North Africa

Egypt’s media regulator has ordered the closure of an independent news website for six months while it is investigated on suspicion of spreading fake news. Mada Masr is accused of publishing material that damaged national security. The website’s editor, Lina Attallah, has been asked to explain a report that Egypt …

In Algeria, the 3rd largest French-speaking country in the world, private Algerian schools are no longer allowed to teach the French curriculum. On September 19, Algerian private schools received a sharp reminder from the Ministry of Education: “only the Algerian national curriculum is authorized”. Failure to comply could result in …

French President Emmanuel Macron will travel to Cairo, the Egyptian capital, to meet President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi, after his visit to Jordan this Wednesday. Egypt, from where humanitarian aid passes to the Gaza Strip, is a key player in the conflict between Israel and Hamas. Its president, General al-Sissi, who …

Algeria’s appeal court has sentenced 38 people for the 2021 lynching of a man wrongly suspected of starting wildfires. The court on Monday found them guilty of multiple charges, including murder, torture and incitement leading to murder. The 38 were handed death sentences, but these will be commuted to life …

Italian authorities signed on Friday an agreement to welcome some 4,000 Tunisian workers, in line with commitments made to help the North African state stem migrant pressure at its borders. “The deal was signed during a visit by Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani to Tunis, where he was scheduled to meet …

Moroccan police announced on Friday that they had seized 1.37 tonnes of cocaine in the large city of Casablanca, Reuters agency reported. The drug was concealed in a cargo of imported frozen fish found at a distribution company in Morocco’s largest city, it said in a statement. Preliminary findings suggest …

Italian police announced on Tuesday the arrest in Milan of two men suspected of financing the Islamic State (IS) organization and disseminating jihadist propaganda. The two men, an Egyptian and an Italian of Egyptian origin, are suspected of “participation, association and incitement to commit a crime for the purposes of …

Algeria has announced the suspension of its efforts to mediate the political crisis in Niger following the coup in July. Its foreign affairs ministry said in a statement on Monday that declarations from the Nigerien authorities had raised “legitimate questions about their real willingness to follow through on their acceptance …

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has confirmed he’ll stand for a third term in elections scheduled for December. The former army chief has been in power since he helped oust Mohammed Morsi, the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, in 2013. Activists say his term in office has been marked by …

A huge fire has broken out at a police complex in the city of Ismailia in north-eastern Egypt, injuring dozens of pepople, local media reported. Videos posted online showed the security directorate, a building many storeys high, engulfed in flames. Civil defence sources said parts of it had collapsed. Fire …