Morocco, Romania sign military & technical cooperation agreement – The North Africa Post
Morocco and Romania have signed a military and technical cooperation agreement that covers training and exercises, the defense industry, technical support and the exchange of expertise. The agreement was initialed this Tuesday in Rabat by Minister Delegate in charge of the National Defense Administration Abdeltif Loudyi and Romania’s Minister of National Defense, Angel Tîlvăr, who is on a working visit to Morocco at the head of a large delegation. The agreement also covers military health, cybersecurity, and the establishment of a joint military commission to define areas of cooperation. The joint commission will convene alternately in Rabat and Bucharest. The two sides also expressed their shared ambition to consolidate these relations in the future, through the implementation of the provisions of the just signed military and technical cooperation agreement, as well as through regular exchanges of visits by officials from both countries.
Source:The North Africa Journal
February 27, 2024 17:30 UTC
Persistent drought harms North African crops: MARS
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Source:The North Africa Journal
February 27, 2024 17:22 UTC
S.Africa sees sharp rise in rhino poaching with nearly 500 killed last year
Conservationists raised the alarm on Tuesday as South Africa reported a sharp increase in rhino poaching, with almost 500 animals killed last year. A wild white rhino is seen at an undisclosed location in the North-West Province of South Africa, on April 2, 2023. The figures paint "a worrying picture", conservation group Save the Rhino International said, calling for more resources to be urgently deployed against poaching rings. The lion's share were poached in eastern KwaZulu-Natal province, with the Hluhluwe–Imfolozi park – Africa's oldest reserve – alone losing 307 animals, according to the government. About 15,000 live in South Africa, according to a separate estimate by the International Rhino Foundation.
Source:The North Africa Journal
February 27, 2024 16:46 UTC
Dell Empowers Modern Workplaces with AI Innovations
Dell Technologies is poised to unveil the most expansive range of commercial AI laptops and mobile workstations, aimed at ushering organizations and employee productivity into the AI era. The NPU introduces an AI acceleration engine capable of handling more dedicated AI tasks, thereby freeing up the CPU and GPU for other functions. Dell boasts of offering the world’s most intelligent, manageable, and secure commercial PCs. Key initiatives include:– The new Latitude devices become the world’s first commercial PCs to utilize recycled cobalt in their batteries. Dell’s advantage starts with offering more AI PCs across the commercial portfolio from day one, giving customers the ability to start futureproofing for AI today.”
Source:The North Africa Journal
February 27, 2024 15:41 UTC
Berenberg slightly raises target price on Hikma Pharmaceuticals
Analysts at Berenberg raised their target price on drugmaker Hikma Pharmaceuticals from 1,960.0p to 2,000.0p on Tuesday, citing more stability in its generics unit. Berenberg said Hikma had "a solid finish to 2023" across all three of its divisions, with guidance roughly 300bp ahead of consensus group revenue estimates, mainly due to its generics division, and in line with estimates for operating income. Berenberg also highlighted that in the Middle East and North Africa, Hikma was growing ahead of the market, and was now the second-largest branded pharmaceutical company by revenue, after Sanofi. "We adjusted our estimates to reflect slightly better generics earnings and our price target moves up to £20. Hikma's shares are up 14% year to date and trading on c8.5x 2024 EV/EBITDA (a slight premium to peers), with an improved outlook and guidance looking to be priced in for now," said Berenberg.
Source:The North Africa Journal
February 27, 2024 15:12 UTC
Relief as Italian court says rescued refugees cannot be sent back to Libya
Italy’s highest court has ruled that the country’s vessels cannot return rescued refugees to the North African country, widening the gap between the courts and parliament. Tunis, Tunisia – News that an Italian court had blocked the country’s vessels from returning refugees and migrants to Libya was welcomed by the tens of refugees and migrants camped in a crowded passage outside the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Tunis. Armed gangs and militias have governed much of Libya since it emerged from the 2011 revolution that overthrew long-term dictator Muammar Gaddafi. “The Italian coastguard and government have long known that returning migrants to Libya would be unlawful, because of the conditions there. Rule by militiaAccording to a spokesperson for the IOM, there are 3,500 refugees being held in the official detention centres across western and eastern Libya.
Source:The North Africa Journal
February 27, 2024 15:00 UTC
Applications open for Growth4Her Investor Readiness Accelerator Programme
Applications are open for Growth4Her, a six-month Investor Readiness Accelerator Programme open to women in West and Central Africa. G4Her seeks to bridge the gender financing gap in Africa by providing women entrepreneurs with the capacity and tools which enables them to transition from small to high potential fundable growth stage businesses. Applications are now open here until March 4 for cohort three, which is seeking women owned and run businesses in Nigeria and Cameroon with between five and 300 employees, sales of between US$35,000 and US$15 million, and assets of between US$100,000 and US$15 million.
Source:The North Africa Journal
February 27, 2024 14:21 UTC
AI’s Impact on Content Accuracy: A News Revolution
However, AI in newsrooms has ushered in a paradigm shift, enabling faster content creation while maintaining, and often enhancing, accuracy. Trained on extensive datasets, these AI models generate content that is not only relevant but also factually accurate. Enhancing Content Accuracy with AIAI’s impact on content accuracy is evident in its ability to analyze and cross-reference information from multiple sources in real-time, crucial in combating misinformation. With each article generated, AI models refine their understanding of factual accuracy, leading to enhanced content quality over time. In conclusion, AI has a profound impact on content accuracy, empowering the news industry to meet the demands of the digital era.
Source:The North Africa Journal
February 27, 2024 14:14 UTC
The Marcos-Duterte Family Feud Is Heating Up in the Philippines
Last month, the long-simmering feud between the Philippines’ two most powerful political families reached a boiling point. Even by his own standards, former President Rodrigo Duterte seemed particularly unhinged, calling his successor, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., “a drug addict” during a public rally in his home city of Davao in southern Philippines. As if that weren’t enough, Duterte also warned of a popular revolt and even flirted with the idea of spearheading the secession of the southern island of Mindanao from the Philippines. Meanwhile, Duterte’s son, Sebastian, the current mayor of Davao, called on Marcos to “resign” from office. The usually urbane and soft-spoken Marcos struck back by openly accusing Duterte himself of drug abuse.
Source:The North Africa Journal
February 27, 2024 13:58 UTC
UK Think-tank lauds Royal Initiative offering Atlantic Access to Sahel Countries – The North Africa Post
King Mohammed VI’s Initiative offering Atlantic Ocean access to Sahel countries embodies a comprehensive approach to tackling the challenges facing African landlocked countries, says the London-based Institute for Free Trade (IFT) in a report released Monday. The Moroccan initiative comes to help these African countries address the economic and development challenges by channelling investments that generate lasting, shared wealth. Morocco provides training to hundreds of imams from Sahel countries for better religious understanding and cooperation. According to IFT, the North African Kingdom can also serve a connector between the Trans Africa Network and the UK, EU and US. Furthermore, Moroccan Sahel initiative offers huge opportunities for UK-Morocco collaboration to diversify and enhance global supply chains.
Source:The North Africa Journal
February 27, 2024 13:32 UTC
Lenovo’s New Integrated Edge AI Solutions for Telco
Lenovo has unveiled its next-generation Integrated Edge AI Solutions for Telco, aimed at enabling enterprises to leverage vast amounts of data at the far edge for transformative AI applications while reducing energy consumption. These innovations are part of Lenovo’s comprehensive pocket-to-cloud portfolio of hybrid AI solutions, designed to simplify the journey to intelligent transformation across all industries. Lenovo’s lineup of new Integrated Edge AI Solutions for Telco, showcased at MWC in Barcelona alongside its ecosystem of partners, includes:– A multi-cloud edge computing architecture with Telefonica addressing mission-critical applications for smart cities. Lenovo’s complete portfolio of edge servers, AI-ready storage, and solutions is backed by the new Lenovo AI Professional Services Practice, offering fast-track AI implementation and data management for high-performance workloads. Additionally, the Lenovo AI Innovators Program facilitates access to enterprise AI through partnerships with over 50 leading software providers.
Source:The North Africa Journal
February 27, 2024 12:59 UTC
Private sector to drive renewable energy projects, not governments
The panelists explored the arising opportunities for investors and project developers in wheeling and renewable energy projects, among others. Weak credit holding up the renewable energy sectorMontmasson-Clair said leveraging this market will require local industries to be more competitive. InsightAfrica’s energy opportunity means it can leap ahead of ‘old-think’Government lacks the balance sheet to grow renewable energy sectorFrank Spencer, Regional Director, Cainmani, SA, said the private sector has saved South Africa from worse bouts of loadshedding. And while there had been an increase in renewable energy projects, there has been unregulated practices, specifically in the residential market. Spencer said that in the next 20 years “we will have to build 20GW of renewable energy infrastructure” to ensure a stable electricity supply.
Source:The North Africa Journal
February 27, 2024 12:46 UTC
Uganda: Microfinance body protests merger
The Uganda Microfinance Regulatory Authority (UMRA), has protested the move by government to move it into the Ministry of Finance saying that its objectives and functions will not be effectively carried out within the hierarchy of the Ministry. “Globally, regulators who are able to set rules independently are more likely to be motivated to enforce them,” she added. Patrick Ocan, (UPC, Apac Municipality) queried the manner in which the rationalisation Bill was brought and accused government of not doing enough research before presenting the Bill. The Committee Chairperson, Hon. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Parliament of the Republic of Uganda.
Source:The North Africa Journal
February 27, 2024 12:41 UTC
Lacking tangible achievements, Tebboune hides behind Bouteflika’s projects – The North Africa Post
As he prepares for a second term, the civilian façade of the Algerian military regime Abdelmedjid Tebboune continues to re-inaugurate projects launched by his predecessor as he has made no tangible achievements. He then re-oepened a border post with Mauritania that was inaugurated for the third time, since NourDine Bedoui opened it in 2018 in Bouteflika’s era. Diplomatically, Algeria has deepened its isolation losing both the Russian and the Western camps and stoking tensions with almost all neighbors. To further stoke conspiracy theories, the Algerian regime is conducting military drills simulating a short and limited war with Morocco. If this happens, it could offer a chance for the Algerian regime to declare an emergency and maintain Tebboune in power sine die, according to a report by Maghreb Intelligence news website.
Source:The North Africa Journal
February 27, 2024 12:41 UTC
FM Bourita calls for renewal of Morocco-France ties amid regional, international developments – The North Africa Post
France is a privileged partner of Morocco on the political, economic, and human levels, he noted. Bilateral relations are currently in a “renewal and development phase in terms of content, approaches, and actors to align with the changes on the international scene and the developments in both countries,” he added. Bourita also mentioned that discussions with Séjourné provided an opportunity to discuss bilateral relations in anticipation of upcoming milestones between the two countries. Bourita also indicated that he discussed with his French counterpart ways to strengthen joint action in Africa and the Sahel region. Prior his visit to Rabat, Séjourné told French Ouest-France daily he will invest in improving ties with Morocco.
Source:The North Africa Journal
February 27, 2024 12:41 UTC