[This is a roundup of news articles and other materials circulating on the Maghreb and reflects a wide variety of opinions. It does not reflect the views of the Maghreb Page Editors or of Jadaliyya. You may send your own recommendations for inclusion in each roundup to maghreb@jadaliyya.com]
Algeria:
احتجاجاتفيمراكزتصحيحامتحاناتالباكلوريابسببمقترحإلغاءالتربيةالإسلامية Due to recent statements coming from an inspector of the Ministry of National Education regarding potential reforms removing Islamic sciences topics from baccalaureate examinations, a number of demonstrators gathered outside baccalaureate examination centers to protest.
Limogeage de responsables : pourquoi il ne faut pas tirer de conclusions hâtives An analysis of the recent shakeup in security officials in Algeria following the discovery a cocaine stash in Oran, leading to the dismissal of the country’s top security official.
احتجاجاتشعبيةجنوبالجزائربسببالأوضاعالاقتصادية A wave of popular protests broke out in southern Algeria over a delayed government response in improving poor social and economic conditions for residents living in the region.
French Ambassador: Algeria's visa quota guaranteed Despite controversy over the French embassy’s rejection of several applications for Schengen visas, the French ambassador to Algeria insists that they have not and will not reduce the quota of Schengen visas allotted to Algeria.
Les touristes algériens boudent-ils la Tunisie ? Experts et professionnels partagés An examination of recent tourism trends that appear to indicate a decline in the number of Algerians visiting Tunisia.
Africa may have witnessed its all-time hottest temperature Thursday: 124 degrees in Algeria Weather experts believe that the temperature of 124.3 degrees (51.3 Celsius) recorded in Ouargla, Algeria, likely stands as the highest temperature ever reliably measured in all of Africa, beating the previous record of 123.3 degrees (50.7 Celsius) in Morocco in 1961.
Libya:
المعدانييتسلمنسخةمنتقريرتقييمورصدالأممالمتحدةلمدينةسرت Mokhtar Al-Mudanni, Mayor of Sirte, received a copy of the Sirte Rapid City Monitoring and Multisectoral Assessment Report by United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) and Population Fund (UNFPA), described as reflecting a preliminary vision for the reconstruction and development of Sirte.
Reprise des exportations de pétrole dans l’Est libyen Oil exports from Eastern Libya have resumed after a significant reduction in oil production.
روماتحاولوأدمخرجاتاتفاقباريسحولالأزمةالليبية Media reports indicate that the Italian government recently organized a meeting focused on reversing agreements made at the Paris Conference on the Libyan Crisis in May by postponing the organization of presidential and parliamentary elections that the French advocated for holding within the year.
CBL to continue with agreed economic reforms The Tripoli-based Central Bank of Libya (CBL) announced that the economic reform plan discussed at the Libya Economic Dialogue meeting in June would continue despite recent financial challenges facing the country.
Le chef de la diplomatie européenne à Tripoli pour parler coopération UE-Libye Top European Union diplomat Federica Mogherini visits Tripoli to discuss further building European Union-Libyan relations.
Libya to Resume Oil Exports From Eastern Terminals The National Oil Corporation (NOC) announced it has assumed control over Libya’s eastern oil ports and plans to resume exports immediately after reaching an agreement with the Libyan National Army (LNA) even though the two organizations support rival governments within Libya.
Mauritania:
ترشحياتالحزبالحاكمبينيديالرئيس President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz received the lists for municipal and parliamentary candidates from his incumbent Union for the Republic (UPR) party.
Mauritanie : Bouamatou visé par une plainte pour blanchiment d’argent en France Businessman and regime opponent Mohamed Ould Bouamatou faces charges of money laundering in France.
محافظاتالبنكالمركزي: يبررأسبابخروجموريتانيامنالمنظومةالنقديةالإفريقية The Governor of the Mauritanian Central Bank justified the decision to abandon the African franc on the grounds of pursuing monetary independence.
Scientists discover world's oldest color - bright pink Scientists discovered the world’s oldest colors, several shades of bright pink estimated to be 1.1 billion years old, in a marine shale deposit under the Sahara desert in the Taoudeni basin of Mauritania.
France-Mauritanie : l’AFD a signé des accords à Nouakchott During French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Nouakchott during the African Union Summit, a number of trade agreements were signed with Mauritania.
Can AU Tackle Security Challenges in the Sahel? Although representatives of the African Union (AU) meeting in Nouakchott pledged to support efforts to counter extremism and terrorism in the Sahel region, experts warn that the AU might not be able to do much to improve the capabilities of the G5 Sahel force, which includes Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, and Chad.
Morocco:
المغربيشاركفيالاجتماعالوزاريالثامنللتعاونالعربيالصينيوعينهعلىالسياحوالاستثمارات Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Nasser Bourita plans to attend the eighth Arab-Chinese Cooperation Forum in Beijing, with an anticipated emphasis on tourism and investment.
Des milliers de personnes à Rabat pour la libération des détenus du Hirak Thousands march in Rabat to demand the release of Hirak activists recently sentenced to prison.
بنجرير.. اعتقالأفرادعصابةاجراميةينشطونفيسرقةالدراجاتالنارية A judicial police team dismantled a criminal gang of five people involved in motorcycle theft, including a nationally-pursued robber.
King Mohammed VI confirms keenness to 'upgrade' Morocco's relations with Algeria In a letter to President Bouteflika of Algeria on the occasion of Algerian Independence Day, King Mohammed VI of Morocco stressed his interest in upgrading relations between the two countries.
Le Conseil de l’UE valide la nouvelle version de l’accord agricole The European Union approves a new version of its agriculture and fisheries agreement with Morocco, set to include the Western Sahara, despite the European Court of Justice’s ruling in opposition to including the territory.
SDX Energy Morocco revenues should quadruple in next three years -CEO North Africa-focused oil and gas company SDX Energy announced the expectation that its revenues from Morocco will triple over the next three years from $12.4 million in 2017 due to output expansion and a new drilling project
Tunisia:
أزمةالماءفيتونس: العطش، منخطرإلىواقع A recent heat wave combined with interruptions of water infrastructure to cause shortages of drinking water for hundreds of thousands of people in a number of Tunisian states, including Tunis, Ben Arous, and Nabeul, a problem that exacerbates existing issues of pollution, waste, and malpractice.
Déchets solides dans le milieu rural en Tunisie: quelles solutions ? An examination of pollution in the rural regions of Tunisia and possible solutions to protect the environment.
الشاهد: 2018 آخرعامماليصعبعلىتونس Prime Minister Yousef al-Shahid claimed that 2018 stands as the last difficult year in Tunisia’s public finances due to a lack of new corporate taxes in the upcoming 2019 budget law and other initiatives and reforms.
Tunisia attack: Nine police officers killed in gun and grenade assault In the highest death toll since 2015, militants killed nine members of Tunisia’s security forces in an attack in Gar Dimao near the border with Algeria, according to the state news agency.
La Tunisie rejoint à son tour l’initiative chinoise « One Belt, One Road » Tunisia signs a number of major infrastructural agreements with China as part of its 2016-2020 Development Plan.
EU-Tunisia: Migration policies, their visas and our dead A slew of deadly wrecks in the ocean route from Tunisia to Europe taken by migrants draws attention to the complex administrative procedures involved in obtaining visas to European countries and a lack of migration support from the Tunisian government itself, both of which appear to exacerbate the problem.
Western Sahara:
اللجنةالتحضيريةللمؤتمرالثالثلإتحادالطلبةتعقداولاجتماعلها The Preparatory Committee for the 3rd Conference of the Saharawi Student’s Union held its founding meeting under the leadership of the President of the Sahrawi National Council and the Secretary General of the Sahrawi Workers’ Union.
Maroc – Algérie : Horst Köhler face au mirage des négociations sur le Sahara occidental An examination of the recent efforts led by the United Nations to resume negotiations over the Western Saharan conflict.
Establishment of Sahrawi-French Center, Ahmed Baba Maska, for Studies and Documentation The Sahrawi-French Center for Studies and Documentation, Ahmad Baba Maska, opened in Paris this week in honor of the late Sahrawi diplomat after whom it is named, and founders expect it to create a national academic database for research and studies.
Call for attaching greater importance to human rights situation The ambassadors of sixteen countries from five continents called for the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to focus more on the human rights situation in occupied cities of Western Sahara in a statement read by the South African ambassador.
Latest from Jadaliyya
Revue de presse sur les élections municipales en Tunisie An overview of French media coverage in Tunisia’s recent municipal election.
Muriam Haleh Davis and Thomas Serres, eds. North Africa and the Making of Europe: Governance, Institutions and Culture (New Texts Out Now) An interview with editors of North Africa and the Making of Europe elaborates on how “marginal” areas such as North Africa have had a significant impact on the development of Europe.
No Love Lost and Love Gained: On the Morocco-Iran Rift Morocco’s decision to sever ties with Iran and accusations of Iranian support for the Polisario Front comes after decades of tensions with Iran since its 1979 Revolution, but the recent changes stem more from an attempt to solidify the relationship with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the United States than it does spite for Iran.
Samia Henni, Architecture of Counterrevolution: The French Army in Northern Algeria (New Texts Out Now) An interview with Samia Henni on her latest book that examines the often neglected aspects of France’s efforts to maintain Algeria under French rule during the Algerian War of Independence.
The Life Span of Alternative Media: Cases of Lake and Mamfakinch in Morocco Journalists and activists in Morocco helped to launch a new wave of alternative online media before, during, and after the 2011 Arab Spring; two alternative media in particular, Lakome and Mamfakinch demonstrate in their life cycles trends of interaction between alternative media, politics, and economic powers.
Jeffrey R. Halverson and Nathaniel Greenberg, Islamists of the Maghreb (New Texts Out Now) Jeffry Halverson and Nathaniel Greenberg discuss their book, Islamists of the Maghreb, in light of the central role that Maghreb countries played in the Arab Spring.
زحفالثورةالمضادة Seven years after the Arab Spring began in Tunisia, issues of revolution and counterrevolution persist, as does the urban-rural divide.
James McDougall, A History of Algeria (New Texts Out Now) Interview with historian James McDougall on his latest book entitled A History of Algeria.
Tunisia and the International Community since 2011: Rentierism, Patronage and Moral Hazard Despite perceptions of a democratic Tunisia, the incoming flow of loans has upheld a undemocratic practices of patronage, failing to address protesters’ dominant socioeconomic grievances.
Morocco's Hirak Movement: The People Versus the Makhzen Morocco’s growing Hirak protests against the regime, now spreading throughout the country, receive a historical and political analysis.
Political Parties, Elections, and the Illusion of Opposition in Morocco As shown by the results of the October 2016 parliamentary elections, King Mohammed VI’s control over Moroccan politics demonstrates a pattern of increasing influence in the party system.
The Battleground for the Morocco-Algeria Rivalry The regional rivalry between Morocco and Algeria expands beyond conflict over Western Sahara to competition throughout Africa in light of Morocco’s foreign policy turn towards the continent.
حراكالريف: النظاميراهنعلىالحسمالامني Following months of protests in Morocco’s northern Rif region, the regime’s security forces assert their dominance in managing the ongoing crisis through
