Egypt and Bahrain Thursday inked 13 memorandum of understanding for bilateral cooperation and agreed on 15 initiatives, in many areas, as part of moves to boost cooperation between the two countries. The deals signing took place during the first meeting of the Egyptian-Bahraini governmental committee for trade, economic, scientific, and technological cooperation, headed by Egyptian and Bahraini Ministers of Finance Mohamed Maait and Salman bin Khalifa Al Khalifa. For the agreements to be effective, both countries also adopted a list of its working order in a way that ensures their achievement. The deals also provide for offering investment opportunities in industrial sectors to private sector companies in the two countries. The two sides also discussed the establishment of an Egyptian trade center in Bahrain.

Africa represents the next frontier for upstream drilling owing largely to the continent’s pipeline of high impact wells. In 2023, approximately 132 exploration wells were drilled while in 2024 and 2025, 120 wells and 123 wells are expected to be drilled, respectively. Offshore Drilling Advances in West AfricaDuring September 2023, Shell spudded an eagerly anticipated exploration well targeting a one-billion-barrels prospect in the Panna Cotta-1 exploration well in Block C10, offshore Mauritania. Meanwhile, in Guinea-Bissau, drilling activities at the Formosa prospect are expected to advance the MSGBC region’s oil and gas boom. East African Drilling Picks-upIn East Africa, Eni started drilling its Raia-1 well, situated in Block A5-A in the Angoche Basin, offshore Mozambique, in April.

The protest, organized by Le Front pour une Citoyenneté Responsable, was to take place at “la place de la concertation”, in capital Niamey. Niamey authorities banned the demonstration on the ground of security issues, infiltration, and public order risks. Bazoum, in power since 2021, was removed on July 26 and placed along his family under house arrest. On August 13, security forces dispersed a protest in favor of the deposed president. Early October the Court of Niamey ordered the immediate release of Salem Mohamed, son of Bazoum, arguing that Salem is a victim of “assault” and “manifestly unlawful disturbance”.

"Teng is seen as steady hands," said Carol Alexander, professor of finance at the University of Sussex, who has tracked Binance for years. HIRED BY ZHAOHired by Zhao as Binance's Singapore chief in 2021, Teng has been CEO of Abu Dhabi Global Market from 2015 to 2021. For years it dominated the crypto market, but this year has rapidly lost market share. Other exchanges, such as Seychelles-registered OKX, have gained market share this year, according to CCData. OKX is the second-largest exchange after Binance by market share.

ShareAduna Capital, a venture capital firm based in Africa, has recently launched a $20 million fund focused on the Northern Nigerian startup ecosystem. By shifting its focus from the more traditional investment hotspots, Aduna Capital aims to revolutionize the investment landscape. Aduna Capital is set to invest in over 50 early-stage companies, concentrating on pre-seed and seed-stage startups. Aduna Capital is also exploring innovative approaches like profit-sharing agreements to align with the preferences of local investors who may be hesitant about the traditional venture capital model. Aduna Capital aims to drive economic development, foster inclusivity, and spur innovation both in Nigeria and internationally, significantly impacting Africa.

A newly released study shows, for the first time in French history, that the second most widely spoken language in the country is dialectal Arabic, with an estimated population of between three and four million speakers. The resulting population ratio in favour of people mainly of North African origin is fraught with consequences. These include dialectal Arabic, which, according to Le Figaro, is ahead of the Creole languages spoken in the French overseas territories, Berber, Alsatian, Occitan, and Breton. In France, there is also dialectal Arabic of Lebanese, Egyptian, or Syrian origin, but this is in a minority. Depending on their country of origin, speakers of this dialectal Arabic do not necessarily understand each other, as there are so many variants.

Oscar Pistorius sits in the dock at the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria, South Africa for a bail hearing, December 8, 2015. SPORTS CAREERRunning on carbon fibre prosthetic blades, earning him the nickname "Blade Runner", Pistorius became a Paralympic gold medallist over 200 metres in Athens in 2004. He also carried the flag for South Africa at the opening ceremony of the London Paralympic Games and won two gold medals. But the Supreme Court of Appeal in December 2015 overturned the earlier ruling and found Pistorius guilty of murder. The Supreme Court eventually more than doubled his sentence to 13 years and 5 months in Nov. 2017, accepting state prosecutors' argument that the original jail term was "shockingly lenient".

Pistorius' parole will come with other conditions, Department of Corrections spokesman Singabakho Nxumalo said outside of the prison where Pistorius has been incarcerated in the South African capital, Pretoria, for killing Reeva Steenkamp. Pistorius won't wear a monitoring bracelet as that is not part of South African parole procedure, Nxumalo said. Pistorius was at the height of his fame and one of the world’s most admired athletes when he killed Steenkamp. Pistorius' parole hearing was his second in the space of eight months. Pistorius killed Steenkamp just months after he had become the first double-amputee to compete at the Olympics.

Israel holds the main West Bank highways and most of the subsidiary roads connecting Palestinian towns and villages. What does daily life look like for West Bank Palestinians at present? Normal commerce has come to a halt, and nothing that the West Bank imports through Israel is getting through. A major concern for many West Bank Palestinians is conditions inside Israeli prisons, as some 7,000 Palestinians are currently held there. The West Bank was relatively quiet since, back in July, Israel launched what would be its largest military operation in the West Bank in two decades to root out the Jenin Brigades.

Germany and Italy have agreed to expand their energy ties with a hydrogen pipeline across the Alps to transporting gases, mainly hydrogen, from North Africa to Northern Europe. The Danish Energy Agency has rejected Plug Power’s bid for the first Power-to-X tender in Danish history due to the US company's failure to meet contractual obligations to provide a bank guarantee. “This means that Plug Power is no longer among the winners of the PtX tender,” said the Danish Energy Agency. Popular contentMasdar has partnered with Emirates Steel Arkan to develop a green hydrogen project to decarbonize the steel sector in the United Arab Emirates. Airbus said it will monitor the composition of the hydrogen contrails of the modified glider to investigate the environmental impact of hydrogen aviation.

Cameroonian e-health startup Waspito has raised US$2.5 million in funding, extending its seed round to US$5.2 million in order to expand in existing markets and launch in new ones. Founded by Jean Lobe Lobe in 2020, Waspito connects users with medical doctors via instant video consultations from their smartphones. It also provides mobile laboratory services, with a lab technician collecting samples from a user’s home and results received digitally. Waspito will be funding its growth plans via its oversubscribed US$2.5 million seed extension round secured from DP World via Newtown Partners, Saviu Ventures, AAIC Investment, Axian ventures and Health54. This follows a US$2.7 million seed round raised in March 2022.

TUNISIA - Tunisia's fruit export sector has experienced a significant decline in revenue and shipment volumes from January through November 21, 2023. The total volume of fruit exports also suffered a stark drop, shrinking from nearly 68 thousand tonnes in November last year to about 38 thousand tonnes currently. Libya continues to be the largest importer of Tunisian fruits, accounting for 80% of the exports, which equates to 30.7 thousand tonnes. Other countries importing Tunisian fruits include Italy, with a 12.7% share, the UAE at 2.5%, the Netherlands at 1.3%, and Kuwait at 0.8%. The Tunisian fruit export industry is grappling with these challenges as it navigates through an economically strained period marked by lower income from one of its key agricultural sectors.

The estimated cost is between $12.5 million and $45 million. Voters last week rejected a ballot measure that would have set aside $4.75 million in TABOR-related money for it.

[1/3] Richard Teng, head of the Middle East and North Africa for crypto firm Binance gestures as he speaks during an interview with Reuters in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, March 30, 2022. Teng faces an especially tough task in transforming the culture of Binance, four of the people said. Still, leading a cultural shift at Binance - a firm shaped by Zhao in his own image - would be "hugely difficult," she said. For years it dominated the crypto market, but this year has rapidly lost market share. Last month it controlled 32% of crypto spot and 50% of derivatives trading, according to crypto firm CCData, down from 55% and 62% respectively in January.

Follow us on Image Source : GETTY Oscar Pistorius leaving the North Gauteng High Court in June 2016The former South African sprinter Oscar Pistorius has been granted early parole by The Department of Correctional Services on Friday, November 24. The legendary Paralympic star was sentenced to a 15-year jail term for murdering his girlfriend on February 14, 2013, which turned one of the most famous sports personalities into a convicted murderer. The Department of Correctional Services had rejected Pistorius' parole requests in March. "The Department of Correctional Services (DCS) confirms parole placement for Mr Oscar Leonard Carl Pistorius, effectively from 5 January 2024," an official said on Friday. He was sentenced to a five-year jail term and a separate three-year suspended sentence for a reckless endangerment conviction.