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

Football : Morocco to face Comoros Saturday in Casablanca

Moroccan national team to face Comoros on October the 13th at the Mohammed V stadium in Casablanca. The match is part of the third round of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification. The Comoros team will have to face the Atlas Lions in a second game in Mitsamiouli on October the 16th, reports online newspaper Lionsdelatlas. For the record, coach Hervé Renard revealed on Tuesday, 2nd of October, the names of the 26 footballers to face Comoros in the two games. The Atlas Lions will

Migration : The European Union to answer Morocco and Spain’s demands soon

The European Union is «to give an imminent response» to Morocco and Spain which have called the body several times to grant them money to maintain migration flows, reports El Pais. Diplomatic sources stressed the «importance» of the file, which could be considered in the coming months. The Spanish newspaper reported that Morocco and Spain have been urging the European Commission to speed the procedures. The same source adds that Spain’s demands have turned into

A Moroccan association invites Amir Peretz to chair a conference in Tangier

Amir Peretz, the former leader of the Israeli Labor Party, is invited by the Youth Association for Culture and Arts to attend a conference in Morocco. The president of the NGO, Amazigh artist Abdelali Rahmani, has chosen the Israeli former Minister of Defense because of his Moroccan origins. Inviting Peretz who was born in Bejaad on March the 9th, 1952, shows that «Islam is a religion of co-existence, dialogue, and tolerance», reports Aswat News. According to the same source,

Morocco’s economic growth reaches 2.8 percent in the third quarter of 2018

Moroccan economic growth has reached 2.8 percent in the third quarter after it was limited to 2.4 percent during the previous quarter of 2018, reports Reuters quoting the planning agency. The growth is linked to improvements in the agricultural «output and non-agriculture sectors» says the same source, indicating that the first increased to 3.1 percent during this quarter. The good results have been achieved after Morocco recorded an «exceptional cereals harvest»

The number of Moroccan, Algerian and Tunisian nationals expelled by Germany is on the rise

The number of Moroccan, Algerian and Tunisian nationals expelled by the German authorities has increased in the recent years, reports German daily Bild, quoted by De Spiegel. By the end of August, Germany expelled 476 people to their countries of origin while it repatriated only 61 others in 2015. In 2017, 634 Moroccan nationals were sent back to the Kingdom. 400 Algerian nationals were expelled as well by the end of August 2018, 57 in 2015 and 504 in 2017. The German authorities expelled 231

Nador : Moroccan police beat Yemeni refugees for trying to enter Melilla

Trying to enter Melilla, two Yemeni refugees were reportedly beaten last week at the Beni Ensar border crossing. According to the Moroccan Human Rights Association (AMDH) section in Nador, the two Yemeni «nationals were tortured for trying to enter the enclave to apply for asylum». Contacted by Yabiladi, president of the NGOs local office in Nador Omar Naji said that the two men were arrested by Moroccan police officers, «who tortured them at the police station before

The UN report highlights observations of the UNHCR about the Tindouf population

The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stressed in his latest report to the Security Council on the Sahara conflict that UN humanitarian agencies have continued to cover the needs of the Tindouf camp population by granting it «125 000 food rations monthly». These food rations are sent to 90, 000 people living in the Tindouf camps, as adopted by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the World Food Program (WFP) in 2005. The 35,000 additional

Japan awards Abdellatif Guerraoui medal of the Order of Rising Sun

President of the Morocco-Japan Friendship Association Abdellatif Guerraoui was awarded by the Japanese government the medal of the «Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon», in recognition of his commendable contribution to the development of Moroccan-Japanese relations. This decoration was handed, on Friday in Rabat, to Guerraoui by Japanese ambassador in Rabat Takuji Hanatani, on behalf of the Emperor of Japan. In a speech, Hanatani said he was honored to grant the

Tow Moroccan nationals travel from France to China, riding hand-made bicycles

Two Moroccan nationals have successfully met the challenge of reaching the south of China using solar tricycles. S, 50, and Mohammed Said Al-Jabbari, 37, have accepted the challenge initiated by a French association called The Sun Trip. Their objective was to travel to China on bikes powered by solar energy. The journey of the two Moroccans was officially launched on September the 25th from Lyon, to Guangzhou (southern China). They crossed several countries, including Switzerland, Italy,

France : Alexandre Benalla to be heard by the court for a second time

Heard since Friday morning by the Paris court, Alexandre Benalla left the court room this afternoon, says AFP. He says he is «calm and relieved» to have answered the judges' questions, reports BFM TV. Alexandre Benalla will be heard for a second time by the court for beating a protester on the 1st of May in France. The former personal guard of Emmanuel Macron appeared earlier this summer in a video that ended his career as the president's most trusted man. For the record, French

A 15-year-old boy receives a one-year-sentence for participating to Hirak protests

A teenager was handed over a one-year-sentence Tuesday, 2nd of October, by Al Hoceima’s court of first instance for participating to Hirak protests in the city, reports Le Desk on Friday quoting Spanish news agency EFE. The 15-year-old accused, Bilal M. will stay in a juvenile detention center in Nador until June the 30th, added the same source, relaying his lawyer Abdelmayid Azeriyah. According to the same source, Bilal was arrested after protesting against the heavy sentences that

France : Moroccan agricultural workers sue their employers for being exploited

Working in the agricultural fields located in southern France, five Moroccan workers were heard Thursday by a labor court in Arles. These workers, two men and three women, say they were modern-day slaves. According to AFP, these Moroccan nationals claim that they had to work overtime between 2012 and 2017. Quoted by AFP, one of these workers said she worked for 260 hours while her work contract was «expired». She says that she used to work «seven days a week for 12 hours a

France arrests a man suspected of scamming the Moroccan state

A 47-year-old man was arrested on Wednesday, October the 3rd in a bar called L’Assassin in Paris, after an arrest warrant was issued against him for being allegedly involved in a fraud case, reports RTL radio. The same source indicates that the suspect managed to get employed by a Moroccan administration and was even heading the tax administration in Rabat. The suspect took advantage of his position and closeness to the royal entourage, he succeeded in accessing information on

An NGO to sit in Tuesday in Rabat to protest against death penalty in Morocco

The Moroccan Coalition Against the Death Penalty is planning to commemorate the World Day Against Death Penalty by organizing a sit-in Tuesday in front of the Parliament in Rabat. The NGO will host a press Conference on October the 9th in the capital with the objective of «having Morocco to vote for the UN resolution on creating a universal moratorium on the prohibition of the capital punishment». Through these actions, the Coalition wants the kingdom to vote in favor of the UN

An Italian driver sets a new Guinness World Record at Morocco’s most dangerous road

Italian driver Fabio Barone has set a record in Morocco, driving his Ferrari 45 in the 8-kilometer long Dades Valley track in only 4 minutes and 42 seconds, reports Gazzete del Sud on Thursday. With this incredible timing, Barone won the Speed World Record, setting his third Guinness World Record. His two other victories were recorded in Transfagarasan,a road in Romania and in China’s Tianmen Mountain Road, one of the most dangerous tracks in the world. The same source indicates that

France : The exploited Moroccan workers get their residence permit

The four Moroccan loggers who were exploited for one year by their Turkish employer have just received their residence permit. According to La Nouvelle République, they have been granted the document on September the 14th at Aigurande, a commune in the Indre department in central France. For the record, For the record, the four Moroccan lumberjacks are originally from Ouaoumana, not far from Khénifra. Two of them arrived in France in June 2017, the others joined them in February

Sahara : Morocco agrees to attend talks in Geneva planned by Horst Köhler

Morocco has accepted to attend talks on the Sahara question to be held on the 4th and 5th of December in Geneva, said the Security Council’s Secretary General Antonio Guterres quoted by AFP. The Kingdom’s answer comes as the Personal Envoy for Western Sahara Horst Köhler invited Rabat to «preliminary discussions» last week. Guterres said he was confident that Algeria and Mauritania, the two other parts invited by Köhler, would respond positively

HRW urges Morocco to implement mechanisms for the new domestic workers law

Morocco must comply with its new domestic workers law that entered into force on October the 2nd, said Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Thursday. The international NGO believes that the Moroccan authorities should «ensure that there are robust labor inspections, provide domestic workers with improved access to dispute-resolution system and raise awareness about the new law». The new law was approved by the Moroccan parliament in July 2016 but its implementation was delayed. It is