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MENA (MidEast/North Africa) regimes increase their repression
Cairo, March 29, 2020 - Armoured vehicles in the streets, hundreds arrested, smartphone surveillance -- sweeping measures to fight the coronavirus have raised concerns in the Middle East over the erosion of already threatened human rights. As the world battles the...
Algeria jails more journalists despite Covid-19
Algiers, March 29, 2020 - An Algerian journalist was Sunday ordered to be held in pre-trial detention, press freedom group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and rights organisations said. "Our correspondent in Algeria, Khaled Drareni, has been incarcerated," RSF...
Algerian regime takes advantage of Covid-19 crisis to arrest opponents and journalists
Algiers, March 27, 2020 - An Algerian journalist was arrested on Friday, press freedom group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said, accusing the country's government of using the coronavirus crisis to crack down on independent media. Khaled Drareni, who serves as...
North Africa faces unprecedented economic crisis
Listen to the podcast above or read the transcript below. Download MP3 file here. 26 March 2020: By Arezki Daoud: North Africa is bracing for an unprecedented economic contraction, even if the coronavirus crisis were to be contained soon. The fundamentals of economic...
The disastrous confinement of the poor and the mediocrity of Maghreb regimes
March 25, 2020 (By Sophie Pons) - In Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco, workers in informal jobs fear not only the novel coronavirus, but how they will survive emergency measures that have cut off their livelihoods. "We are stuck at home, with no work and no pay," said...
Algeria: Appeals court uphold prison sentences for corrupt former Prime Ministers
Algiers, March 25, 2020 - An Algerian appeals court has upheld sentences of over ten years in prison for two former prime ministers under ex-president Abdelaziz Bouteflika following an unprecedented corruption trial, a judicial source said Wednesday. The Algiers...
Algeria: Taking advantage of a freeze in the Hirak, regime decides to keep Karim Tabbou in prison
On 24 March, an Algiers Court canceled the release from prison of political activist Karim Tabbou, shamelessly taking advtange of a freeze in the Hirak movement to punish opposition figures. Journalist Khaled Dradeni and others were also arrested. Tabbou was sentenced...
North Africa’s incomprehensible night curfews
Opinion by Arezki Daoud: Persistent, logical and even unpopular policies must be implemented to fight the coronavirus. And so North African countries adopted night curfews to limit the spread of Covid-19. At first, the decision sounded OK. But then again what is the...
Education: Studying from home amid Covid-19
Tripoli, March 24, 2020 - By Rim Tahar - Either on television as in Libya or on tablets in the IT-savvy Gulf monarchies, in the time of novel coronavirus millions of schoolchildren around the Arab world are now learning lessons at home. Governments across the region...
Algeria: The empty streets of Algiers
Algiers, March 20, 2020 - For the first time in over a year, the streets of the Algerian capital were quiet and almost empty on Friday, the day of weekly anti-government rallies. The coronavirus threat put paid to what would have been the 57th straight Friday of...
Editorial: 2020, the exceptional year
Editorial by Arezki Daoud: It’s official, Covid-19 is now North Africa’s biggest problem, just as it is for the entire world. In recent times, we have heard of, but from afar, diseases such as the Ebola virus in West Africa, the plague epidemic in Madagascar, and...
Algeria prepares for a pause of the Hirak movement, president bans gatherings
Opposition figures in and outside of Algeria have been issuing statements calling for the halt in the anti-government rallies that have rocked Algeria since 22 February 2019. Most opposition personalities active on social media have joined the call to get the...
17 March: Algeria and Tunisia announce mutual agreement to close land borders
Authorities seek to appease population on food supply amid virus containment phase
Just as in many countries, North Africans have been flocking to their neighborhood markets, increasing their shopping in anticipation of a long Covid-19 confinement period. So far, the governments have not been so effecting in communicating their approach. There is...
Algeria-Mar 16: Medical staff in Boumerdes to strike to protest lack of resources amid pandemic
Algeria: Travel links between Algeria and Europe suspended
Algiers, March 16, 2020 - Algeria's Prime Minister Abdelaziz Djerad announced Monday a suspension of all scheduled travel links with Europe in a bid to forestall the spread of coronavirus. The measure, to take effect from Thursday, will hit all "air and sea travel to...
Morocco suspends major travel links
MEA Risk Brief: In a drastic move aimed at halting the spread of the coronavirus, Morocco announced the suspension of air and sea travel to and from France. Morocco already has seven confirmed cases of COVID-19, and one patient has already died. The Kingdom has...
Algerians maintain their anti-regime protests despite COVID-19
ME Risk Brief: Large crowds surged this Friday, 13 March in Algiers and in many Algerian cities for the 56th week of the anti-government protest known as the Hirak movement. The public mobilization has taken place despite the risk of COVID-19 spreading among the...
Algeria reports second COVID-19 death
Algiers, March 12, 2020 - Algeria has registered two deaths from the novel coronavirus, the health ministry announced Thursday, as schools were closed for three weeks. The first case was a man, aged 67, who had heart disease, the ministry's director general, Djamel...
North Africa coronavirus: 12 March 2020 update
Listen to the audio podcast above By Arezki Daoud: It is not total panic mode yet, but there is a feeling that the situation is bubbling up a bit more every day and could get out of control. Most of the pressure that has been building can be attributed to the hype...
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