Africa

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham has banned the pro-opposition Orient News channel from media coverage in Idlib, raising fears about the state of press freedom in Syria’s Idlib. The pro-Syrian opposition Orient News channel revealed on its Twitter account Aug. 24, “Hayat Tahrir al-Sham [HTS] has decided to end the channel’s media …

France and Spain already reopened their diplomatic missions in Libya following the end of the civil war last year. Germany’s top diplomat arrived in the Libyan capital Tripoli Thursday to reopen the German Embassy. “The former conflicting parties have realized that there can be no violent solution for their country,” …

Oil production shutdowns are increasingly likely as several players in the sector push their own agenda. The war of words over who controls Libya’s oil sector has now spilled over into its operations. Last week, one of the most powerful men in Libya, National Oil Corporation (NOC) chairman Mustafa Sanallah, …

Early September the 6th edition of the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) under the theme “New Opportunities for the Far East in a Changed World” was held and considered as vital platform for strengthening especially economic ties among Asia-Pacific countries and the Far East region of Russia. It also focused on …

With the Nigerian government confirming the death of Abu Bakr Shekau, the notorious leader of Boko Haram, in late August 2021, the future of the terrorist group looks bleak with its strength reportedly “significantly weakened” in the recent months.1 Its breakaway faction, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) which has …

Syria also agreed to transfer Jordanian electricity to Lebanon, while Iran already sent fuel. Several Middle Eastern states agreed to export natural gas from Egypt to energy-starved Lebanon, though the exact plan is not clear. The energy ministers of Egypt, Syria and Jordan met in Amman on Wednesday with their …

Boko Haram’s capture of materiel from government forces in the Lake Chad region bolsters the jihadi insurgency’s lethality, posing a grave risk to civilians, peacekeepers, and other military personnel. A year ago on this platform I raised a concern that the two main Boko Haram factions secured considerable lethal materiel …

Egypt is patiently following up on the internal political and military developments in Ethiopia before taking any new position on the dispute over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. Since President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s July 15 remarks in which he told Egyptians not to worry about any threat posed by the …

A fatwa by a senior Muslim scholar permitting hymen repair in certain circumstances has sparked controversy on social media, with critics fearing it may encourage girls to engage in sex out of wedlock. A controversial fatwa issued by a senior religious scholar permitting hymen repair or reconstruction has sparked heated …

The dispute over the controversial Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam remains unresolved between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia, with the latter attempting to revive the Nile water sharing agreement. The long-running dispute over the controversial Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) that Ethiopia is building on the Blue Nile, the main tributary of …