Eithad, Royal Air Maroc to expand partnership EtihadAirways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, has announced it will extend its existing codeshare agreement with Royal Air Maroc, the national airline of Morocco, providing customers with access to more destinations in Morocco and West Africa. The new deal will allow Etihad passengers to travel from Casablanca to the Moroccan destinations of Agadir, Laayoune, Fez and Marrakech adding Nouakchott in Mauritania and Dakar in Senegal in the near future. In return, Royal Air Maroc will offer travelers access to Etihad Airways services beyond Abu Dhabi to Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Singapore, further complementing the partnership on the CasablancaAbu Dhabi route. Experts meet on Qaeda threat to Sahel region Army chiefs and counter-terrorism experts from Africa's Sahel region met Sunday in southern Algeria in a bid to come to grips with the growing threat of Al-Qaeda-linked militants in the region. “I cannot stress enough the stakes in this meeting, considering the changes that have taken place in our region since our last gathering,” Algerian army chief of staff General Ahmed Gaid Sakah said. A similar meeting took place last August in the desert town of Tamanrasset. Then as now events demand that we “accept our responsibilities, respect our engagements and take action on the ground,” he added. Tunisian First Lady honors Chancellor of Sheikha Fatima During a news conference held on Friday, in Tunis Mr. David A. Hamod, chairman of the National U.S.-Arab Chamber of Commerce (NUSACC), who is on a work visit in Tunisia leading an important delegation of businessmen, said that “Tunisia enjoys an excellent reputation in the United States of America, and it is considered among the promising investment destinations in the region, thanks to its political and social stability, and its human resources, as the State has bet on education”. Mr. Hamod said that thanks to the continuous liberalization of its economy and modernization of its trade and investment laws, Tunisia is now in a position to attract more American investments. Italian bank chief's exit sparks concern The ouster of Alessandro Profumo from the top post at Unicredit this week has sparked concern about future governance at Italy's largest bank as other shake-ups rattle the European banking world. Profumo's dramatic exit following a shareholder rebellion over Libya's growing stake in the bank rocked Italy's financial elite and weighed down Unicredit's share price at a time when the country's economy is being scrutinized by investors because of its high debt levels. Profumo, who oversaw a major international expansion by the bank in central and eastern Europe, resigned late on Tuesday after losing a shareholder confidence vote during a four-hour board meeting. UN Says Rwanda Agrees to Leave Troops in Sudan A U.N. official says Rwanda has decided to leave its peacekeeping troops in Sudan's volatile Darfur region. Rwanda had threatened to pull out its troops in protest to a leaked U.N. draft report, linking Rwandan soldiers to genocide in the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo in the 1990s. BM
