-profile arrests of opposition activists over the past week and …

Tunisia’s electoral commission said on Wednesday it had approved 26 candidates including two women for next month’s presidential election and had rejected 71 other applicants. The Sept. 15 vote follows the death at age 92 last month of Beji Caid Essebsi, the first president to be democratically elected in Tunisia …

United Arab Emirates’ Dana Gas has hired investment bank Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. (TPH) to advise it on the sale of its Egyptian assets, worth over $500 million, two sources familiar with the matter said, as the company shifts its focus to its Kurdistan operations. The Abu Dhabi-listed energy …

Tunisia’s 92-year-old president, Beji Caid Essebsi, a major player in the north African country’s transition to democracy after a 2011 revolution, has died, the presidency said on Thursday. He was taken to a military hospital on Wednesday. A leading figure in the country’s fortunes since 2011, Essebsi was hospitalized late …

By Emad El-Din Aysha, PhD     It’s being taken as a given that the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is going to be built on the Blue Nile and that the downstream countries, Sudan and Egypt, are going to have to face the consequences. If the so-called Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam …

The National Media Council, NMC, participated in the 93rd ordinary session of the Arab Media Standing Committee, which was held today at the Arab League in Cairo. The session was held to prepare for the meeting of the Executive Office of the Arab Information Ministers scheduled tomorrow, and the Ministerial …

More migrants have been moved to a detention center in Libya’s capital where an air strike killed more than 50 last week, despite a risk it could be hit again which led to survivors being evacuated, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said on Friday. Around 95 migrants were moved to the …

A man sought unsuccessfully to set himself on fire on Friday as tens of thousands of Algerians rallied to push for reforms and the departure of the ruling elite. For the 21st consecutive Friday, crowds gathered, now demanding more rapid change after they brought about the end of Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s …

Eastern Libyan authorities and U.S. security firm Guidry Group plan to finalize an agreement to develop a major port in the east of the troubled oil producer, both sides said. Talks have been going on for about a year to build a port in Susah, which would mark a rare …

Over 80 migrants went missing at sea following a shipwreck which occurred on Wednesday off the coast of Zarzis in Tunisia, Italian news agency ANSAmed reported on Thursday. Only five people survived the incident, according to Alarm Phone, which announced the news on Twitter and attributed it to Chamseddine Marzoug, …

The International Security Cooperation Department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation affirms the United Arab Emirates’ commitment to the UN Security Council Resolutions 1970 and 1973 on sanctions and arms embargo, denying the ownership of weapons found in Libya and reiterating the UAE’s commitment to fully cooperate …

Hub71 today announced that Aldar Properties, the Department of Health, DoH, and the Abu Dhabi Global Market, ADGM, have come together as partners for its MENA Growth Competition, powered by the MIT Enterprise Forum Pan Arab. Hub71 is an initiative of the Ghadan 21 programme and global tech ecosystem in …

Forces allied to Libya’s internationally recognized government based in Tripoli captured sophisticated U.S. and Chinese rockets as well as drones when they seized a town from eastern forces last week, officials said on Saturday. On Wednesday, Tripoli’s forces took Gharyan, south of the capital, which eastern forces loyal to Khalifa …

Juma Mubarak Al Junaibi, UAE Ambassador to Egypt and Permanent Representative to the Arab League, headed the UAE delegation participating in the 11th Arab Ministerial Water Council. The meeting of the council was also attended by other Arab ministers of water resources and irrigation, along with Mazen Ghoneim, Head of …

The Emirates Red Crescent, ERC, launched the sixth phase of a campaign to combat eye diseases in Morocco, following the directives of H.H. Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Chairwoman of the General Women’s Union, President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, and Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation. …

The Expo Centre Sharjah recently concluded its visit to Egypt and Jordan where it explored prospects of future cooperation and joint coordination in the sector of international exhibitions and conferences, to promote the interests of the Arab economy. The Expo delegation was headed by Saif Mohamed Al Midfa, Expo Centre …

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday vowed to try to ensure the Egyptian government is tried in international courts for the death of former president Mohamed Mursi, who suffered a fatal heart attack in a Cairo court earlier this week. “Muhammed Mursi flailed on the courtroom floor for 20 minutes …

The United Nations human rights office called on Tuesday for an independent investigation into the death of Egypt’s former President Mohamed Mursi, saying it should encompass all aspects of his treatment during nearly six years in custody. Egypt’s Islamist ex-president was buried in a small family ceremony early on Tuesday …

The UAE will participate in an annual festival in Morocco, which celebrates a vibrant Bedouin culture. The 15th Tan-Tan Moussem in Morocco, themed ‘Tan-Tan Moussem: Hosting the Global Nomadic Culture’, will be held from14th to 19th June, under the patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, King of Morocco. For …

Algeria’s interim President Abdelkader Bensalah called on Thursday for all parties to launch an “inclusive dialogue” to prepare for presidential elections, following the constitutional council’s scrapping of a vote set for July 4. Bensalah, in a speech broadcast on state television, did not set a date for the new contest. …

Algeria’s constitutional council has concluded it will not be possible to hold presidential elections on July 4 as planned, state TV reported on Sunday, prolonging the country’s transition after President Abdelaziz Bouteflika resigned two months ago. The constitutional council cited a lack of valid candidates, saying it had received only …

By Firas Samuri*   While the offensive of the Libyan National Army (LNA) commanded by Field Marshal Halifa Haftar in Tripoli against the armed groups controlled by the Government of National Unity (PNU) is well underway, more and more international and regional players intervene in the Libyan crisis. Initially, the …