News Flash

Austria withdraws from the UN global migration pact

The Austrian government announced Wednesday, 31st of October, that it is withdrawing from the UN pact on migration which will be formally endorsed in December, says French news agency AFP. Austria says it is opposed to this pact, like Hungary and the United States to «defend [its] sovereignty». «Austria will not join the UN migration pact… We view some points of the migration pact very critically, such as the mixing up of seeking protection with labor

Nasser Bourita praises the exceptional French-Moroccan partnership

Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Nasser Bourita praised, Wednesday in La Celle-Saint-Cloud (western Paris), the exceptional partnership, supported at the highest level by King Mohammed VI and president of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, linking Morocco and France. In a statement to the press on the occasion of a meeting with French minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Jean-Yves Le Drian, Bourita welcomed the holding of this meeting in the room of the

Spain expels a Moroccan radicalized Imam

The Spanish police, together with the country’s intelligence services, expelled on Wednesday, 31st of October, a Morocco Imam who had been working since the beginning of the year in the municipality of El Ejido (Almeria), says Spanish newspaper El Pais. The 40-year-old man «was making radical remarks in the mosque, where people were gathering as a group», say investigators. The Imam criticized, in particular, the integration of Muslims into the Spanish society and has

64% of Moroccans refuse the adoption of summer time during Ramadan

A survey conducted by French-language daily newspaper L’Economiste reveals that the majority of Moroccans are against the idea of maintaining summer time during the month of Ramadan. Quoted by 2M.ma, the newspaper indicates that 1000 people out of 5342 from different social classes participated to the study. Conducted by Sunergia Etude, the study emphasizes that it is mainly women who prefer the adoption of GMT during the winter. One woman out of four are against the idea of returning

As required by Washington, the Security Council extends MINURSO’s mandate to six months

The United Nations Security Council voted on Wednesday, October the 31st, for extending the MINURSO’s mandate to six months. France, Moroccan’s main ally, failed to convince the United States into elongating the mission’s mandate to one year. Once again, the new 2440 resolution on the Sahara did not have the support of all the members of the Council. 12 members voted in favor of Morocco, while Russia Ethiopia and Bolivia abstained. Last July, the Trump administration had

Italy : Four Moroccan nationals in the dismantling of a hashish trafficking network

Four Moroccan nationals, aged between 23 and 42 years old, were arrested by the Italian police in Turin, reports the Italian news agency ANSA on Wednesday. The suspects are linked to a drug trafficking network operating in the Borgo Dora district in Turin. «Hashish wholesalers take a commission that accounts for 1,200 euros per kilo», and they sell their goods in the market using the label «Dragoes», indicates ANSA. A police investigation was opened in May and in a

Azilal Province: Three people killed in collision between bus and taxi

Three people were killed and three others injured Wednesday morning following a collision between a bus and a taxi at Douar Aït Oumras (Azilal province), according to local authorities. The accident also resulted in the death of a child and injury to a girl who were by the side of the road after being hit by one of the vehicles involved, the same source said. It added that an investigation was opened to determine the circumstances of this accident.

17 Hirak activists receive prison sentences in Al Hoceima

The Criminal Chamber of Al Hoceima’s Appeal Court sentenced on Tuesday, 30th of October, 17 Hirak activists to prison sentences. These activists protested, in June, against the conviction of leading Hirak figures in Casablanca. Speaking to Arabic-language online newspaper Hespress, Hirak lawyer Abdelmajid Azeriah said that four people from the same group were sentenced to four years in prison. Another activist was sentenced to six years in prison, while seven others received a three-year

Malian, Guinean and Congolese nationals can enter Morocco using eTA

Nationals from Mali, Guinea-Conakry and Congo-Brazzaville will be able to use «Electronic Travel Authorization» (eTA) to enter Morocco. The information was the subject of a letter sent by the regional representative of Royal Air Maroc in Gabon, Aziz Cherradi, to the headquarters of the national carrier. In this letter, shared online, Cherradi indicates that Malian Guinean and Congolese nationals wishing to travel to Morocco must «from now on request their eTA at least

Migration : Spain to grant Morocco 2.5 million euros to purchase equipment

Spain is to grant 108 vehicles as well as IT equipment to Morocco, Senegal and Mauritania to help them «strengthen the monitoring of their borders», reports Spanish daily El Pais. The Iberian Kingdom will give Morocco nearly 3.2 million euros, says the same source. Indeed, Morocco will receive by the end of the year «75 vehicles», says the newspaper, quoting a report issued by the Spanish Interior Ministry. The grant was authorized by Interior Minister Fernando

Nador : Morocco foils an attempt to smuggle a large quantity of Ecstasy

Authorities in the Beni Ansar border crossing foiled on Tuesday, a smuggling operation of Ecstasy, says MAP news agency. The investigation led to the arrest of four individuals suspected of being involved in the operation. Two of the arrestees are from Spain while the others are from the Netherlands, said the General Directorate for National Security in a statement. The police have seized 40,172 Ecstasy tablets, hidden in a Spain-plated car, said the same source. The suspects were placed in

The Netherlands refuses to extradite Said Chaou

The Dutch Supreme Court announced on Tuesday, October the 30th, that it is not extraditing Said Chaou, reports Dutch online newspaper BNDeStem. Chaou, who is accused of heading a criminal network, and getting involved in international drug trafficking, will not be handed over to the Moroccan authorities which requested its extradition. The Dutch Supreme Court ruled that Chaou «might not benefit from a fair trial» in the Kingdom, indicating that his co-defendants were

Football : Hamza Mendyl suspended after receiving 5 yellow cards

Moroccan footballer Hamza Mendyl, who currently plays as a left-back for Schalke 04, was suspended after receiving five yellow cards in the last appearances he made with the German club, reports NRZ. Mendyl is the first Schalke 04 player to be suspended since the beginning of this season. The decision does not surprise his manager Christian Heidel, especially as Mendyl «plays in the same style he had in Lille» and is «only 21 years old». Meanwhile, his coach Domenico

Morocco’s Maryem Amjoun wins the Arab Reading Challenge

Moroccan student Maryem Amjoun won on Tuesday, 30th of October, the Arab Reading Challenge, held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The 9-year-old girl was awarded during a ceremony, attended by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, and Morocco’s Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates at Dubai Opera. According to a communiqué issued by the Moroccan Ministry of National Education and sent to Yabiladi on Tuesday, Maryem Amjoun is a third-grade student who

Sahara : Horst Köhler meets the Ivorian President in Berlin

One day before the opening of the G20 Africa Partnership Conference, held in Berlin on Tuesday, the UN Secretary-General’s personal envoy to Western Sahara met on Monday with the Ivorian President, Alassane Ouatarra. The latter is close to the Kingdom’s position on many international issues, including the Sahara conflict and Morocco’s bid to join the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). At the end of the meeting, President Ouattara said on his Facebook account

Weaponry : Morocco purchases F16 Viper fighter jets for its Royal Air Force

Morocco will receive in 2021 the country’s first F16 Viper fighter jet, a single-engine supersonic multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force. According to French-language online newspaper Le360, these new fighter jets were ordered by the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces from the American aerospace and defense company Lockheed Martin. «Morocco was one of the first African countries to express interest in acquiring a number of F16

The next African Union summit to be hosted by Addis Ababa on November the 17th and 18th

The next extraordinary African Union summit will be held in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) on the 17th and 18th of November. The meeting will be exclusively devoted to the reforms introduced to better the work of the continental organization. This important project is led by Rwandan President Paul Kagame, the current chairperson of the African Union. This change is well perceived by Morocco which is in favor of reforming the Union’s Constitutive Act. While waiting for this meeting, the

Emir of Qatar receives Morocco's DG of Police and National Territory Surveillance

Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani received, on Monday in Doha, Abdellatif Hammouchi, director-general of national police and of national territory surveillance, who is on a visit to Qatar to take part in the 12th international event for homeland security and civil defence in the Middle East "Milipol Qatar 2018". The audience took place in the presence of Qatar's prime minister and interior minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Nasser Bin Khalifa Al Thani, who has met earlier in the day