Iran-aligned Houthi forces in Yemen and Iranian military action are straining Gulf security on multiple fronts at once, with missile fire, drone attacks, and strikes on commercial shipping disrupting aviation and maritime trade across the region. The longer the...
An upsurge of desert locusts is taking shape in Northwest Africa, with Morocco currently facing the highest pressure while Algeria, Mauritania, and Sahel countries prepare for possible summer migrations. Recent reports from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization...
Morocco’s legal system has been severely disrupted as a nationwide strike by attorneys enters its third week, halting many court proceedings and delaying a large number of criminal trials. The work stoppage has extended pretrial detention for many defendants and added...
China extended zero-tariff access to Egyptian exports. The move is a bilateral milestone, but one that is also part of a far larger continental trade play. From 1 May 2026, Egypt joined a regime under which 53 African countries with diplomatic ties to Beijing can...
Polling for the 2027 presidential race now puts Marine Le Pen, the most prominent face of the nationalist Rassemblement National (RN), clearly ahead in the first round, with hard-left firebrand Jean-Luc Mélenchon emerging as one of the strongest contenders to...
Egypt has cleared roughly 6.1 billion dollars in overdue payments to foreign oil and gas companies, closing a multi‑year backlog that had accumulated during its foreign‑currency crunch and weighed on upstream investment. Officials say the full settlement, completed in...
TOP REGIONAL HEADLINES
The war involving Iran, Israel, and the United States is expanding across the Middle East, with growing consequences for global energy markets and regional security. Disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and attacks on Gulf energy infrastructure have pushed oil prices higher and raised concerns about supply stability. As missile exchanges intensify and fighting spreads to Lebanon, world leaders are scrambling to assess the economic fallout and prevent further escalation.
MAGHREB
U.S. diplomacy has been making moves in Libya these days. Washington's latest push in the troubled North African nation sits inside a crowded field...
Africa is moving from the margins to the center of the global liquefied natural gas (LNG) story. As Europe scrambles to replace Russian gas and...
Energized by its mediation role between the United States and Iran, Pakistan has quietly opened a new diplomatic front in North Africa. It is now...
MAGHREB PAGE
SAHEL
Niamey's decision to formalize local self-defense units called Domol Leydi is the latest sign that Niger's security crisis has worsened, moving...
Armed attacks attributed to Sahel-based jihadist groups have intensified in northern Benin in recent weeks, highlighting the continued spread of...
Agricultural authorities in several parts of North and West Africa are maintaining surveillance for desert locust activity following recent reports...
SAHEL PAGE
EGYPT
Egypt is expanding its defense-industrial partnerships with China, with recent developments pointing to a growing emphasis on localized production,...
Egypt appears to have shifted from diplomatic broker to covert combatant in Sudan’s war, in what may be the center of a widening regional proxy...
Across several regions, the United Arab Emirates is facing visible diplomatic and political friction with key Arab states. The developments span...
EGYPT PAGE
FOCAL POINTS
By Abdellah Cheballahb: Sporting a white cap and apron, Rachid Ibersiene bustles around vats at his dairy in Algeria's Atlas Mountains where he has brought the tradition of artisanal cheesemaking back from Switzerland. "We started with a butane gas bottle and stove,"...
By Camille Laffont: At the edge of an oasis almost engulfed by the dunes, where the rare caravan still passes, is a desert landscape punctured by holes. The salt pans of Kalala, near Bilma in northeastern Niger, were once an essential stop for traders with their...
This podcast focuses on the latest key issues affecting North Africa as of 10 June 2023. NAJ's Editor, Arezki Daoud, shares his views on events in Egypt, Morocco, Libya, Algeria and Tunisia.
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POLITICAL AFFAIRS
Washington’s power-sharing plan for Libya would install Saddam Haftar as president while Abdulhamid Dbeibah remains prime minister. But Libya’s High Council of State, Misrata’s leadership, and Grand Mufti Sadiq al-Gharyani have all rejected it, while the UN’s separate 4+4 committee is quietly producing the actual roadmap Washington’s plan still lacks.
MORE ON POLITICS
Algeria and Niger have formally reset strained bilateral relations and announced the operational relaunch of the long-delayed Trans-Saharan Gas...
A Tunisian civil liberties organization has publicly challenged the Tunisian authorities over the reported detention of opposition politician Olfa...
After nearly a year of tensions, Algeria and Niger have formally reset their relationship. On February 12, 2026, both governments announced the...
By Mondafrique: Initially scheduled for December 2025 and postponed a second time in January, the long-awaited visit of the French Interior...
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi approved a cabinet reshuffle this week that brought in a new defense minister and changed a range of...
Spanish media commentary on the Pegasus episode involving Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez intensified this week (February 12, 2026), after a detailed...
After more than a decade of strained relations, Egypt and Turkey are moving toward a pragmatic re-engagement shaped less by reconciliation than by...
Egypt is expanding its defense-industrial partnerships with China, with recent developments pointing to a growing emphasis on localized production,...
A court of appeals in Tunis has sharply increased the prison sentence handed to Rached Ghannouchi, the 84-year-old leader of Tunisia’s Ennahda...
Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, one of the most prominent sons of Libya’s former ruler Muammar Gaddafi and long viewed as his political heir, has been killed...
A court of appeals in Tunis has sharply increased the prison sentence handed to Rached Ghannouchi, the 84-year-old leader of Tunisia’s Ennahda...
Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, one of the most prominent sons of Libya’s former ruler Muammar Gaddafi and long viewed as his political heir, has been killed...
Morocco’s Royal Palace has confirmed that King Mohammed VI is undergoing treatment for a mechanical lower‑back condition but emphasized that his...
France’s National Assembly has unanimously approved a landmark reform that makes it easier for people harmed by its nuclear tests in Polynesia and...
PODCASTS
COVID-19: The Latest
Egypt said Wednesday it plans to manufacture one billion doses a year of China's Sinovac vaccine, claiming it would become the Middle East and Africa's "biggest vaccine producer". Under the deal with the Chinese pharmaceutical company, a factory in Cairo will produce...
Coronavirus: Latest global developments Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis: - China outbreak – Millions of people are confined to their homes in China as the country tries to contain its largest outbreak in months with mass testing and travel...
And in the Mideast too The World Health Organization said Thursday the Delta variant has led to a "surge" in coronavirus outbreaks triggering a "fourth wave" in the Eastern Mediterranean region, where vaccination rates remain low. The global health body said the...
SECURITY, DEFENSE & TERRORISM
A report published by Germany’s Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik accuses the United Arab Emirates of playing a destabilizing role in several African conflicts through support for armed groups, logistical networks, and regional interventions. The report focuses particularly on Sudan, Libya, the Horn of Africa, and Yemen, while also criticizing Western governments for avoiding direct public criticism of Abu Dhabi.
Armed attacks attributed to Sahel-based jihadist groups have intensified in northern Benin in recent weeks, highlighting the continued spread of...
In the early hours of March 9, 2026, armed militants launched coordinated assaults on military facilities in Tahoua, a city in northwestern Niger...
Algeria and Niger have formally reset strained bilateral relations and announced the operational relaunch of the long-delayed Trans-Saharan Gas...
After nearly a year of tensions, Algeria and Niger have formally reset their relationship. On February 12, 2026, both governments announced the...
Nigeria’s Woro massacre in early February 2026 was a large‑scale attack on two mainly Muslim farming communities that left Muslim and Christian...
An improvised explosive device struck a mixed transport vehicle near Baroua in Niger’s Diffa region at around 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, February 10,...
Spanish media commentary on the Pegasus episode involving Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez intensified this week (February 12, 2026), after a detailed...
After more than a decade of strained relations, Egypt and Turkey are moving toward a pragmatic re-engagement shaped less by reconciliation than by...
Egypt is expanding its defense-industrial partnerships with China, with recent developments pointing to a growing emphasis on localized production,...
Three Libyan soldiers aligned with eastern warlord Khalifa Haftar were killed and several others captured in coordinated attacks on military...
Egypt is expanding its defense-industrial partnerships with China, with recent developments pointing to a growing emphasis on localized production,...
Three Libyan soldiers aligned with eastern warlord Khalifa Haftar were killed and several others captured in coordinated attacks on military...
Egypt appears to have shifted from diplomatic broker to covert combatant in Sudan’s war, in what may be the center of a widening regional proxy...
An overnight assault on Niger’s main international airport has prompted a partial drawdown of U.S. diplomatic staff from Niamey and renewed scrutiny...
SOCIAL, LABOR & THE ENVIRONMENT
A proposed law allowing women in Tunisia’s private sector to retire voluntarily at age 50 has drawn sharp criticism from a leading women’s rights organization. Advocates argue that the measure could undermine female labor participation, limit career advancement, and strain the country’s already fragile social security system.
Recent employment data released by High Commission for Planning points to a marked acceleration in job creation in Morocco during 2025. On paper,...
Humanitarian groups say the death toll from January’s Central Mediterranean storms may be far higher than official figures, warning that Cyclone...
France’s National Assembly has unanimously approved a landmark reform that makes it easier for people harmed by its nuclear tests in Polynesia and...
Clashes in southern Chad between government forces and a little‑known rebel movement offer a window into how local conflicts feed into the...
Authorities in Mauritania’s Brakna region have brokered a fragile peace deal aimed at ending a violent land dispute between neighboring farming...
Classes have been suspended across Ksar El Kébir from Monday, February 2 through Saturday, February 7, 2026, after heavy rainfall caused flooding...
The European Union’s revised migration framework, set to take effect in mid-2026, is already reshaping how migration is managed across the...
A nationwide strike by freight transport operators that began last Thursday is increasingly affecting daily life in Algeria. The work stoppage has...
After reaching a historic high in 2024, irregular migration to Spain fell sharply in 2025. Official data show a decline of more than 40% compared...
The possible resignation of Noureddine Tabboubi, the general secretary of the UGTT (Tunisian General Labor Union), is the culmination of a deep...
A nationwide strike by freight transport operators that began last Thursday is increasingly affecting daily life in Algeria. The work stoppage has...
After reaching a historic high in 2024, irregular migration to Spain fell sharply in 2025. Official data show a decline of more than 40% compared...
The possible resignation of Noureddine Tabboubi, the general secretary of the UGTT (Tunisian General Labor Union), is the culmination of a deep...
As the United States prepares to implement a new round of immigration and visa policy changes in 2026, the effects are being felt across Africa and...
BUSINESS & THE ECONOMY
Morocco has become Africa’s leading industrial economy, followed by South Africa and Egypt. The African Development Bank (AfDB) ranked Tunisia fourth, reinforcing North Africa’s position as one of the continent’s principal industrial regions. The AfDB’s 2025 Africa Industrialization Index placed Morocco ahead of South Africa as Africa’s highest-ranked industrial economy.
By Arezki Daoud: This morning, I spent a little more money on gasoline at the pump in Miami, but I admit I expected to pay much more. And so as I...
Economic ties between Turkey and Morocco are expanding at an unprecedented pace. Over the past two years, trade flows have accelerated sharply,...
Morocco’s debate over whether to open pharmacy ownership to outside investors has sharpened after the Competition Council scheduled a new meeting...
Morocco is heading into 2026 with a mixed outlook for its cereal sector, as favorable early-season conditions contrast with an expected drop in...
A standoff is emerging between Morocco’s legal profession and the Ministry of Justice over a draft law governing the organization of lawyers,...
Gas shortages in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, have become a recurring issue at the end of each year. The problem now appears regularly...
Algeria's airline carrier, Air Algérie, has taken delivery of its second Airbus A330-900neo as part of an ongoing fleet renewal program focused on...
Egypt has just had a record year for both tourism and remittances, and these two inflows are now some of the biggest sources of foreign currency for...
A nationwide strike by freight transport operators that began last Thursday is increasingly affecting daily life in Algeria. The work stoppage has...
Financial intelligence authorities in Morocco have placed parts of the real estate sector under heightened scrutiny following alerts submitted by...
Algeria entered 2026 with a moderate adjustment in domestic fuel prices, a move authorities say is necessary to secure national supply and sustain...
Despite the unsettling political realities of Tunisia, the country's equity market closed 2025 with one of its strongest performances in decades,...
