Africa

Egypt weighs Hifter’s role in Libyan transition

Libyan National Army commander Khalifa Hifter visited Cairo and met with the US ambassador to Libya at a time of heightened tensions between Hifter and the new Libyan government of national unity. US Ambassador to Libya Richard Norland met with Libyan National Army (LNA) commander Khalifa Hifter in Cairo Aug. …

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Sudan urges UN replace Ethiopia soldiers with multinational forces

Sudan yesterday renewed its demand to replace the Ethiopian forces in the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) in the disputed Abyei region on the South Sudan border with multinational forces. This came during a meeting of the Security and Defence Council (the highest security body), according to …

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The African Union Intervention Force Will Stay in Somalia, but with Whose Troops?

A strong, internationally composed military force remains crucial to protecting the Somali government and preventing a victory by the Al-Shabaab Islamist militant movement. Last month, the African Union (AU) offered four separate options for the future of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) to the Somali Federal Government (FGS). …

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What’s Next for Tunisia’s Transition?

The only solution to Tunisia’s political crisis is a roadmap for getting back to inclusive politics and a renewed social contract. Long heralded as the sole success story of the Arab uprisings, Tunisia was thrown into political tumult on July 25 when President Kais Saied dismissed the prime minister, suspended …

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Algeria sentences journalist to 8 months in jail

Algerian journalist Rabah Kareche, who reported on a protest movement by the Tuareg minority, was sentenced Thursday to serve eight months behind bars, his newspaper Liberte said. It said a court in the southern town of Tamanrasset handed Kareche, who was arrested in April, a one-year term with four months …

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The Tunisian president’s political capital is finite

President Kais Saied’s July 25 decisions to suspend parliament and the government appear to have been largely popular, despite sharp criticism from those denouncing them as a coup, unconstitutional, or a dangerous overstep of his authority. The mass celebrations in the streets that broke out immediately after his televised announcement …

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Russia denies siding with Ethiopia in Nile dam dispute

Egypt interprets Russian reluctance to back its position in the GERD dispute as pro-Ethiopian, but Moscow says it is pursuing a balanced position between Cairo and Addis Ababa. Russia has denied taking Ethiopia’s side in its dispute with Egypt over a massive dam built by Addis Ababa on the Blue …

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Egypt enrolls Russian imams in ‘fatwa training program’ to combat Brotherhood

Egypt is helping Russia confront extremism, namely Muslim Brotherhood ideology, by training Russian imams in the Dar al-Ifta — including a ‘fatwa training program.’ Egypt has recently stepped up its support for Russia in the fight against extremist ideologies and groups, most notably the Muslim Brotherhood. On Aug. 3, Egypt’s …

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Intel: US ambassador meets Libya’s Hifter in Cairo

The US envoy is for pushing for cooperation with Libya’s planned elections in December, State Department says. US Ambassador Richard Norland met Wednesday with Libyan warlord Khalifa Hifter in Cairo in a continuing bid to help reunify the country after a decade of civil war. Norland’s meeting with Hifter comes …

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Identifying Reasons For Russia’s Weak Economic Presence In Africa – OpEd

Last month, the Association of Economic Cooperation with African States (AECAS) held a special meeting of the working group on financing projects with participation of the leading Russian companies and banks. The key topic was to find an effective system of financing projects and to support investment in Africa. Lack …

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