The repatriation of Moroccans stranded in Melilla to start on Friday

Stranded in Melilla for almost two months due to the coronavirus health crisis, a group of Moroccans will finally be able to return home. Some of them confirmed to Yabiladi that a repatriation operation is bringing 200 nationals, namely women, children, senior and sick people, to Morocco on Friday. «Having heard of this possibility, several young people headed to the Beni Ensar border crossing», a Moroccan stranded in Melilla told Yabiladi. On the same day, Spanish radio

Stranded for weeks, a Moroccan woman found dead in Melilla

A 35-year-old Moroccan woman was found dead, Thursday, in Melilla. She is one of the Moroccan nationals stranded in the city due to the coronavirus health crisis. According to sources contacted by Yabiladi, the woman is from Driouch, a small town in eastern Morocco. She used to work as a made in the city and was reportedly fired by her employers when the lockdown happened. Unable to return home, the woman joined other Moroccans awaiting repatriation. The same sources indicate that the woman's

Algeria summons its ambassador to Morocco over «enemy country» remarks

Algeria has summoned Morocco’s ambassador after a viral video that showed a Moroccan diplomat calling Algeria an «enemy» country, the Algerian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday. A statement issued by the ministry revealed that Algeria’s ambassador to Rabat was summoned on Wednesday over «comments by Morocco’s consul general in Oran during an exchange with Moroccan citizens», AFP reports. The Algerian Foreign Ministry argued in the same statement that

Morocco records 16 new confirmed coronavirus cases, 6,623 in total

16 new confirmed coronavirus cases were recorded between Thursday afternoon and Friday morning in Morocco, bringing the total number of Covid-19 infections in the country to 6,623, the health Ministry announced. In a recent update, the Ministry reported that 73,882 suspected cases have tested negative for the virus so far. While deaths related to the coronavirus stand at 190, the number of Covid-19 patients who recovered in the Kingdom has reached 3,383. The confirmed coronavirus cases in the

Postponing the reopening of schools irritates private school owners in Morocco

Private schools have criticized the decision of postponing the reopening of schools in Morocco. They see the decision as a coup de grace to a «vulnerable» sector.

Coronavirus : The total number of recoveries exceeds that of active cases in Morocco

As of Thursday, May 14, Morocco recorded 95 new confirmed coronavirus cases, bringing the total number of Covid-19 infections in the country to 6,607. Almost half of these cases have been recorded in the Casablanca-Settat region. Cases have been detected, to a lesser extent, in the regions of Marrakech-Safi, Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima, Fez-Meknes and Rabat-Salé-Kenitra, said Mohamed Lyoubi, head of the epidemiology department at the Ministry of Health, during a daily press

Covid-19 jokes are not funny in Morocco, according to Human Rights Watch

«Harmless jokes», this is how international NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) described the way a young Moroccan woman had used humor to fight coronavirus anxiety. In an article published, Wednesday, WHO recalled the story of the Merzouga woman who was arrested and sentenced to two months in prison for posting a sketch to social media. In the video, uploaded to video-sharing social networking service Tik Tok, said woman made an impression of local security figure «Caida

Moroccan suspected of terrorism may have plotted an attack against Barca-Real classico

On May 8, a joint operation led by the FBI, Moroccan intelligence officers and the Spanish police arrested a «profoundly radicalized» Moroccan who was plotting attacks targeting Barcelona during the country’s strict coronavirus lockdown. Five days after his arrest, investigators revealed that the suspect was reportedly planning a knife attack during a match between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. «The arrested man had used social media to proclaim his loyalty to ISIS and

Morocco : Fitch Ratings downgrades OCP’s IDR rating to BBB-

American credit rating agency Fitch Ratings has downgraded Morocco's phosphate rock miner OCP Long-term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to 'BB+' from 'BBB-'. The outlook on OCP’s rating is 'negative', according to Fitch, which expects it to worsen in coming months. According to the rating agency, the company’s downgraded IDR rating is due to its recent contribution to the Covid-19 special fund, created by Morocco to manage the consequences of the coronavirus crisis. Indeed, in March

After several failed attempts, a group of Israelis leaves Morocco in a secret repatriation plan

After a series of attempts, a group of 26 Israelis stranded in Morocco was repatriated, Thursday, including a Likud politician, and two American-Israeli philanthropists. In April, Morocco would have reportedly refused to repatriate Israeli nationals stranded in the Kingdom due to Emirati intervention.