Menas Associates Blog
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Who will be Iraq’s next prime minister?
As political negotiations drag on, the big question for Iraq is who is going to be the next prime minister. Despite incumbent Haidar al-Abadi’s lacklustre election performance, he is still in the running and could yet have a second term in office. The US and other...
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US demands better governance from Niger’s Issoufou
As Niger’s President Mahamadou Issoufou behaves more and more autocratically — especially against leaders of civil society and opposition groups, not to mention his current flirtation with Moscow — he risks incurring the ire of the US. This month has seen the launch...
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Mexico’s thriving fuel theft industry
Mexico's fuel theft continues to thrive and has increased undeterred each year since the criminal gangs first started tapping into the fuel pipeline network belong to state-owned Pemex, which crosses largely uninhabited areas of the country, in 2006. The number of...
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Possible cabinet changes in Algeria
There has been considerable media speculation over a likely cabinet reshuffle in the autumn, with even the replacement of Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia being given serious discussion. But in light of the recent and extensive changes in the security forces, the general...
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117 legal cases filed against Tanzania’s government
Of the 180 cases filed against states at the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (AfCPHR), a total of 117 are filed against the Tanzanian government, 94 of which by current prisoners. The AfCHPR was established under Article 1 of the Protocol to the African...
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Iran-EU efforts to save the JCPOA
Ever since the US withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Iran and the remaining signatories of the nuclear deal have tried to devise strategies to sustain the accord and immunise their trade and transactions from US pressure. Politicians on...
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Mali’s election: why Soumaïla Cissé lost and IBK was re-elected
Mali’s incumbent President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita (IBK) has been returned to office after winning the second round of the presidential, held on 12 August with 67.17% of the vote. His opponent, Soumaïla Cissé won 32.83% of the vote. The Constitutional Court has until...
read moreLibya’s Presidency Council and Central Bank under pressure to implement reforms
The liquidity crisis continues to impact living standards despite the recent efforts by the Central Bank and the Presidency Council to implement economic reforms. A group of citizens protested in front of a branch of Al-Jumhouriya Bank in Tripoli on 14 August,...
read moreNNPC and perhaps Buhari are dissatisfied with the PIGB
Unless something extraordinary happens, the country is about to miss out on another opportunity to put in place some regulatory clarity in the oil sector as time runs out for the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bills (PIB). One of the proposed bills, the Petroleum...
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Signing of Caspian convention opens way for new relationships
After 22 years of negotiations, the presidents of the five Caspian littoral states signed a convention on the sea’s legal status at their fifth summit, in the Kazakh city of Aktau, on 12 August. The parties: agreed that only the littoral countries can have military...
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