North Africa’s Economy
Food and grocery shopping skyrockets in Tunisia
MEA Risk Brief: The average daily purchases of food products in Tunisia, including couscous, semolina, flour, pasta, etc., have skyrocketed these days, increasing tenfold in some parts, according to research from the Tunisia news agency TAP. Detergent and bleach...
Egypt: Mubarak’s sons cleared by court in market manipulation case
Cairo, Feb 22, 2020 - An Egyptian court on Saturday acquitted two sons of former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak and six others in a case known in the Egyptian media as stock exchange manipulation. A judicial official told AFP that the Cairo criminal court decided to...
Egypt confronts Ethiopia over future access to Nile’s water
Addis Ababa, Feb 18, 2020 - US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Tuesday that it could take "months" to resolve a dispute between Ethiopia and Egypt over a massive dam on the Nile River. Tensions have been high in the Nile basin ever since Ethiopia broke ground on...
North Africa confronting tough climate change
Skoura, Morocco, Feb 14, 2020 (By Ismail Bellaouali) - Dead palm trees lie on dry, yellowish earth near an abandoned adobe house in Morocco's arid southeast, as drought threatens ancient oases. "I grew up in this oasis and I have seen it shrink," says 53-year-old...
Algeria faces economic turmoil and nothing that Tebboune is doing will fix anything
By Arezki Daoud - (13 February 2020): The Algerian government appears clueless when it comes to fixing the economy, or anything else as a matter of fact. The Tebboune presidency has no vision or clear understanding of economic matters and instead of producing a well...
Demographic milestone: Egypt’s population exceeds 100 million
Cairo, Feb 11, 2020 - Egypt's population has passed 100 million, its statistics agency said Tuesday, highlighting the threat of overpopulation in a poverty-stricken country where many live in crowded megacities. The North African country retains its position as the...
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,...
Mauritania: UAE targets Mauritania, sets foothold there with investment commitment
Abu Dhabi, Feb 2, 2020 - The United Arab Emirates will pump $2 billion into investment and development projects in Mauritania, state media said Sunday during a visit by the country's new leader renowned for his anti-jihadist stand. "The UAE announced on Sunday the...
Egypt: Islamic State claims attack on pipeline in Sinai
Cairo, Feb 3, 2020 - The Islamic State group said on Monday it blew up a gas pipeline in Egypt's restive Sinai Peninsula, claiming it was connected to Israel. Security sources earlier said the pipeline hit was a domestic one that connects to a power station in...