Morocco royals to lower bank stake amid protests A conglomerate in which King Mohammed's family is the main shareholder has put a stake in Morocco's biggest bank, Attijariwafa, up for sale amid protests in the country, the bank's managing director said on Thursday. Controlled by the royal family, the conglomerate Societe Nationale d'Investissement and its affiliate ONA Group have stakes spanning mines, steel, cement, supermarkets, sugar refining, banking, telecommunications, insurance and renewable energy. Algeria denies support for Libya's Gaddafi Algeria on Thursday denied allegations by Libyan rebels that it was involved in the Libyan unrest by supporting leader Muammar Gaddafi. “I strongly deny this information. It is absolutely inconceivable,” Halim Benatallah, a ministerial delegate in charge of Algerian expatriates, told Reuters. “On the contrary, Algeria is playing its humanitarian role by trying to help as much as it can,” he added. Tunisia's interim president sets date for parliamentary elections Tunisia's interim president declared Thursday that parliamentary elections will be held July 24. Fouad Mebazaa said he plans to continue serving in his interim role until the new parliament begins to work, the country's official news agency reported. At least three Tunisian government officials resigned Monday and Tuesday, the country's official news agency reported, in the wake of the resignation of the prime minister on Sunday. International Criminal Court Begins Libya Inquiry The International Criminal Court has started a formal investigation into possible crimes against humanity in Libya that will focus on the role of the country's leader, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, several of his sons and members of his inner circle, the chief prosecutor said Thursday. Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the prosecutor, said his office had received confirmation that Libyan security forces had fired on peaceful demonstrators, killing hundreds, and that many had been illegally detained in episodes involving at least nine different towns since Feb. 15. Read more here. Sudan president orders increase of oil exploration in the north Sudan's President Omer Hassan Al-Bashir has instructed the country's Ministry of Oil to intensify oil exploration in north Sudan and take on board new investors. The Sudanese government stands to lose billions of dollars in oil revenues when the region of South Sudan – which accounts for over 75% of the country's proven production of 500,000 barrel per day – becomes officially independent from the north in July this year. North and South Sudan have been splitting proceeds of crude oil roughly 50-50 as per a 2005's peace deal that ended decades of civil war between the two sides. South Sudan looks at new oil pipeline bypassing North With Southern Sudan mere months away from declaring independence, leaders of the territory already are making clear that they are considering changes to the way the oil business is conducted in Sudan. An official in the south's ruling party said last month that if future oil discoveries made in the south were significant enough, the south would consider building pipelines to other destinations aside from Port Sudan in northern Sudan – the route that the south now uses to export its oil. Read more here.
