Morocco expects to further cut its fiscal deficit from 4% in 2024 to 3.5% in 2025 and 3% in 2026, despite an increase in spending on social protection, Fouzi Lekjaa said. Increased spending on social protection would be funded by an increase in government’s revenue, he said. In three years, the government, mainly through taxes, mobilized an additional 100 billion dirhams, he said, citing reforms of the corporate and value added taxes. The government spent 9 billion dirhams to help the electricity operator keep prices stable, he said. These reforms meant that Morocco would not resort to foreign debt to fund its social protection plan and that debt would decrease to less than 70% in 2026 from 72.2% in 2021, Lekjaa said.

blinking-dot Live updates Live updates,South Africa elections results live: Count under way after contested pollBallot counting under way after South African’s watershed election that could spell the end of the ANC’s 30-year-old unchallenged majority.

North Korea drops trash balloons on the SouthExcrement, rubbish and propaganda leaflets... the BBC's Shaimaa Khalil explains. North Korea has dropped at least 260 balloons carrying rubbish in the South, prompting authorities to warn its residents to stay indoors. North and South Korea have both used balloons in their propaganda campaigns since the Korean War in the 1950s. South Korea's military had earlier said it was investigating whether there were any North Korean propaganda leaflets in the balloons. Republic of Korea or ROK is the official name of South Korea while the North is called DPRK or the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

South Korea and US condemn launch and urge Pyongyang to ‘refrain from further unlawful and destabilising acts’. North Korea has launched multiple short-range ballistic missiles, South Korea’s military said, as it continues to develop its military weaponry in breach of international sanctions. Leader Kim Jong Un has made developing more sophisticated weaponry and military equipment a cornerstone of his efforts to modernise North Korea’s armed forces. The United States, a close ally of South Korea, condemned the launch with the Indo-Pacific Command urging North Korea to “refrain from further unlawful and destabilising acts.”Pyongyang is banned from testing ballistic missiles under United Nations sanctions imposed over its nuclear programme. Such launches are also a violation of UN sanctions because they involve similar technology to ballistic missiles.

Africa holds some of the world's fastest growing economies, and we are eager to be a part of this development. Additionally, Pini Group has acquired operations giving us a presence in Egypt. The two new offices will be part of our Business Unit MENAA (Middle East, North Africa & Asia). Andrea GalliGroup CEO"This milestone gets us closer to the African market and supports our vision of Pini Group being a global community of talent. They will become the foundation of our presence in this continent and deliver global engineering projects."

Africa Intelligence uses cookies to provide reliable and secure features, measure and analyse website traffic and provide support to the website users. Apart from those essential for the proper operation of the website, you can choose which cookies you accept to have stored on your device. Either “Accept and close” to agree to all cookies or go to “Manage cookies” to review your options. You can change these settings at any time by going to our Cookie management page.

The projects are to be built in the capital Casablanca and the southern city of Settat, and would bring the number of Oracle's global cloud regions to 72, the Texas-based company said on Thursday. Including the latest announcements in Morocco, Oracle's Middle East and North Africa cloud regions have increased to eight. it currently has four live cloud regions in Mena, one each in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Jeddah and Johannesburg, with two more planned in Riyadh and Saudi Arabia's coming high-tech city Neom. Global companies including Microsoft, Amazon, IBM and Alibaba Cloud have also all opened cloud and data centres in the region. Oracle's new cloud regions would also help position Morocco to accelerate the development of skills and growth opportunities, Ms Mezzour said.

“We distribute bulky, unpiped utilities like drinking water and cooking energy in African cities,” Ndiang’ui told Disrupt Africa. The average consumer in emerging markets cities replenishes their daily essentials at a rate of over 17 times per month. Currently operating from Nairobi, the startup intends to expand to four more Kenyan cities over the next two years, before moving into other East and Central African cities. Due to lack of piped infrastructure, the growing urban population is driving significant demand in unpiped utilities,” said Ndiang’ui. But the infrastructure to distribute the unpiped utilities is broken.

The adoption of the EU’s pact on migration and asylum has left Italy's leaders and opposition parties so divided. ADVERTISEMENTGiorgia Meloni’s key challenge has been to curb illegal migration, since becoming Italy’s prime minister in 2022. However, delivering on the main promise of her political programme has been particularly difficult given the sharp increase in the number of arrivals from North Africa since the beginning of her mandate. As she launched her Brothers of Italy party's campaign before upcoming European elections, she took credit for changing Europe’s approach to migration. Official data for the first three months of 2024 shows the number of arrivals has decreased by more than half compared to the same period last year.

Deepen communication and accelerate cooperationOn May 17, Ma Lei and his delegation arrived in Egypt and held talks with His Excellency Mahmoud Essmat, Minister of State Enterprises of Egypt. At the meeting, Ma Lei gave a detailed introduction to the development history of Dongfeng Motor Group and its export business, focusing on the current diversified product line of Dongfeng Motor Group. His Excellency Mahmoud Essmat fully affirmed the development of Dongfeng Motor in Egypt and expressed high expectations for future cooperation between the two sides. The two sides also discussed in depth Dongfeng Motor’s plan to build an E70 KD plant in Egypt. This project will further enhance Dongfeng Motor’s localized production capacity in the Egyptian market and meet the local consumers’ demand for high-quality cars.

The nonnative poison hemlock, one of North America's deadliest plants, are in full bloom all across Greater Columbus. Poison hemlock (Conium maculatum L.) contains highly toxic piperidine alkaloid compounds that cause respiratory failure and death in mammals. Here's what you need to know about what these plants:What is poison hemlock? Poison hemlock is a flowering plant that belongs to the carrot family, Apiaceae and is native to Europe and North Africa. Poison hemlock can also be identified by the purple-colored spots on its main stem.

A high-level delegation from the General Staff of the Royal Armed Forces (FAR) and the US Army on Wednesday visited the medical-surgical field hospital deployed in Akka municipality, province of Tata. The health facility, operational since May 16, provides medical and surgical services covering several specialties, including cardiology, ENT, pediatrics, internal medicine, gynecology, radiology, odontology and ophthalmology. The population also benefits from surgeries, distribution of corrective glasses and vaccination against measles. Subsequently, the delegation which also included US Ambassador to Morocco, Puneet Talwar, paid a visit to the Gallery of Resistance and Liberation’s Historical Memory in Akka. This twentieth edition testifies to the sustainability which characterizes cooperation between the FAR and the US Army, reflecting the historical and solid links which between the two countries.

The Middle East, which hosts four F1 races a year, has emerged as a popular destination for Africans seeking to watch races in person. They cannot, however, enjoy a race on their own continent as Africa remains the only one excluded from the F1 race calendar. They are among Africa’s fast-growing new generation of diehard fans of F1, a historically Eurocentric sport that is experiencing an unprecedented boom on the continent. Kyalami, which hosted multiple F1 races between 1967 and 1993, is considered one of the sport's most historic circuits. The long-awaited Formula 1 return to South Africa appeared possible in 2022, when the management of Kyalami met all the relevant groups.

Spread the loveTotalEnergies Startupper of the Year Challenge 2024/2025: Are you a young entrepreneur? Is it innovative and does it address a social or community challenge in your country or for your fellow citizens? Get Up to $100,000 Student Loan for Your Master in US or Canada - See if you are eligibleAbout The TotalEnergies Startupper of the Year:The Startupper of the year Challenge by TotalEnergies is back in 32 African countries for a special edition celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Company! Through TotalEnergies Startupper of the Year, 3 winners from each country will receive financial support, extensive publicity and coaching. Visit TotalEnergies Startupper of the Year Webpage for Details

African airlines saw 10.6 percent year-on-year demand growth for air cargo in April. "Air cargo demand started Q2 with a solid 11.1 percent increase," says Willie Walsh, Director General, IATA. In recent months, air cargo demand grew even when the Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) was indicating the potential for contraction. April regional performanceAsia Pacific airlines saw 14 percent year-on-year demand growth for air cargo in April – the strongest of all regions. Latin American carriers saw 11.7 percent year-on-year demand growth for air cargo in April.