‘Perilous Desert’ warns of al Qaeda threat in Sahara, cites Polisario-run camps-Carnegie

  *New book published by Carnegie says Al-Qaeda “has found an attractive base of supporters & recruits” in Sahara/Sahel – echoes UN Security Council warning that “Arc of Instability” across region could become launch pad for international terrorist attacks* Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (Washington, DC, May 20, 2013) – ‘The geopolitical significance of the Sahara is becoming […]

Sony plans major African expansion: Morocco, Ghana, Nigeria, Angola – Trade Arabia

  Trade Arabia (Cape Town, South Africa, May 14, 2013) – Sony has unveiled its blueprint for expansion across the African continent, looking to transform consumers’ experience through launching the latest technology products, brand stores, and setting up service centers in almost every country in Africa. On the operational front, Sony plans to establish new […]

Renewable energy gains pace in Morocco: Africa’s largest wind farm opens in 2014 – MEO

  **Kingdom hopes to cover 42 percent of its energy needs with renewable sources by 2020, has launched plan to produce 4,000 megawatts.** Middle East Online, by Guillaume Klein (Tarfaya, Morocco, May 18, 2013) — Morocco is ploughing ahead with a programme to boost wind energy production, particularly in the southern Tarfaya region, where Africa’s […]

Imlil Valley, Berber Village At the Foot Of Morocco’s Atlas Mountains – Ventures Africa

  VENTURES AFRICA (Imlil Valley, Morocco, May 19, 2013) – Imlil is a small village located in the Atlas Mountains in the Kingdom of Morocco. It is one of the Berber villages along the way, and it lays about 1,700 meters above sea level, thus making it the center of the mountain tourism in Morocco. […]

Culture – Musician of Week: Oum, ‘Soul of Morocco’ singer, writer, composer (Video)

  Patriotic Vanguard, Sierra Leone’s News Portal (May 19, 2013) — Oum is the first word of moroccan first name Oum El Ghaït, which means ”Mother of relief “, and that used to be given to baby girls born in the desert in a rainy day or night. Oum wears well her name; her music generously […]

Africa’s ‘Arc of Instability’ – An investigative report by the Toronto Star

*From Markham to Mogadishu, London to Nouakchott: Toronto Star investigation of Africa’s ‘Arc of Instability’  & why westerners join jihad.* Toronto Star, by Michelle Shephard, Tonda MacCharles, Andrew Livingstone, Laurent Prieur (Mogadishu, Somalia, May 18, 2013) —Everyone in Mogadishu knew an attack was imminent. Double agents within Al Shabab had warned Somalia’s security services that […]

Spanish companies in Morocco: A “big success” according to AMDI – AuFait Maroc

(Article in French) Au Fait Maroc (May 15, 2013) — In an interview with the Spanish magazine Atalayar Entre Dos Orillas, Aziz El Atiaoui, acting director of the Moroccan Agency for the Promotion of Investment (AMDI) in Spain, declared that the activities of more than 800 Spanish companies in Morocco has been a “big success”.Iberian […]

Zenata: Building a new city in metropolitan Casablanca with ecological ambitions – Usine Nouvelle

  (Article in French) Usine Nouvelle (May 14, 2013) — The French Agency for Development (AFD) has announced that it will provide 150 million euros in financing for the development of the new city of Zenata, in Casablanca’s municipality of Ain Harrouda, providing half of the project’s initial capital.The new city of Zenata is expected […]

Opinion: Libya needs greater aid, not retreat, from US & its allies – Washington Post

**Frederic M. Wehrey is a senior associate in the Middle East Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and co-editor of “Perilous Desert: Insecurity in the Sahara.”** The Washington Post, Carnegie Endowment, by Frederic M. Wehrey (Benghazi, Libya, May 16, 2013) — While many Americans have been riveted by recent congressional testimony and debate […]

Morocco to harness the wind in renewable energy hunt – Al Arabiya/AFP

Al Arabiya/AFP (Tarfaya, Morocco, May 18, 2013) — Morocco is sloughing ahead with a program to boost wind energy production, particularly in the southern Tarfaya region, where Africa’s largest wind farm is set to open in 2014. The kingdom, which has no hydrocarbon reserves of its own, hopes to cover 42 percent of its energy […]