Morocco expels two Norwegians from Laayoune  (Read more...)

Morocco may consider applying for an IMF’s PLL

Morocco is discussing with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) the possibility of benefiting from the Precautionary and Liquidity Line (PLL), a program that helps resolve crises under wide-ranging situations, reports Reuters quoting Economy and Finance Minister Mohamed Benchaaboun. Speaking in a conference on Tuesday, October the 23rd, the minister stated that the country has already spoke to IMF about PLL but without giving further details. According to the same source, IMF «granted

The Royal Navy assists 143 Sub-Saharan nationals off Nador and Tangiers

The coast guards of the Royal Navy, while patrolling the Moroccan territorial waters, assisted, on Tuesday off the cities of Nador and Tangiers, 143 sub-Saharan would-be immigrants, said the general staff of the Royal Armed Forces (FAR). The illegal immigrants were boarding four small boats in trouble, said the FAR general staff in a statement, adding that 113 would-be immigrants were brought safe and sound to the port of Nador, while the others are being transported to the nearest

Morocco may give thought to selling stakes in Maroc Telecom

Morocco might be selling stakes in the country’s main telecommunication firm Maroc Telecom, says Reuters quoting Economy and Finance Minister Mohamed Benchaaboun. The Kingdom expects to generate 5 billion dirhams from selling public enterprises, added the minister on Tuesday. On Monday, Benchaaboun said while presenting the 2019 draft budget in the parliament that Morocco is planning to raise 8 billion dirhams by improving governance of public companies and encouraging

OCP completed aquisition of 20% of FERTINAGRO BIOTECH

OCP S.A, a leading global phosphate plant nutrition player, and Fertinagro Biotech S.L., a Spanish company which manufactures and supplies a wide range of plant nutrition solutions, have completed the acquisition by OCP, through one of its subsidiary, of 20% of Fertinagro's shares by way of a capital increase. To this end, all required regulatory approvals have been obtained and the capital increase has been approved by Fertinagro’s shareholders, said the OCP and Fertinagro Biotech S.L

Italy : Four Moroccan nationals arrested in a massive anti-mafia operation

Ten Italian nationals and four Moroccan men were arrested on Tuesday, following an anti-mafia operation carried out by the Carabinieri in Milan, Como and Reggio Calabria. According to Italian newspaper, Il Fatto Qotidiano, this gang is accused of being part of a «criminal and drug trafficking network». The invesitigation, led by the Anti-Mafia District Directorate in Milan, indicates that the gang is headed by the Barbano-Papalia family and sells cocaine, relying on dealers from

Train crash : The driver is prosecuted for manslaughter

Findings of the investigation conducted to determine the reasons behind the deadly train crash that took the life of 7 people and injured 125 others on Tuesday, 16th of October, have been revealed on Tuesday, 23rd of October, reports Medias 24 quoting the prosecutor’s communiqué. The investigation reveals that the ONCF train linking Casablanca to Kenitra, «was traveling at 158 km/h speed while the maximum speed at which a train travels in the area where the accident took

Moroccan Imam Fouad Belkacem stripped of his Belgian citizenship

Head of «Sharia4Belguim» organization, Fouad Belkacem has been stripped of his Belgian citizenship, reports Belgian daily L’Echo on Tuesday. The Antwerp Appeal Court believes that the Imam has «failed to fulfill his obligations as a Belgian citizen», said the same source, adding that he still has his Moroccan citizenship. While the preacher may be expelled to Morocco, his lawyer Liliane Verjauw believes that this decision «would be disastrous to his family

Halle Berry and Keanu Reeves visit Essaouira for the shooting of a new «John Wick» film

Cat woman and Neo from the Matrix are in Morocco to shoot a new series of the American franchise movie «John Wick». We are talking about American actress and Academy Award winner Halle Berry and Canadian actor, director, producer, and musician Keanu Reeves who have been spotted these days in Essaouira. The two Hollywood starts have also revealed through a series of photos on Instagram that they are currently in Essaouira to shoot parts of the film created by Derek

Morocco to rely on privatization to limit budget deficit in 2019, says Benchaaboun

Morocco expects to generate 8 billion dirhams by improving governance of public companies and encouraging privatization, said Reuters on Monday quoting Economy and Finance minister Mohamed Benchaaboun’ presentation on the 2019 draft budget in the parliament. The minister believes that this would help «curb the budget deficit to 3.3 percent of GDP in 2019» . According to Benchaaboun, Morocco’s budget deficit would be limited to 3.7 without

Morocco to repatriate sub-Saharan migrants who tried to storm Melillia

The Moroccan authorities have decided to repatriate all the sub-Saharan migrants who tried, on Sunday morning, to storm across the city of Melillia to their countries of origin, the Interior Ministry said Monday. Public forces intervened to foil this assault attempt and arrested 141 illegal immigrants, the ministry pointed out in a statement, adding that 12 soldiers and a member of the auxiliary forces were wounded during this operation before being rushed into a hospital in the city of

Spain’s Justice Minister to meet Mohamed Aujjar on October 29

Spain’s Minister of Justice Dolores Delgado will visit Morocco to meet with her Moroccan counterpart Mohamed Aujjar. According to Spanish newspaper Confidential Judicial, the bilateral meeting is scheduled for October the 29th in Rabat at the headquarters of the Moroccan Ministry of Justice. The visit will be the Spanish minister's first official trip abroad with members of the Spanish embassy in Rabat. According to the same source, the two ministers are expected to discuss

3.2-magnitude tremor felt in Meknes province

A 3.2-magnitude earthquake was felt on Monday in the province of Meknes, said a statement by the National Institute for Geophysics (ING). The quake, whose epicenter is located in Ain Karma-Oued Rommane Commune, was recorded at 1:02 a.m. (GMT +1), the National Earthquake Surveillance and Alert Network of the ING pointed out.

Algeria’s ambassador to Washington received by US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs

David Hale, the US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, met on Friday, October 19th, Algeria’s ambassador to Washington, Madjid Bouguerra, said the State Department. The meeting was held ten days before the United Nations Security Council adopts a resolution on Western Sahara. Due to the many discussions he held on the territorial dispute, Hale is seen as «Mr. Sahara» inside the Trump administration. During the last two months, and while preparing for the 73rd

Morocco's Interior Minister holds talks with his Spanish counterpart in Madrid

Minister of the Interior Abdelouafi Laftit held, Saturday in Madrid, talks with his Spanish counterpart Fernando Grande-Marlaska, on means to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the various areas of common interest. Speaking to reporters, Laftit described as «very important» the meeting, adding that it illustrates, once again, the excellent close relationship between the two Kingdoms and their determination to address all issues of common interest. He added that the talks focused

Rabat hosts the 2nd edition of Street Hokey organized by the Canadian embassy

Marina Bouregreg hosted, Saturday, the 2nd edition of Street Hockey, a tournament organized by the Embassy of Canada in Morocco, in partnership with the Royal Moroccan Federation of Ice Hockey. Tournoi Canadacup #streethockey remportėe par Canada2. Croatie en 3eme place.Mr. Khalid Mrini prėsident @Moroccohockey décerne le trophée aux gagnants. Bravo champions! @BillMcCrimmon pic.twitter.com/9swkarhv8R — Canada au Maroc (@AmbCanMaroc) October 20, 2018 The competition

More than a hundred migrants force their way into Melilla

More than a hundred migrants have entered the city of Melilla through Morocco, reports Spanish news agency EFE. The assault took place earlier on Sunday, October the 21st, says the same source. The authorities did not give the exact number of migrants who have forced their way into the enclave but they stressed that they were more than a hundred. They are currently assisted by the services in the city and will be identified soon. According to the government delegation, one of them died,

Melilla : Spain expels 30 migrants to Morocco

Based on the migration agreement signed between Morocco and Spain, Melilla is planning to expel 30 migrants on Saturday, October the 20th, to the Kingdom. The 30 migrants were rescued Friday, 19th of October, by the Spanish maritime authorities and transferred later to Melilla. «These migrants will be deported to Morocco on the basis of the treaty signed between the Moroccan and Spanish governments in 1992», said the Melilla local government yesterday in a statement quoted by El

Johnny Depp and Robert Pattinson to shoot a new movie in Morocco

The two Hollywood stars, Johnny Depp and Robert Pattinson will soon travel to Morocco for a new movie. Interviewed by The Playlist, Depp aka Jack Sparrow says he is «super excited» to shoot in Morocco «towards the end of October», with Mark Rylance and Robert Pattinson. Johny Depp says it's a film «based on Nobel Prize-winning author J.M. Coetzee’s book, ['Waiting for the Barbarians']». The film will be directed by the Colombian film director, Ciro