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Business: Coronavirus likely to force more oil production cuts
Algiers, Feb 8, 2020 - A committee appointed by the OPEC club of oil-producing countries and its allies to study the effects of coronavirus recommended additional output cuts on Saturday, Algeria's energy minister said. "The coronavirus epidemic has had a negative...
Algeria: Sonatrach CEO Kamel Chikhi dismissed, company fails to stabilize
On 5 February 2020, Sonatrach CEO Kamel Eddine Chikhi was dismissed from his position by a government decree. He was replaced by insider Tewfik Hakkar, who was Vice President for Business Development and Marketing at Sonatrach. Chikhi was appointed in November 2019,...
Algeria: The emperor has no clothes, a president with no real power
There have been troubling developments in Algeria, confirming that newly appointed president, Abdelmadjid Tebboune has no control over his presidency. The Hirak movement that has driven the disgraced former president Bouteflika out of office has always been...
Maghreb rulers feeling a bit generous this week
At least two rulers in North Africa felt a bit generous this week. In Morocco, King Mohammed issued an order to free 201 people from prison. They are all nationals of Sub-Saharan nations whose crime was to immigrate outside of their troubled countries and show up in...
Immigration: Gang arrested in Spain for illegal smuggling of migrants
Madrid, Feb 3, 2020 - Spanish police on Monday said they had arrested 26 suspected smugglers who brought more than 900 migrants to Spain last year, mostly from Algeria, charging 2,500 euros ($2,800) per person. The network, which was based in Algeria and the...
With oppression and no free speech, North Africans turn to football stadiums for politics
By Hamza Mekouar - From Casablanca to Algiers via Tunis, the chants belted out across football stadiums echo young North African fans' frustrations not connected to the highs and lows of the beautiful game. Chants of "F'bladi delmouni!" ("Oppressed in my country!") at...
Immigration: Spain faces spike in migrant arrivals
Madrid, Feb 4, 2020 - The number of migrants reaching the Canaries soared last month to 18 times the level of a year ago, Spanish government figures showed on Tuesday. The spike has raised fears of a resurgence of migrant traffic to the Atlantic islands, a route taken...
Algeria: Bus accident in Souk Ahras kills seven people
At least seven people were killed and 25 injured on Tuesday in Algeria's second bus crash in a fortnight, a day after authorities unveiled new road safety measures. The bus service from the eastern town of Souk Ahras to the nearby city of Annaba overturned not long...
Analysis: Northern half of Africa bracing for upheaval this year
MEA Risk LLC - 29 January 2020: There has been a dangerous escalation of security risks and instability in the Maghreb and Sahel region since the start of 2020. War looks set to intensify in countries like Libya, Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso, Mali and others in the...
Algeria intensifies harassment of religious minorities
After a two month lull, following heavy criticism on the forced closure of Christian churches in the Kabylie region, the authorities in Algeria resumed their repression against Christians this week, ordering the closure of two other Protestant churches in the province...
Algeria: Fighter jet crashes in Oum El Bouaghi during training
Algiers, Jan 28, 2020 - An Algerian fighter jet has crashed on a night training exercise in the east of the North African country killing both of its crew, the defence ministry said Tuesday. An investigation has been opened into why the Russian-built Sukhoi Su-30...
Algeria: Unrest in El Oued after deadly accident in Still
Political crisis took center-stage in Algeria’s 2019 security profile, says MEA Risk LLC
In a note addressed to its clients, advisory firm MEA Risk LLC said the apparent easing in political tension in Algeria is not evidence of a return to normal and the end of the anti-regime protest movement. The appointment of Tebboune as president after a massively...
Algeria: Dozen killed in bus collision in Biskra
Algiers, Jan 19, 2020 - Twelve people were killed and another 46 injured when two buses collided early Sunday in Algeria's northeast, emergency services said, in the latest tragedy of its kind in the North African country. Emergency teams arrived at "around 1:10 am...
Podcast: Algeria risk assessment: the intersection of business and political corruption
In this episode, Arezki Daoud of risk assessment firm MEA Risk LLC and editor of the North Africa Journal, looks at the intersection of business corruption and political corruption in Algeria. Listen on major podcast platforms: Spotify | TuneIn | iTunes | Android |...
Algeria: Two outgoing ministers under investigation for corruption
Algeria: A new government cabinet that fails to impress
Newly appointed president, Abdelmadjid Tebboune announced his first government cabinet, which comprises 39 members, including five women, seven Deputy Ministers and four Secretaries of State. The appointments fail to introduce sweeping changes and have disappointed...
Algeria: Scores of political prisoners released from prison
Algerian regime releases prominent political prisoners, seeks to ease public pressure
Well-known independence war veteran Lakhdar Bouregaa, was released from jail on 2 January 2020. He had been detained for six months for questioning the army's intentions and criticizing the late army chief Gaid Salah, but was set free even before his trial, as the...
The southern Mediterranean braces for war
Libya has long been a battleground pitting several regional powers against one another. That competition for influence and control of energy resources, is about to get even more intense. While warlord Haftar has been receiving virtually unlimited support from the...
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