According to Egypt’s tourism minister, the country’s tourism revenues in 2014 rose to $7.5 billion from $5.9 billion the previous year, marking a 27 percent increase in revenues from one of the country’s major sectors. The country received 9.9 million tourists in 2014, up from 9.5 million in 2013. Tourist numbers picked up dramatically last summer after several European countries lifted travel warnings against Egypt’s popular Red Sea resorts in the Sinai peninsula.

The prices of oil products in Morocco, namely diesel oil, premium gasoline, fuel oil n2, fuel oil n2 ONE and special fuel will fall as of February 1, 2015. In a statement, the minister of general affairs and governance announced that the price of diesel oil will decline by 15 cents per liter to reach 7.88 MAD/liter, while the price of premium gasoline will drop by 7 cents per liter to reach 8.91 MAD/liter. [Morocco World News, 1/31/2015]

Libya’s biggest insurer says its provisional 2014 revenues were 19 percent lower than in 2013, accompanied by a sharp increase in costs. A statement from the Libyan Stock Market, on which the Libya Insurance Company (LIC) is listed, said that the firm’s revenues totalled LD124.9 million ($100m) in 2014, compared to revenues of LD159 million ($125m) in the previous year. The figures suggest the company made a pre-tax profit of LD42.2 million ($33.8m). [Libya Monitor, 2/2/2015]

According to Syria’s prime minister, Syria has kept in place subsidies for electricity and basic foods despite the war. The effort is attributed to an attempt by the regime to drum up support in areas its control. Analysts and officials have warned that the nearly four-year war and international sanction imposed on Syria have set back the country’s economy by more than thirty years. [AFP, 2/2/2015]