Tunisia’s Imaginario AI raises $1m pre-seed to scale internationally
Tunisian startup Imaginario AI, which uses AI to help process video and audio content, has raised a US$1 million pre-seed round of funding to help it scale internationally. Founded in 2021 by Jose Puga and Abdelhak Loukkal, Imaginario AI revolutionises the processing of video and audio content using artificial intelligence. Discovery, Universal Pictures and Cineverse, have reported that Imaginario AI has saved more than 60 per cent of search and creation time. To expand its presence on the international market, Imaginario AI has closed a US$1 million pre-seed funding round led by 216 Capital, alongside Blue Lake VC, Earthling Ventures, Comcast NBCUniversal, Techstars and a series of business angels. The investment will enable the startup to consolidate its development and expand its engineering and sales teams in the United States, Europe and the MENA region.
Source:The North Africa Journal
December 22, 2023 07:20 UTC
Mali: Jihadi leader denounces juntas and Wagner
Iyad Ag Ghaly’s last video appearance was almost a year ago, and he had not spoken publicly since August 2021. Ghaly, leader of the armed extremist Support Group for Islam and Muslims (JNIM) appeared in a video broadcast on Tuesday, 12 December by the Az Zallaqa Media wing of al-Qaeda media, in which he announced “a new stage” in his fight against the Sahel states.
Source:The North Africa Journal
December 21, 2023 21:29 UTC
TotalEnergies extends semisub drilling term offshore West Africa
Offshore staffHAMILTON, Bermuda — TotalEnergies has exercised a first option under a contract with Northern Ocean for use of the Deepsea Mira semisub offshore West Africa. The firm term of the contract has been extended by 180 days into fourth-quarter 2024, with additional revenues of between $68 million and $75 million. However, Shell has not exercised the remaining option available under the Deepsea Bollsta’s contract for continued work offshore Namibia. The rig will now become available in June 2024. Northern Ocean is engaging with other potential clients in West African and harsh environment regions.
Source:The North Africa Journal
December 21, 2023 21:27 UTC
Improving Your Technical Writing and Why This Matters
That’s why technical writing continues to be one of the most effective means of conveying ideas and concepts, both within and beyond the tech community. Why Technical Writing Skills MatterAs a developer, the ability to articulate your ideas, share knowledge effectively, and foster collaboration through well-crafted technical documentation is invaluable. Medical Practitioners: Building digital health applications requires attention to detail, and this extends to the technical writing. Policymakers: Technical writing plays a significant role in regulatory compliance. Clarity and Simplicity: In technical writing, clarity is paramount.
Source:The North Africa Journal
December 21, 2023 21:22 UTC
Fitch: Moroccan Banks show resilience despite Macro-economic challenges – The North Africa Post
Moroccan banks continue to show resilience despite challenging global and domestic macro-economic conditions, Fitch Ratings says in a new report focusing on the country’s seven largest banks. Banks have built up healthy provisions buffers since 2020 and are well-placed for a continued recovery in profitability in 2024 amid rising interest rates, says the rating agency. Banks’ profitability metrics improved sharply in 1st half of 2023, helped by interest rates at their highest levels since 2017. According to Fitch forecast, Moroccan banks are geared towards rising rates as profitability will continue improving in 2024. Some banks continue to report tight regulatory capital buffers, which will be increased by Tier 1 and 2 capital instruments.
Source:The North Africa Journal
December 21, 2023 21:03 UTC
ADNOC signs long-term LNG Heads of Agreement from Ruwais low-carbon LNG project
ADNOC has announced the signing of a 15-year Heads of Agreement (HoA) with ENN LNG (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of ENN Natural Gas Co. Ltd., for the delivery of at least 1 million tpy of LNG. The LNG will primarily be sourced from ADNOC’s low-carbon Ruwais LNG project, currently under development in Al Ruwais Industrial City, Abu Dhabi, UAE. When completed, the project, which consists of two 4.8 million tpy LNG liquefaction trains with a total capacity of 9.6 million tpy, will more than double ADNOC’s LNG production capacity to help meet increased global demand for natural gas. The LNG agreement is contingent upon a final investment decision (FID) on the project, including regulatory approvals, and the negotiation of a definitive Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA) between the two companies.
Source:The North Africa Journal
December 21, 2023 21:02 UTC
Top 20 Global Industrial Construction Projects Insights and Analytics 2023 - ResearchAndMarkets.com
DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The "Industrial Construction Project Insights and Analytics (Q3 2023)" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. This report provides a detailed analysis of industrial construction projects globally. The publisher is currently tracking industrial construction projects with a total value of $5.12 trillion at all stages from announced to execution. Report ScopeThe report provides analysis based on the construction projects showing total project values and analysis by stage and funding for all regions. The top 20 projects per region are listed giving country, stage, value of projects.
Source:The North Africa Journal
December 21, 2023 20:56 UTC
Egypt: Green hydrogen project to be powered by wind, solar energy
Egypt and a Saudi water desalination company have signed a framework agreement to develop a green hydrogen project to produce green ammonia. The intention is to work on a larger green hydrogen project in the country which could have a capacity of up to two million-tonnes-per-year of green hydrogen. Green hydrogen production a priority for EgyptIn August, Egypt’s government announced that it had set up the National Council for Green Hydrogen and its Derivatives. 10 areas need strengthening in the green hydrogen supply chainIt will also be responsible for reviewing all legislation and regulations concerning green hydrogen and its derivatives. This includes the supply of green fuel to ships, the production of green ammonia and a solar energy project using battery energy storage solutions (BESS).
Source:The North Africa Journal
December 21, 2023 20:45 UTC
How Morocco Developed its National Teams
Football, one could argue, has been part of the fabric of Moroccan nationhood since independence in 1956. The country is also reaping the benefits of international football success. Another factor is the country’s growing influence in football governance. Morocco has strategically positioned itself in African and international football governance, with influential figures such as Fouzi Lekjaa holding key positions in organisations like the Confederation of African Football and global football body Fifa. These events also provide north African football enthusiasts with a unique opportunity to fully immerse themselves in African and global football experiences.
Source:The North Africa Journal
December 21, 2023 20:39 UTC
Yemen’s Houthis and Iran’s Encircling of Saudi Arabia
Kamran Bokhari, PhD is the Senior Director, Eurasian Security & Prosperity Portfolio at the New Lines Institute for Strategy & Policy in Washington, DC. Dr. Bokhari is also a national security and foreign policy specialist at the University of Ottawa’s Professional Development Institute. He has served as the Coordinator for Central Asia Studies at the U.S. Department of State’s Foreign Service Institute. Follow him on Twitter at @KamranBokhari
Source:The North Africa Journal
December 21, 2023 20:29 UTC
Al Tamimi Appoints New Managing Partner
Premium Subscription With this subscription you will receive unlimited access to high quality, online, on-demand premium content from well-respected faculty in the legal industry. This is perfect for attorneys licensed in multiple jurisdictions or for attorneys that have fulfilled their CLE requirement but need to access resourceful information for their practice areas. View NowTeam Accounts Our Team Account subscription service is for legal teams of four or more attorneys. Each attorney is granted unlimited access to high quality, on-demand premium content from well-respected faculty in the legal industry along with administrative access to easily manage CLE for the entire team.
Source:The North Africa Journal
December 21, 2023 20:10 UTC
Wilders Has the Votes to Lead the Netherlands, but Not the Trust
AMSTERDAM—With the days growing shorter here in the rainy, cloudy Netherlands, and the 2023 calendar running out of pages, the political outlook for next year remains decidedly overcast. Negotiations to form a new government following the country’s shock elections in November are going into quiet mode, as Geert Wilders, the far-right provocateur who went from fringe figure to would-be prime minister, tries to cobble together a governing coalition. After another session of talks with potential partners last week, Wilders announced there would now be “radio silence” on the process. As the caretaker government of outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte keeps its hands on the rudder awaiting the outcome of coalition talks, a few scenarios look possible. At the moment, the most likely is a weak and unstable government led by Wilders.
Source:The North Africa Journal
December 21, 2023 19:32 UTC
Red Sea LNG tanker disruptions may bear long-term political, economic risks: Analysts
Necessary CookiesThis cookie is used to distinguish between humans and bots. This is beneficial for the web site, in order to make valid reports on the use of their web site. Performance/Analytical CookiesRegisters a unique ID that is used to generate statistical data on how the visitor uses the website.Used by Google Analytics to throttle request rate. Accept RejectAdvertising/Marketing CookiesThis cookie is used to collect information on consumer behavior, which is sent to Alexa Analytics. (Alexa Analytics is an Amazon company.)
Source:The North Africa Journal
December 21, 2023 18:32 UTC
Russia's foreign minister tours North Africa as anger toward the West swells across the region – KION546
TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — Russia is working to strengthen ties to North Africa and spread its narrative about Ukraine and Gaza as the United States’ popularity throughout the Arab World diminishes. As the two wars grind on, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov visited Morocco and Tunisia this week in an effort to deepen ties between Moscow and Arab countries. Experts said the visits were a component of Russia’s broader strategy to expand the scope of its foreign policy and capitalize on the growing frustration with western powers, including the United States. By SAM METZ and BOUAZZA BEN BOUAZZA Associated PressKION 46 is committed to providing a forum for civil and constructive conversation. You can review our Community Guidelines by clicking hereIf you would like to share a story idea, please submit it here.
Source:The North Africa Journal
December 21, 2023 18:24 UTC
Russia’s foreign minister tours North Africa as anger toward the West swells across the region
Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia also enjoy close relations with the United States. While lamenting pressure from countries that isolate Russia, Lavrov announced new efforts to expand energy and agriculture trade with North Africa. He also contrasted Russia’s positions with those of the United States in the Middle East. “We see Russia as a partner.”Morocco and Tunisia have historically hewed more closely to the United States and NATO than Russia. “The (North African) countries have positioned themselves in ways to maximize their relations to the great powers — Russia, United States, Europe,” he said.
Source:The North Africa Journal
December 21, 2023 17:49 UTC