[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 week`s roundup to maghreb@jadaliyya.com by Tuesday night of every week]
Algeria
Algeria in the throes of a vicious succession battle Despite his illness, President Bouteflika holds on to his controversially extended presidency, working mostly from his home.
Photos. La pauvreté ronge les Algériens fragiles/ Cette famille se nourrit de pain et d’eau A photo slideshow featuring a family of three, devastated by poverty.
Fellag : « Pour l’Algérie, je suis un artiste du passé » An interview with Mohamed Fellag, one of Algeria’s most famous comedians, in which he discusses his themes, inspirations, and his twenty-three year absence from Algerian stages.
Algerian Prime Minister: We Seek Strategic Partnership with Riyadh United by their concern about the falling price of oil, Algeria and Saudi Arabia consider ways to increase cooperation in business and tourism.
Commemoration and counter-memory of the Algerian liberation and civil war: calls for an inclusive approach Professor Anissa Daoudi, lecturer in Arabic and Translation Studies at the University of Birmingham, reflects on a public conference held earlier this month to remember the traumas and atrocities experienced during the Algerian war for liberation and the black decade.
الجزائر تجمع نحو 6 مليارات دولار بالسندات المحلية The Algerian Minister of Finance said that borrowing through treasury bonds is helping the government deal with the drop in oil and gas prices.
Libya
Leaks indicate US support for Libya`s Haftar A leaked communication between US pilots and the control tower of an airbase controlled by Libyan renegade general Khalifa Haftar suggests a cooperation between American forces and Haftar.
African Union unveils new Libya peace initiative The African Union, in cooperation with some Libyan politicians and the United Nations, launches an effort to initiate all-inclusive discourse.
In Libya, Defeating ISIS Is Not Enough Despite the liberation of Sirte from the Islamic State’s control, Libya’s unity government still faces domestic rivalries supported by paramilitary forces.
`Orphans of the Sahara` - Behind the name Al Jazeera’s documentary trilogy Orphans of the Sahara follows the Tuareg exodus from Libya after the fall of Gadhafi in 2011, and their situation amidst political upheaval and ongoing violence.
ليبيا في الصحافة العربية (الثلاثاء 15 نوفمبر 2016) A summary of three popular perspectives adopted by the media on the situation of Libyan politics and economy, including analyses of the effects of the revolution, and future political predictions.
Mauritania
Mauritanian clerics urge for blogger`s death penalty to be applied Mauritania has not applied a death penalty since 1987 but the Forum of Imams and Ulemas call for a blogger who was sentenced to death for apostasy in 2014.
Mauritania: Appeal court must quash unfair sentences and free 13 anti-slavery activists Amnesty International calls for the immediate release of anti-slavery activists, as authorities have failed to prove criminal responsibility for the acts of violence they have been accused of.
La Mauritanie va créer 22 nouveaux collèges The Mauritanian government has announced the initiation of a project to build twenty-two middle schools, and repair existing schools by July of 2017.
Fish-rich Mauritania looks to its Nouadhibou port for a brighter future Although nearly 1.2 million tons of fish are fished on Mauritanian borders, only a small percentage are processed in the country. The Mauritanian government has decided to better exploit its ocean in order to improve national economy.
البنك الدولي يراجع المشاريع التي يمولها في موريتانيا The World Bank begins its quarterly review of the sixteen projects it has funded in Mauritania.
Morocco
French-Moroccan writer Leïla Slimani wins Goncourt, France`s top literary prize Moroccan-born Leila Slimani won France`s top literary prize for her novel Chanson douce.
مكاسب قياسية للحزب الإسلامي في المغرب The 7 October elections reflect the growing strength of the Justice and Development party in the country’s elected institutions and the decline of the leftist parties.
Doing Business : Le Maroc progresse encore World Bank Report "Doing Business 2017" ranked Morocco at the sixty-eighth place among 190 economies, which puts the Kingdom at the top of North African countries, third at the African level, and fourth in the Middle Eastern and North African region.
Heavy Construction and Commercial Vehicles Academy AGEVEC Launching Al Aoula TV reported on the official launch of the Heavy Construction and Commercial Vehicles Academy (AGEVEC), which took place in October at the Mohammed VI Vocational Training School for Building and Public Works, in Settat.
Dwight L. Bush : La croissance des Startups, tributaire de la mise en place de nouvelles formes de financement Le Mag reports on the conference organized in Casablanca on “Building, Investing and Scaling Startups” to encourage young startups and the growth opportunities that they could offer to the Moroccan economy.
Maroc: les appels vocaux par messageries internet de nouveau autorisés Just ahead of the COP22 conference in Marrakech, voice calls via internet messengers were reauthorized.
COP22 in Morocco: Between greenwashing and environmental injustice For marginalized groups in the country who are primarily affected by the extractive policies of large companies, such as the Societe Metallurgique d’Imider, the international climate change conference in Marrakech is a far cry from inclusive and equitable approaches to managing the environment.
Tunisia
Rising suicide toll rings alarm bells in Tunisia Some experts believe that the economic crisis and high unemployment rate have led to a rise in suicide rates, despite a lack of accurate numerical evidence due to the religious and cultural taboos around suicide.
ANALYSIS: Just where are the US drone bases in North Africa? As part of broader surveillance operations in North Africa, the US considers Tunisia as a potential drone operations hub.
New study explores Tunisia’s jihadi movement in numbers The Tunisian Center for Research and Studies on Terrorism (CTRET) recently released a study offering new insights into Tunisian jihadi groups, such as organizational affiliations and demographic information.
تونس تشدد مراقبتها للحدود مع ليبيا Tunisia intensifies its surveillance of the Libyan border to combat illegal trading activities.
Quatre personnes arrêtées en Tunisie pour planification d’attentats Tunisian police have arrested four people who had been plotting assassinations and terrorist attacks.
Tunisie : le gel des salaires, une panacée ? An analysis of the Tunisian government’s recent unpopular decision to freeze salaries.
Western Sahara
Western Saharan delegate barred from attending Marrakech climate talks The vice-president of the Pan-African Parliament, Suelma Beirouk, was prohibited from attending the COP22 climate talks in Marrakech. Beirouk--who is diabetic--was held without food or water for over three days.
Watchdog slams Morocco over reporting restrictions in Western Sahara Reporters Without Borders called out Morocco on the limitations it imposes on international and local journalists in the Western Sahara.
Festival feeds growing success of Sahrawi filmmakers The annual Western Sahara International Film Festival, FiSahara, featured Sahrawi-made films that deal with themes of historical heritage and the Sahrawis’ plight.
Siemens under fire in Western Sahara projects Despite calls from the Western Sahara Resource Watch to terminate infrastructure projects in the Western Sahara with the Moroccan government, Siemens is moving forward in a tender for wind projects, two of which are located in the Western Sahara region.
Sahara Occidental : catastrophe et festivités As the Western Sahara experiences devastating floods, Morocco celebrates the Green March, the anniversary of the occupation.
Sahara occidental : Le silence entourant la question des prisonniers doit être brisé Portuguese activist Isabel Lourenço draws attention to the political imprisonment and torture of over sixty Sahrawis.
Recent Jadaliyya articles on the Maghreb
Imider vs. COP22: Understanding Climate Justice from Morocco`s Peripheries In preparation for the COP22 in Marrakech, Morocco polished the most visible parts of the city and lifted its partial ban on social media, attempting to appear environmentally conscious and politically moderate. In reality, it was only hiding its social and environmental crimes in villages such as Imider, three hundred kilometers south of the environmental convention.
Why Is a Moroccan Professor Being Charged with "Endangering State Security?" An interview with history professor and February 20 Movement participant Maati Monjib, subject to a travel ban in August of 2015.
The Death of a Nomad The murder of forty-eight year old Sahrawi Shmad Bad July by Moroccan soldiers, a clear violation of the cease-fire, was inadequately addressed by the United Nations.
New Texts Out Now: Jonathan Wyrtzen, Making Morocco: Colonial Intervention and the Politics of Identity An interview of Jonathan Wyrtzen, writer of Making Morocco: Colonial Intervention and the Politics of Identity.