afrol News - The US has backed down on its demand that UN peacekeepers in Moroccan-occupied Western Sahara also shall monitor the human rights situation after Moroccan sources threatened to scale down relations with Washington.
afrol News - Researchers have analysed more than 200 mummies from ancient Egypt, finding that even high dignitaries were poorly nourished and had infectious diseases. The typical governor in Pharaonic Egypt died before he was 30 years old.
afrol News - An Egyptian court today ruled that the parliamentary elections, which President Mohammed Morsi had decreed for 22 April, must be postponed. Judges say the Constitutional Court needs time to approve the new Electoral Code. Mr Morsi says he will appeal the ruling.
afrol News - Moroccan authorities today denied a delegation of four EU parliamentarians (MEPs) entry to the country. The MEPs were travelling to El Aiun, the administrative capital of the Moroccan-occupied territory Western Sahara, to study the human rights situation.
afrol News - The European Union (EU) and Morocco today announced the start-up of negotiations aiming at reaching a complete free trade agreement, according to EU President José Manuel Barroso, who is currently in Rabat.
afrol News - Libya could generate approximately five times the amount of energy from solar power than it currently produces in crude oil, according to researchers. This would be achieved from only 0.1 percent of the desert country's landmass.
afrol News - Political parties opposing Egypt's President Mohammed Morsi consider boycotting also the upcoming parliamentary poll, claiming they are prone to be manipulated by the Muslim Brotherhood. But there is little to indicate this may happen.
afrol News - Mohamar Ghaddafi is soon to be destructed for good, at least from Libyan banknotes. The Tripoli Central Bank finally has its new paper money ready, where the ex-dictator is replaced by revolutionary fighters.
afrol News - The Sahrawi exile government, located in refugee camps in Algeria, has announced the construction of the first university of Western Sahara. The education unit will be built in the small liberated zone of the country.
afrol News - The newest report on the situation in Libya concludes on dramatic challenges for the North African country. State-building reforms are going to slow, endangering stability, and the Mali conflict may spill over to Libya, the UN warns.
afrol News - Attacks by forces loyal to Colonel Ghaddafi on civilian and residential areas of Misrata, Libya, "may amount to war crimes," according to human rights specialists.
afrol News - The World Bank reveals it is working on a US$ 500 million programme in budgetary support "to provide a boost" for Tunisia's transitional government.
afrol News - Homosexuality is becoming an issue in the upcoming Egyptian elections, with the Muslim Brotherhood already being accused of spreading homophobia to win votes.
afrol News - The governments of the poor Sahelian states of Niger and Chad are struggling to accommodate a total of 75,000 refugees crossing the Sahara desert from Libya.
afrol News - On a flight to the UK, Libyan Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa has asked for asylum, saying he wants to leave the Ghaddafi government. Mr Koussa was seen as one of Colonel Ghaddafi's most trusted associates.
afrol News - As I watched the youth-driven upheavals that have awoken the comatose Arab people into action to reclaim their dignity, I could not help but compare the situation of the Facebook empowered youth that spearheaded Egypt's revolution with the Al Qaeda inspired Somali youth Al Shabab.
LexicOrient / afrol News - Tunisia still holds some secrets from its foreign visitors - there are still beaches and sea side villages undiscovered by Europeans with wallets full of hard currency. The old sea pirate ports of Ghar el Melh and Raf Raf lie well protected behind steep cliffs, and offer great beaches and the opportunity to mingle with Tunisians on summer leave.
afrol News - Anissa Helie, with Algerian and French background, analyses the rights situation of gays and lesbians in the Muslim world in this article previously published in the New Internationalist.
afrol News - The position of women in Tunisia is among the most privileged in North Africa, and the Tunisian government is often internationally praised for its efforts to promote gender equality. This afrol News Tunisia Gender Profile - one in a series of profiles - gives you a deeper insight in women's position in the country. The profile presents social data, discusses gender policies versus family and tradition values and looks into violence against women.
