President Donald Trump said the United States will revoke Mauritania’s preferred trade status in January because of its failure to make progress on human rights – namely, slavery. The West African nation will no longer be eligible for benefits under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which affects market…
Mauritania’s election commission announced Monday the results of the September 15 second-round legislative election, with the ruling Union Pour la Republique (UPR) party carrying 22 of the contested seats to hold an 89-seat majority in the National Assembly. The UPR also won 942 of the 1,020 seats in municipal contests,…
Most of the conversation about African migration focuses on sub-Saharan Africa, human trafficking to and across the Mediterranean Sea, and Europeans who are unwilling to receive migrants. In the United States, where President Donald Trump’s administration takes an increasingly alarming stance on immigration, it’s also the Global South that’s seen…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
Mauritania’s electoral commission says candidates from an unprecedented 100 political parties have submitted their files to participate in the country’s legislative and municipal elections on September 1. The Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) confirmed the lists ahead of campaigning that officially begins on August 17. Mauritania also confirms 1.4 million…
French President Emmanuel Macron met with Nigerian entrepreneurs and business leaders on Wednesday, as he completes an African tour that included a stop in Mauritania to see African Union summit participants before heading on to Abuja and Lagos. Macron, who has made frequent visits to North and West Africa since…
The African Union’s human rights organization, wrapping up its meeting in Nouakchott this week, called on President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz to review Mauritania’s controversial “blasphemy” law. “The African commission uses the occasion of its current session in Mauritania to urge the highest authorities to review this legislation,” said Soyata…
A United Nations (UN) peacekeeper from Mauritania was killed and 11 others were injured Tuesday when anti-Balaka fighters attacked a temporary base in Tagbara established by MINUSCA, the UN mission in the Central African Republic. At least 22 of the anti-Balaka fighters also were killed in the hours-long attack in…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of Turkey began a tour of four African nations on Monday in Algeria, where he met with Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia to discuss cooperation on counterterrorism, energy, and economic development and trade. It is Erdoğan’s second visit to Algeria since becoming president in 2014 and he…
The international community has pledged more than USD$500 million to support the regional G5 Sahel security force, the European Union said following a high-level conference hosted in Brussels Friday. The funding for the joint military force of the five nations – Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger – includes…
The European Commission, speaking ahead of a Friday conference on the Sahel, reiterated its support for the G5 nations and the regional security initiative launched this year. “The EU has fully supported this African led initiative from the very beginning and provided an initial contribution of €50 million to help set it…
Independent newspapers in Mauritania say they’ve been doing without print editions for more than a week, allegedly because of a financial crisis at the government’s only official printing press. The reported lack of funds means there’s not been enough paper for all media outlets, so the press has printed only…
West African heads of state begin their meeting in Abuja, Nigeria, on Saturday, with a range of issues on the agenda for the summit of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). What won’t be on the agenda as planned is a discussion of Morocco’s accession to the body,…
Mauritanian blogger Mohammed Ould Mkhaitir is now free, after an appeals court reviewed and overturned a death sentence imposed for publishing a 2014 article that challenged the use of religion to support social injustice. Mkhaitir was arrested almost four years ago after sharing his critical views on the way Islam…
In Mauritania, an appeals court is set to review on Wednesday the case of a young blogger sentenced to death after posting a 2014 article challenging the use of religion to support social injustice. Mohammed Ould Mkhaitir was arrested almost four years ago after sharing his critical views on the…
The United States pledged on Monday to provide $USD60 million in support for the G5 Sahel force, the joint effort of five African nations to work as regional partners on counterterrorism and security. “Defeating terrorism depends on making sure terrorist organizations cannot have safe havens on any continent,” said U.S….