Could the earthquake be a defining moment for King Mohammed VI? So far, there have been mix signals about his...
Governance Bound
Algerian regime arrests businessman Isaad Rebrab, lengthens prison term of opposition figure to eliminate competition to president’s second term
Photo: Algeria's richest man, Isaad Rebrab- The appeal trial of Ali Ghediri on May 16 and 17 ended with an increase of...
Podcast: The Fleecing of Libya: Billions of Dollars Missing and Everyone is at Fault
In the post-Gaddafi era, corruption in Libya is endemic and metastasized. The culture of corruption is so ubiquitous...
Moroccan authorities attack more journalists of Akhbar Al-Yaum
Rabat, May 25, 2020 - A Moroccan judge on Monday placed the head of an independent daily newspaper in pre-trial...
Africa: Covid-19 is not alone, other diseases intensify health crisis in Africa
Lagos, May 19, 2020 (By Sophie Bouillon) - African nations grappling to contain coronavirus are scrambling to stop the...
Egypt: Regime of General Sisi arrests Mada Masr Editor
Egyptian security services on Sunday detained the editor-in-chief of prominent independent news outlet Mada Masr, its...
Algerian regime makes minor gesture toward Hirak, releases two rights activists
Algiers, May 18, 2020 - A leading figure in Algeria's "Hirak" anti-government protest movement has been released from...
Egypt: A flyover symbolizing a mediocre government ($)
Cairo, May 14, 2020 - A road bridge under construction in Egypt's capital that almost abuts balconies of apartment...
Egypt: Despite collapsing economy, a pandemic, and dismal human rights records, Egypt to get attack helicopters
The United States has approved a $2.3 billion deal on attack helicopters for Egypt, but an official insisted Friday...
Algeria: Regime launches frontal assault on pro-democracy movement
By Philippe Agret - The Algerian regime is exploiting coronavirus to defeat a protest movement that has shaken it to...
Egypt military regime ratchets up repressive measures against population
Cairo, May 8, 2020 - President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has ratified a host of amendments to Egypt's emergency law which...
Egypt: Sisi regime extends pre-trial detentions
Beirut, May 7, 2020 - Amnesty International lambasted Egypt on Thursday for extending the pre-trial detention of over...
Algeria announces deeper spending cuts but says minimum wage up a bit
The Algerian government decided Sunday to reduce the state budget by half due to a financial crisis caused by the...
Egypt: Al-Sisi orders three-month renewal of state of emergency
Cairo, April 28, 2020 - Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Tuesday ordered the renewal for three months of a...
Sahel: Chad abolishes death penalty for terrorism
Chad on Tuesday abolished the death penalty for terrorist activities, Justice Minister Djimet Arabi told AFP. Chad had...
Week-in-review podcast: Lockdowns, curfews and government abuse
This is a retrospect on North Africa and the Sahel region, for the week ending 24 April. The review, which focuses on...
Tunisia taps into its tech resources to fight Covid-19
Tunis, April 25, 2020 (By Caroline Nelly Perrot) - The feared impact of coronavirus on Tunisia's fragile public health...
Tunisia: How Tunisian hospitals are coping with Covid-19
Tunis, April 22, 2020 - After a month of lockdown, Tunisian hospitals have not so far suffered the overcrowding some...
Moroccan government spying on its people with mobile app tracking
Rabat, April 22, 2020 - Moroccan police have started using a mobile application in recent days to track violators of...
Government of Algeria attacks Internet news sites
April 20, 2020 - Algerian authorities have blocked a third online news website that covered the anti-government...
Algeria’s political police continue to arrest civilians for their opinions
The fall of the notorious General Wassini Bouazza, former head of an equally notorious secret police, has done nothing...
Morocco: Mass arrests for non-compliance with confinement rules
Rabat, April 13, 2020 - More than 4,300 people were arrested over the weekend in Morocco for breaching emergency rules...
Egypt: Covid-19′ new challenge: where to bury the dead
Cairo, April 11, 2020 - Egyptian police arrested a dozen people and fired tear gas in a Nile Delta village Saturday,...
Algeria: Oil prices, virus, instability put Algeria on edge
Algiers, April 12, 2020 (By Amal Belalloufi with Philippe Agret in Tunis) - Algeria faces economic and social turmoil...
Public health: Inside North Africa’s healthcare systems
By Hamza Mekouar: The coronavirus pandemic has put the spotlight on shortcomings in health care in several North...
Egypt: Prison inmates still unprotected against Covid-19
Cairo, April 9, 2020 - An Egyptian rights group said Thursday it had filed a lawsuit against authorities demanding...
Food supply: The struggle to maintain normalcy in time of pandemic
Algiers, April 9, 2020 (By Abdellah Cheballah) - From an acute shortage of regional staple couscous to a surge of...
Egypt: Looming social unrest
Cairo, April 8, 2020 (By Farid Farid) - Haggard and dishevelled from the stress of making ends meet, day labourers...
Algeria’s political police unleash terror on journalists and others
Journalist Meriem Chorfi, Editor-in-chief Mouhoub Rafik, and Mohamed Laamari, the Publisher of Algerian newspaper Sawt...
Algeria: Food shortages lead to breaches in social distancing and confinement rules
The coronavirus is creating acute shortages of high-consumption foods and commodities. Despite the calls for social...
States within the state: Nigerian governors order their own state shutdown
Warri, Nigeria, April 1, 2020 - Thousands of Nigerians have been left cut off from homes and businesses as states...
Maghreb: Anger in Tunisia and Morocco over poorly managed lockdown
Mnilha, Tunisie, March 31, 2020 - Several hundred Tunisians demonstrated in a working class district of the capital...
Algeria: A dictator’s cozy retirement and the whereabouts of Bouteflika
Algiers, March 31, 2020 - A year after the unexpected downfall of Algeria's longtime president Abdelaziz Bouteflika,...
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...
Libya does the right thing: it releases prisoners in pretrial detention amid Covid-19
Tripoli, March 29, 2020 - Libya's justice ministry announced Sunday over 450 prisoners were being freed in a bid to...
Africa is completely unprepared to deal with confinement of large populations
Lagos, March 30, 2020 (By Celia Lebur) - Over 20 million Nigerians on Monday scrambled to prepare for lockdown in...
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...
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...
North Africa’s incomprehensible night curfews
Opinion by Arezki Daoud: Persistent, logical and even unpopular policies must be implemented to fight the coronavirus....
Egypt’s prisons could become death traps for inmates and political prisoners
Cairo, March 20, 2020 (By Farid Farid) - In Egypt's overcrowded and putrid jails, families of prisoners fear a...
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...
Middle East countries urged to come clean about their covid19 numbers
Cairo, March 18, 2020 - The World Health Organization urged Middle Eastern governments Wednesday to be more...
Tunisia brings back loudspeakers to get its message out and fight coronavirus
MEA Risk brief: The municipality of Tunis resuscitated the old means of communicating official statements with...