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Algeria cuts ties with Morocco after months of diplomatic turmoil
Morocco says Algeria's cutting of diplomatic ties 'unjustified' Morocco's foreign ministry said Tuesday that Algeria's decision to cut diplomatic ties with its neighbour as "completely unjustified", adding that the decision was based on "false, even absurd pretexts"....
Morocco: Woman to walk free after more than 3 years in prison over religious views
A dual Moroccan-Italian citizen jailed for three and a half years for "insulting Islam" will walk free Monday after a court gave her a suspended two-month jail term, a rights group said. "She will be leaving prison Monday evening," a member of Morocco's Association of...
Algeria and Morocco squabble again, relations set to deteriorate further
A long history of distrust and wasted time Algeria is to review its relations with Morocco, accusing it of involvement in deadly fires that this month killed at least 90 people. The two Maghreb heavyweights have for decades been locked in tensions, notably over the...
Morocco: Wildfires in the Chefchaouen region
Firefighters in northern Morocco are battling to put out two forest blazes, a forestries official said Sunday as the North African kingdom swelters in a heatwave. "Non-stop efforts are underway to control the fires which broke out on Saturday afternoon," said Rachid...
Morocco: Rights group criticizes Spain for sending minors back to Morocco
Save the Children on Saturday urged Spain to halt the repatriation to Morocco of hundreds of unaccompanied minors who were among thousands of migrants who crossed into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta three months ago. The international NGO accused Madrid of failing to...
Morocco piles more charges on jailed journalist Omar Radi
A Moroccan court on Thursday sentenced journalist and rights activist Omar Radi -- already imprisoned on charges of espionage and rape -- to a three-month suspended sentence for "public drunkenness", his lawyer said. Fellow journalist Imad Stitou, 32, received the...
Covid-19 in the Maghreb: More restrictions in Morocco, peak infection in Tunisia and panic in Algeria
Coronavirus: Latest global developments Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis: - China outbreak – Millions of people are confined to their homes in China as the country tries to contain its largest outbreak in months with mass testing and travel...
Western Sahara: Spanish court closes case against Polisario leader Brahim Ghali
Spain's top criminal court said Thursday it had archived a case involving genocide allegations against the leader of Western Sahara's independence movement. Brahim Ghali, who heads the Polisario Front, had testified before the National Court on June 1 in connection...
Reporters Without Borders retracts accusation that Algeria used Pegasus spyware
Algeria said Friday it filed a defamation claim against media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) after it back-pedalled accusations that the North African country had possessed Israeli-made Pegasus spyware. Algeria's embassy in France said the complaint related...
Morocco grapples with the Pegasus spyware problem
Morocco files French libel suit over Pegasus spyware claim Morocco has filed defamation claims against Amnesty International and a French NGO who claim its intelligence services used the Pegasus mobile phone spyware against dozens of French journalists, lawyers for...
Morocco punishes journalist Omar Radi, sentences him to six years in prison
By Kaouthar Oudrhiri: A Moroccan court on Monday sentenced journalist and human rights activist Omar Radi to six years in jail on charges of espionage and rape, stirring condemnation from rights groups. Radi's trial opened in June last year, just days after rights...
Morocco accused of spying on its journalists with Israeli spyware
Morocco said Monday it "categorically rejects" claims its intelligence services had used Israeli spyware Pegasus to monitor critics at home and abroad, a government statement read. Rabat said it had "never acquired computer software to infiltrate communication...
Algeria-Morocco: Diplomatic tension over Moroccan diplomat’s support of Kabyle autonomy
Algeria recalled its ambassador in Morocco for consultations on Sunday as a new diplomatic spat broke out between the regional arch-rivals. The move came after Morocco's envoy to the United Nations, Omar Hilale, expressed support for self-determination for Algeria's...
A secret trial in Morocco
A Moroccan judge on Tuesday took the trial of journalist and rights activist Omar Radi behind closed doors, a move his supporters slammed as "a new violation". Radi has been in detention for almost a year on charges of espionage and rape which he denies. The judge in...
Morocco: Heightened migration crisis in western Med Sea
More than 300 migrants rescued off the coast of Morocco Morocco's navy has rescued 344 migrants, including women and children, after their makeshift boats ran into difficulty in the Mediterranean and Atlantic, the MAP news agency reported Thursday. It said the...
Morocco experiencing scorching heatwave
Morocco was hit by a fiery weekend heatwave that saw temperatures reach nearly 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit), the country's weather service said on Monday. A statement from the General Directorate of Meteorology (GDM) said Saturday was "the hottest day,...
Moroccan journalist Raissouni sentenced to five years in jail
Detained Moroccan journalist Soulaimane Raissouni was sentenced on Friday to five years in jail for indecent assault against another man. Raissouni, editor-in-chief of now-defunct newspaper Akhbar Al Yaoum, denies the charge and has been on a hunger strike for 93...
Migrants: The deadly waters of the Western Mediterranean
Spiking sea crossings on makeshift boats lead to increase of undocumented Algerian migrants arriving in Spain and others drowning at sea The North Africa Journal - In just a few days, more than 1,100 Algerian undocumented migrants known in Algeria as Harragas have...
Morocco: Jailed journalist Soulaimane Raissouni in critical condition
A detained Moroccan journalist is "close to death" 76 days into a hunger strike, his family said as his trial resumed Tuesday in his absence. Soulaimane Raissouni, editor-in-chief of now-defunct newspaper Akhbar Al Yaoum, is accused of indecent assault against...
Migrant crisis: 3,000 mostly Moroccan migrants still inside Spain’s Ceuta
A month after more than 10,000 people surged across the Moroccan border into Ceuta, around 3,000 of them are still inside the Spanish enclave, the city's top official said Thursday. "We calculate that 3,000 people are still here -- both adults and minors -- of the...
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