Financial technology (fintech) is expanding across the Middle East and enabling more people to use financial tools. But some cultural barriers remain. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has announced a loan to Morocco aimed at promoting financial inclusivity. OPEC’s Fund for International Development signed a $100 million …
Read More »Erdogan’s statements shake Tunisian-Turkish ties
Diplomatic and economic relations between Tunisia and Turkey are at stake in the wake of statements by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan following President Kais Saied’s decision to dissolve parliament. Tunisia’s President Kais Saied has recently rejected any foreign interference in his country’s internal affairs. Speaking at an April 6 …
Read More »Russia, Wagner Group expand ties with Sudan
Sudan’s military leaders have expanded ties with Russia since the invasion of Ukraine. On March 21, the US charge d’affaires and the ambassadors of the United Kingdom and Norway in Khartoum issued an unusually strongly worded statement criticizing Russia’s presence in Sudan to mark the first month of the invasion …
Read More »Russia, Ukraine trade barbs over obstruction of wheat shipments to Egypt
As Egypt’s strategic wheat reserves continue to decline, Russia and Ukraine exchanged accusations over obstructing the movement of a ship loaded with wheat and bound for Egyptian ports. As Egypt’s strategic wheat reserves continue to decline, Russia and Ukraine have recently exchanged accusations over obstructing the movement of a ship …
Read More »Présidentielle : Macron – Le Pen, bloc élitaire contre bloc populaire
Le danger populiste, même s’il est écarté au second tour cette fois-ci, ne fera que revenir l’élection suivante, en plus menaçant, si aucune réforme de fond n’est faite. Le politologue Jérôme Sainte-Marie l’avait prédit : le clivage gauche/droite est en train d’être supplanté par celui entre un bloc élitaire et …
Read More »Italian premier says Algeria to boost natural gas exports
Italian Premier Mario Draghi secured a deal Monday for more natural gas imports across a Mediterranean pipeline from Algeria, marking the latest push by a European Union nation to reduce dependence on Russian energy following its invasion of Ukraine. After meeting with President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, Draghi told reporters in the …
Read More »Erdogan plays to base with criticism of Tunisia
By slamming the dissolution of Tunisia’s parliament, Erdogan may have emboldened his ideological allies from the Ennahda party, but his criticism might backfire to further isolate political Islam. Non-interference in domestic affairs and ending support for the Muslim Brotherhood have been two major conditions that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan …
Read More »Mali tri-border security worrying
The security situation on Mali’s borders with Burkina Faso and Niger has deteriorated to the stage where the UN mission in the landlocked west African country notes “significant” population displacement. “Attacks by armed terrorist groups have a devastating impact on an already distressed civilian population, resulting in dozens of deaths …
Read More »UN Security Council says ISIS ‘weakening’ in Africa as fighters desert group
The deaths of leading ISIS terrorists and the desertion of thousands of fighters from the group has left it in a “weakened” position, a report by the UN Security Council has found. Civil Society Perspectives: ISIS in Africa – Key Trends and Developments was compiled by the UN body’s Counter-terrorism …
Read More »Malian, foreign soldiers allegedly killed hundreds in town siege -rights group
Malian troops and suspected Russian fighters allegedly executed around 300 civilian men over five days during a military operation in a central Mali town, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a report on Tuesday, which the country’s army refuted. The killings took place between March 27 and 31 in Moura, …
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