North Africa

Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi has directed the government to begin its transfer to a new capital city next month. A spokesman for Mr Sisi said the move would be part of a six-month trial period. The so-called New Administrative Capital is being built some 45km east of Cairo. Read …

Algeria’s presidency has announced the deaths of three Algerians in an attack that it has blamed on Morocco, a local television station reports. Ennahar television says the statement from the presidency describes the incident as a “barbaric Moroccan bombardment”, which it says occurred on Monday on the border between Western …

Algeria has stopped gas exports through a pipeline that crosses neighbouring Morocco because of a dispute between the two countries, the presidency has said. “Due to Morocco’s hostile acts towards Algeria undermining national, unity the president has ordered the oil company Sonatrach to cut off trade relations with the Moroccan …

Authorities in Morocco have extended the state of emergency by one month, in order to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic in the country. This emerges from a statement made by government spokesperson Mustapha Baitas at a press conference held on the sidelines of a meeting of the Government …

The Tunisian media regulator has shut down Nesma TV and religious station Quran radio for failing to provide a full broadcasting licence. The two stations are known to be critical of President Kais Saied after his decision to suspend parliament in July. Nesma TV is owned by former presidential candidate …

Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi has announced that the state of emergency which has been in force since April 2017 in the country is now lifted. In a Facebook post, President Sisi announced that he would not be extending the state of emergency because Egypt had become “an oasis of …

The Egyptian activist Mozn Hassan who had been accused of receiving foreign funding to harm national security says the authorities have closed the case against her, after more than five years of an asset freeze and travel ban. A judge ruled that there was insufficient evidence to press charges against …

Libyan oil minister Mohamed Aoun sacked Mustafa Sanallah, chairman of the national oil company NOC, and appointed a new acting director. The board of directors of the company will meet to elect a new chairman, a decree from the ministry said. Recall that in September, Mr Aoun had suspended Mr …

Egyptian Council of State has announced that 98 women had been appointed judges in one of the country’s main judicial bodies, for the first time. The judges were sworn in before the council’s chief judge in an event in the capital Cairo on Tuesday. Their appointment comes months after President …

The European Union has urged the Tunisian President Kaïs Saied to restore democratic order in the country and reopen parliament. During a parliamentary session, European Union’s foreign policy chief Joseph Borrell told EU lawmakers that the Tunisian parliament “cannot stay closed indefinitely”. “It is crucial for the future of the …