22 migrants die off Morocco while trying to reach Spain

22 migrants died and 27 others were rescued by a Spanish passenger ferry off Morocco, German news agency Deutsche Presse-Agentur reports. The rescued migrants, who were found adrift in the Mediterranean Sea, said that 22 people who were with them when they embarked in Morocco died and «were thrown in to the water». Quoting Spanish newspaper El Pais, the press agency wrote that the passenger ferry rescued the migrants on Wednesday, while travelling from Melilla to Motril, a

Ceuta : A Moroccan carrier dies of a heart attack

A 69-year-old Moroccan national died of a heart attack yesterday morning, while transporting goods from Ceuta to Morocco, says Spanish newspaper El Faro de Ceuta. Originally from Fnideq, he was found dead by a Moroccan agent, who noticed that he had not joined a group of carriers. The news spread like wildfire among his fellow carriers. The man was living off the money he used to make from carrying goods between Morocco and Spain in spite of his health problems, the newspaper concluded.

Migrants stranded for weeks off Tunisia were finally allowed to enter the country

Tunisian authorities in the city of Zarzis, southeastern Tunisia, have finally accepted to receive a rescue boat carrying 75 migrants, including a Moroccan national, that has been stranded off the country for three weeks, the Red Crescent told Reuters on Wednesday. These migrants were rescued by an Egyptian boat in the Tunisian waters. The boat, which was stranded 25 km from the coastal city of Zarzis, was not allowed to disembark after migrants were told that the city’s

A pan-Arab fund lends Morocco 2.27 billion dirham to expand road network

The Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, a Kuwait-based pan-Arab development finance institution, is lending Morocco 2.27 billion dirham to finance an infrastructure project, Reuters reports. An agreement was signed, Wednesday, to help the Kingdom upgrade its road network in its eastern provinces, Finance Minister Mohamed Benchaaboun said. According to the same source, the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development has concluded 72 agreements with Morocco, lending the country a

Mustapha Salma and opposition groups in Tindouf slam the Polisario for arresting activists

Former Polisario leader Mustapha Salma Ould Sidi Mouloud said that the Front’s leadership has launched a campaign against Sahrawi activists in the Tindouf camps. In one week, two members of opposition group the Sahrawi Initiative for Change were arrested by the separatist movement’s leadership.

Inspectors find no evidence of Salafism at a Dutch Islamic school

Dutch school inspectors have ruled out that senior staff at an Amsterdam Islamic secondary school have been «involved in financial misconduct» without being able to prove that the instutution encourages students to praise «Salafism», Dutch News reports. The report, leaked to media earlier this week, reveals that the school is close to controversial people and that its current leadership is unable to «restore order». Inspectors have also said in their report

New Zealand : A supremacist jailed for sharing the Christchurch terror attacks livestream

A 44-year-old New Zealander was sentenced, Tuesday, to 21 months in prison for sharing the graphic livestream filmed by the Australian terrorist who killed 55 Muslims worshippers in one of New Zealand’s ugliest terror attacks, New Zealand Herald reported. Philip Arps, a self-identified supremacist, was arrested in Christchurch four days after the attacks, which targeted two mosques in the city. Philip Arps described the attacks as «awesome», judge Stephen O'Driscoll

The Polisario’s leadership abducts another member of an opposition group in the camps

After arresting a member of the Sahrawi Initiative for Change (SIC), which operates within the Tindouf camps, the family and relatives of another member of the opposition group said he was kidnapped Tuesday. In a communiqué relayed by pro-Polisario platform Futuro Sahara, the movement said that Fadel Brika was abducted on Tuesday, according to his family members. Quoting «unofficial sources», the same online newspaper revealed that more arrests are expected to take place in

The Moroccan parliament examines a bill on joining the African Free Trade Agreement Area

The Moroccan parliament will examine, Wednesday, a bill on joining the African Continental Free Trade Area. As in January 2017 with the Constitutive Act of the African Union, having «SADR» among the parties that signed AfCFTA shouldn’t be a stumbling block.

Morocco’s Managem expands stake to 85% in a gold project in Guinea Conakry

Moroccan mining firm Managem announced, Tuesday, that it acquired 30% stake of West African-focused gold mining and exploration company and partner, Avocet Mining, for $21 million, expanding its stake in the Tri-K gold project in Guinea Conakry to 85%, Reuters reported. In a statement relayed by the news agency, Managem indicates that this new acquisition is part of its plan to strengthen gold production in Africa and in the Republic of Guinea. The remaining stake in the joint venture that