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OPINION
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By
Alessandro Bruno
Libyan Realpolitik
While
the French leadership basks in the limelight of the deal
to release the Bulgarian medics last July, Libya itself
has managed to turn what was increasingly becoming the
embarrassing problem of the death sentences faced by the
medics and the related internal political pitfalls, into
a strategic exploit no less important than the formal
renunciation of 'weapons of mass destruction' in December
2003. Read
the opinion here.
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| 200th.
issue - Week ended August 28, 2007
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Consumer
Affairs
Food:
A Summer of High Prices in North Africa
Just like most consumers around the world, North Africans
have been witnessing rising prices for basic food products
over the past couple of months, essentially as a result
of global market conditions affecting food production. So
much so that consumer lobby groups in the region and the
media have expressed outrage at the pace of the increasing
priced and for what they consider to be sufficient lack
of government oversight. Balancing economic concerns, amid
a challenging global pricing environment, and reducing subsidies
with the potential social backlash has been a difficult
endeavor for North African governments. [read
here]
Hospitality
Business
Accor's Maghreb Expanssion
Risma
Holdings, an affiliate of French hotel group Accor and other
Moroccan investors spent $89 million according to some sources
and $120 million according to others, to acquire the Hilton
hotel of Rabat. In neighboring Algeria, Accor's first target
is the opening in 2008 of a Novotel/Ibis hotel in the eastern
city of Constantine. The group will continue to invest in
four new Ibis hotels to open later in Algiers, Oran and Tlemcen.
Below are the details of these deals:
Industries and Markets
French
Companies Continue to Gain Momentum in Algerian Infrastructure
Market
Despite President Sarkozy's worries about a perceived loss of
competitiveness of French corporations in Algeria, French firms
have never been as aggressive as in these days. Two major companies
have been granted lucrative infrastructure contracts in August
with billions of dollars involved. The fist is RATP-Developpement,
which has long provided consulting services to Algeria, has
finally been selected to manage the Algiers metro subway system
which is currently under construction.[read
here]
Energy
Why
Moroccan Consumers Won't Pay Higher Fuel Prices
Despite a much more controlled pricing environment, high oil
prices continue to worry financial authorities in Morocco.
Their worries have to do with the budget the nation adopted
months ago, which did not predict that the barrel of oil would
exceed the $75 mark. As such and from the get go, the entire
state budget was based on flawed assumptions. For example,
on July 31, 2007, the barrel of oil for Morocco's reference
reached $75.54 or $10 more than what government planners used
to draft the state budget. Still, analysts in Morocco continue
to bet that prices will fall back to the $70 mark, even as
many international experts are not ruling out additional increases
by year end. [read
here]
Security
Algeria's
New Russian Military Equipment Tested on the Battleground
Algeria's military has been scoring good successes in its
offensive against the insurgent groups sheltered in the country's
rugged northeastern mountains. The latest offensive has been
likened by observers on the field as a unique opportunity
for the Algerian defense forces to test their new equipment.
For some, it is as if the GSPC terrorist organization created
an opportunity that otherwise would not have existed. [read
here]
Human
Affairs
Libya's
Reluctant Recognition of its Amazigh Heritage
Libya's
Arab nationalist policies have had lasting effects on the
ethnic Amazigh culture and its population. The government's
attitude toward this culture was mirrored by Colonel Muamar
Kaddafi astonishing speech he gave in March 2007, when he
stated "the Amazigh tribes disappeared long time ago, and
no longer existed since the Numidian kingdoms disappeared."
Warning pro-Amazighs, Kaddafi added "no one has the right
to claim their origins to be from here or there, for those
who do it are agents of colonialism, seeking to divide to
conquer." And to conclude with this chilling expression that
"anyone who introduces colonial ideas, will be destroyed."
[read
here]
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IN
THIS ISSUE
POLITICS/DIPLOMACY
Food:
A Summer of High Prices in North Africa
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