By Abderrahim El Ouali
CASABLANCA, Jul 29 (IPS) – Despite 12 years of reform, Morocco’s universities continue to fall short of expectations, with students complaining that the training they get does not meet the demands of the job market.

Professors in this North African country of 32 million people echoed their students’ grievances, adding that Moroccan universities [...]

By Correspondents* – IPS/Al-Jazeera
DOHA, Jul 28 (IPS) – The head of the Libyan rebel's armed forces and two of his aides were killed by gunmen Thursday, the head of the rebel leadership said.

The death of Abdel Fattah Younes was announced at a press conference in the de facto rebel capital, Benghazi, by the head of [...]

By Correspondents* – IPS/Al-Jazeera
DOHA, Jul 26 (IPS) – Libyan officials have accused NATO of killing at least eight people in an air raid on a food warehouse and medical clinic in Zlitan, east of Tripoli.

Foreign journalists taken to the town of Zlitan on Monday were unable to verify if it was a NATO operation.
NATO has [...]

By Jim Lobe*
WASHINGTON, Jul 18 (IPS) – Fortified by formal U.S. recognition as Libya's legitimate government, fighters loyal to the rebel Benghazi-based Transitional National Council (TNC) made a key advance Monday by reportedly gaining control of most of the eastern oil port of Brega.

But whether that achievement, combined with the diplomatic gains made by the [...]

By Simba Russeau
CAIRO, Jul 17 (IPS) (IPS) – The conflict in Libya between pro- and anti-Gaddafi forces will continue to take its toll on communities long after the war has ended as long as hidden bombs remain scattered across public areas.

Fifteen-year-old Misurata resident Mohammed lost most of his left hand and sustained shrapnel injuries to his [...]

By Thandi Winston
CAPE TOWN, Jul. 1 (IPS) – As African heads of state gather to discuss the future of the youth of the continent, Libya’s Colonel Muammar Gaddafi is a noticeable absentee at the African Union (AU) summit in Equatorial Guinea.

While the summit’s focus is on youth employment, the situation in Libya and the United [...]

By Elizabeth Whitman
UNITED NATIONS, Jun 27 (IPS) – The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued warrants Monday for the arrest of Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, his son Seif al-Islam al-Gaddafi, and the Libyan chief of intelligence, Abdullah al-Senussi, for crimes against humanity.

Specifically, the ICC cited evidence of murder and persecution from Feb. 15 to Feb. [...]

By Isolda Agazzi

Ambassador Hisham Badr: "You cannot deprive very vulnerable countries of sustenance." / Isolda Agazzi/IPS

GENEVA, Jun 24 (IPS) – Egypt has initiated a proposal in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to ban export restrictions on farm products to poor countries that are net food importers. The Group of 20 has also exhorted [...]

By Bibi-Aisha Wadvalla
CAIRO, Jun 22 (IPS) – On a blazingly hot summer’s day in Cairo, it’s 36 degrees Celsius in the shade. Air-conditioners and fans whirr across the city, burdening the national electricity grid. Last summer, the populous city experienced frequent water and power cuts, causing a furore. Consumption had grown by 2,600 megawatts, an [...]

By Correspondents* – IPS/Al-Jazeera
DOHA, Jun 21 (IPS) – The Libyan government says 19 civilians have been killed in a NATO air strike on the home of one of Muammar Gaddafi's top officials, a day after the Western military alliance admitted killing civilians in a separate attack.

Libyan officials took reporters to Surman, 70km west of Tripoli, [...]

By Dr. Kwame Akonor*
NEW YORK, Jun 10 (IPS) – Africa's handling of the Libyan crisis at the United Nations has been timorous and confusing, but it presents an opportunity as well as a challenge for the continental body on how it defines its future strategic interests.

Rather than acting decisively, the African Union (AU) cowered to [...]

By Correspondents* – IPS/Al Jazeera
DOHA, Qatar, Jun 6 (IPS) – Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh's departure for medical treatment in Saudi Arabia leaves something of a power vacuum in the country, which has been ruled by one man for decades.

Tareq al-Shami, a senior member of the ruling General People's Congress, said on Sunday that Saleh [...]

By Correspondents* – IPS/Al Jazeera
DOHA, Qatar, Jun 6 (IPS) – Thousands poured into the streets of Rabat on Sunday Jun. 5 to condemn the death of a protester and to demand an end to the country-wide government crackdown on peaceful demonstrations.

"We are here today to protest the murder of Khaled al-Amari," said a 40-year-old Rabat [...]

By Timothy Spence
BRUSSELS, Jun 1 (IPS) – Facing unrest in the north and a struggle against poverty elsewhere, leaders of the African Union and their European counterparts are working as “equal partners” to spread democracy and economic opportunity across the African continent.

Heads of the unions’ executive bodies held two days of talks that were to [...]

By Jasmin Ramsey

Sameh Saeed (left) performs a surgical procedure on a 23-year-old Libyan with a broken hand and vascular injury in Ajdabiya Hospital on Apr. 10. / Sameh Saeed

VANCOUVER, May 25 (IPS) – Ever since the ousting of Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, ordinary citizens have been leading uprisings all over North [...]