Sahara : The Biden administration reaffirms support for the autonomy plan  (Read more...)

195 Nigerians in Moroccan prisons for drug-related crimes, says a Nigerian diplomat

195 Nigerians are imprisoned in Morocco for drug-related crimes, said on Friday Baba Garba, the Nigerian Ambassador to the Kingdom, reports the Nigerian News Agency (NAN). «We have the menace of Nigerians that come from Latin America, transiting Morocco that are carriers of drugs», said the Nigerian ambassador insisting : «we have a number of them in prisons purely for drugs; I send the figures officially to government, there are 195 of them in prisons». According to

USA : The funds destined for Morocco to cover the Sahara

The FY 2018 appropriations bill passed on Thursday by US Congress requires that funds appropriated under title III of this Act for Morocco shall be made available for assistance in the Moroccan Sahara. Last October, Senators Lindsey Graham (Republican) and Patrick Leahy (Democrat) had introduced a proposal requesting to «consult» the MINURSO first before sending aids to Western Sahara. An initiative that was blessed by Senator James Inhofe. In 2017, the Kingdom managed to ensure

The majority of the LGBT asylum seekers in Spain are Moroccans

The Spanish Refugees Aid Commission (CEAR) has published its 2017 data, indicating that Spain has accepted 595 asylum applications, almost twice the number of what was accepted in 2016 (355). According to CEAR, Palestinians, Eritreans and Moroccans are the most to seek asylum in the country. From 595 requests, 55 were granted to Moroccans. «The vast majority was related to the sexual orientation of the applicants,» reports the news agency EFE. Betty Lachgar from the Alternative

Mustapha El Khalfi : Amnesty’s report on Jerada «lacks fairness»

Minister delegate for relations with parliament and civil society, government spokesperson Mustapha El Khalfi reacted to the note published by Amnesty International, on the 16th of March, concerning the Jerada Events. During a press briefing held on Thursday the minister stated that the report «lacks fairness and does not include real data». Mustapha El Khalfi said that «last week's events in Jerada did not hinder the ongoing implementation of the government's

France : Two killed and a policeman injured in a hostage situation

A man is holding several people hostage in a supermarket in Trèbes, a city in southern France, BBC reports on Friday. The man inside had earlier opened fire on policemen who were jogging and injured one of them in the shoulder. The police rushed to the supermarket where the gunman was hiding. LCI announced that 2 people were killed and 12 are wounded. Officially, the anti-terrorist prosecutor’s office in Paris confirmed that two people were, indeed, killed in this

OCP’s 2017 revenues reach a 14% rise

OCP group announced a strong revenue growth of 14% in the year 2017, standing at MAD 48,503 million, up from MAD 42,471 million in 2016, posting a solid performance across all product segments. Volumes in Rock and Fertilizers increased by 40% and 24%, respectively, compared to 2016, said OCP which has published its earnings. The group maintained its leadership position in Acid, retaining its ranking as the second largest concentrated phosphate supplier in Asia, with stable year-over-year

Achraf Hakimi to miss the Serbia and Uzbekistan friendlies because of an injury

Atlas Lions’ defender Achraf Hakimi is to miss the friendly games against Serbia and Uzbekistan because of an injury, reports Goal on Friday.  After flying to Turin, Italy, to join the Atlas Lions at their training camp, Achraf Hakimi had to leave for Madrid, suffering from an injury. According to the national team doctor Abderrazak Hifti, the 19-year-old footballer was injured at the first training session and had to go back to Real Madrid for treatment. The Morocco national

FIFA refuses El Haddadi’s request to change his allegiance in football from Spain to Morocco

FIFA has refused the request submitted by the Royal Moroccan Football Federation, allowing Moroccan-Spanish footballer Munir El Haddadi to join the Morocco national team, reports Esto on Thursday, quoting local media outlets. Football’s governing body has sent a letter to the Moroccan federation informing them that El Haddadi won’t be able to play with the Moroccan team during the next World Cup competition in Russia. Playing previously at the Alavés club owned by FC

Mustapha El Khalfi reacts to ¡Hola! magazine's "exclusive" information

The topic is still making headlines in Spain. On Tuesday March 22nd, many media platforms were commenting on the "exclusive news" reported by Spanish magazine ¡Hola!, suggesting that King Mohammed VI and Princess Lalla Salma would have allegedly divorced. In addition to the speculations put forward by the Iberian neighbor, several media outlets quoted Spanish news agency EFE's recent reports on the same topic. Libertad Digital claims that a spokesman for the Royal Palace told the agency

40 associations sign a petition against the construction of the Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline

40 associations from Morocco, Nigeria and other African countries have signed a petition denouncing the construction of the Nigeria-Morocco offshore gas pipeline, said a communiqué sent by Attac Maroc Thursday to Yabiladi. In their written request, the African associations insisted that the construction of the pipeline, announced in December 2016, is expected to cost 20 million US dollars. «In reality, the actual costs will likely be much higher», insisted the same statement

Inwi files a lawsuit against Maroc Telecom for «unfair competition»

Telecommunication Company Inwi is filing a lawsuit against its competitor Maroc Telecom, seeking 5.7 billion dirhams for «alleged unfair competition», an Inwi official and a lawyer for the firm told Reuters on Thursday. Abdelatif Wahebi, Inwi ‘s lawyer told the British news agency that the company is suing Maroc Telecom because «it holds 60 percent of the market and the law says companies should hold no more than 40 percent». According to the latest figures,

2028 World Cup : The French Football Federation backs the Moroccan bid

France backs the Morocco’s bid to organize the 23rd edition of the FIFA World Cup, said on Thursday the head of the French Football Federation (FFF). In a meeting held on the 22nd of March at the FFF headquarters and attended by President of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation Fuzi LEkjaa and his French counterpart Noël Le Graët, the French federation insisted that it is a strong supporter of the Moroccan proposal, reports the Moroccan Football federation on its official

Two tons of hashish smuggled from Morocco and seized in Algeciras

The Spanish Civil Guard has seized more than two tons of hashish and arrested a Moroccan national, suspected of smuggling, said the regional online newspaper La Voz de Cadiz. During a raid to fight against drug smuggling at the Guadalmesi coastal zone near Algeciras, Civil Guard agents spotted an inflatable boat similar to those frequently used to smuggle narcotics. It was coming from the Moroccan coast and was sailing at a high speed near the Spanish coast. One of the Civil Guard's patrols

A bill to introduce crowdfunding  for the first time in Morocco

Morocco is soon to regulate crowdfunding, the practice of funding a project or venture by raising many small amounts of money from a large number of people, typically via the Internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and of alternative finance. A draft bill was submitted on the 21st of March by the Ministry of Economy and Finance and was published on the official website of the Government’s General Secretariat, reports Medias 24. Drafted on the 2nd of March and signed by

Afrikonnect, a platform to help large companies and top African startups collaborate

Afrikonnect is a platform to accelerate collaboration between large companies and top African startups. The first edition of the initiative took place in Casablanca, at the headquarterz of Technopark, Thursday 22nd of March. Backed by the US State Department and GIZ (a German development agency), Oultierz Ventures and LaFactory in partnership with StartupYourLife organized this event. The conference brought together participants from both the public and private sector, key players from

Earth Hour : Hassan II Mosque to switch off lights on Saturday

As a symbolic Moroccan landmark, Casablanca's Hassan II Mosque will join the Earth Hour movement and switch off its lights for one hour on Saturday, March 24, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWf) said in a communiqué. «Being well aware of the serious problem of greenhouse gas emissions and therefore the importance of energy savings for the protection of our environment, the Foundation of Casablanca's Hassan II Mosque is set to join the 11th edition of (Earth Hour)Lights by

Melilla : An MP urges the EU to intervene for the repatriation of Moroccan minors

Daniel Ventura, city councilor for social welfare in Melilla, urged «the European Union to intervene for the repatriation of Moroccan minors in Melilla», reports EcoDiario. «The European Union must invite Morocco to comply with the Convention on the Rights of the Child and implement the repatriation agreement», said Tomas Bocek, a People’s Party deputy, and Special Representative of the Secretary General on Migration and Refugees. The center that

Italy : A policeman enters the Moroccan consulate in Turin with a gun in his hand

An Italian policeman entered the Moroccan consulate in Turin, Wednesday, with a gun in the hand, said La Stampa. According to the same source, it all started when a man escaped the police in a checkpoint and entered the Moroccan consulate. The Moroccan diplomats, however, tried to block the entrance of the policeman and for more than half an hour the road was blocked by four patrols, said Torino Repubblica. Eventually the man the police was chasing was captured and taken