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Morocco: Jailed publisher Bouachrine announces the closing of newspaper Akhbar al Yaoum
By Redouane Benmehdi - Moroccan newspaper Akhbar al Yaoum shut down its operations after 14 years in business. Its closing, which left its staff and journalists stunned and concerned about their future, was announced on March 14, 2021 by its founder Taoufik...
Business: With a choking tourism industry, Morocco’s craftsmen face daunting outlook
By Redouane Benmehdi - Hundreds of thousands of Moroccan craftsmen are facing a daunting future as the government’s Covid-19 policies have resulted in their isolation and lack of effective financial support. The pandemic has starved the craftsmen from their usual...
Morocco: Health of jailed intellectual Maatib Monjib reportedly deteriorating
Supporters of a jailed Moroccan historian and rights activist expressed "serious concern" for his health on Wednesday, days after he began a hunger strike. The support committee for 60-year-old Maatib Monjib "expresses its serious concern about the effects of (his)...
Morocco: Jailed historian Maati Monjib goes on hunger strike
A Moroccan historian and rights activist who was jailed in January has begun a hunger strike, supporters and a legal representative said. Maati Monjib, 60, declared that he had begun the hunger strike on Thursday, a statement by his supporters said on Friday....
Morocco: Germany summons Moroccan envoy over Rabat’s anger on the Western Sahara and Libya
The German government said Wednesday it had called in the Moroccan ambassador in Berlin for "urgent" talks, after Rabat said it had suspended contacts with Germany's embassy. "Yesterday, we summoned the Moroccan ambassador to urgent talks at the Foreign Ministry to...
Western Sahara: European court to decide if Western Sahara goods are part of EU-Morocco accords
Luxembourg, Feb 28, 2021 (AFP) - The European Court of Justice is next week to discuss EU-Morocco accords allowing Rabat to export goods from Western Sahara that are contested by the pro-independence Polisario Front. It is to hold two sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday...
Moroccans debating legalization of cannabis for medicinal use
Morocco, a country where large volumes of cannabis are grown illicitly, is considering legalising production for therapeutic use of the drug, the government said Thursday. The government has "begun to study a legislative bill relating to the legal use of cannabis," it...
Morocco: Police seize 9.5 tons of cannabis near Rabat
Around 9.5 tonnes of cannabis resin was seized from a refrigerated lorry near Morocco's capital Rabat, the national security service said Monday. A police operation intercepted "a refrigerated lorry carrying 380 bales of around 9.5 tonnes of the drug, hidden among a...
Morocco: Protests in northern Morocco over social and economic despair
The Moroccan authorities dispatched police reinforcement to the northern city of Fnideq, where protests have erupted over social and economic despair among the population. Moroccan media reported rallies as having erupted because of the closure of the border with the...
Morocco: Uproar in Morocco as death toll in textile flooded workshop rises to 28
By Hicham Rafih - Authorities in Morocco faced mounting questions and calls for accountability Wednesday, two days after 28 people died when heavy rain flooded a basement factory in the port city of Tangiers. "The victims were trapped with no way to get out" and...
Western Sahara: Tensions running high as Polisario Front says three Moroccan soldiers killed in attack in Touizgui
In response to this article As a former journalist, I sympathize with others who struggle to find the correct wording to describe territories and movements. However, I must take issue gently with the item in today's weekly recap on the Polisario attack in southern...
Morocco: Death of workers in unlicensed textile workshop exposes Morocco’s illegal labor practices
At least 24 people died after heavy rain flooded an illegal underground textile workshop in a private house in Morocco's port of Tangiers, the state news agency reported Monday. Rescue workers recovered 24 bodies from the property and rescued 10 survivors, who were...
Morocco: Authorities find large quantities of cannabis buried in sand in the southwest
Nearly 9.2 tonnes of cannabis resin hidden in bales buried in sand were seized in southwestern Morocco, the national security service said Saturday. The DGSN security service said in a statement that the drugs were uncovered in the Guelmim region and an investigation...
Covid-19: Algeria and Morocco start vaccination campaign
Algeria kicks off Covid-19 vaccination campaign with Sputnik V, expects first shipment of AstraZeneca vaccine Algeria on Saturday launched its coronavirus vaccination campaign starting in the northern city of Blida, the epicentre of the country's Covid-19 outbreak in...
Morocco under pressure to release from prison historian and rights activist Maati Monjib
Amnesty International on Wednesday urged Morocco to release dissident historian and rights activist Maati Monjib, who has been in pre-trial detention for a month on money-laundering accusations. "The Moroccan authorities must immediately and unconditionally release...
Unable to govern, North African governments are using repression as their only tool in their toolbox
This week (ending 21 January 2021), Tunisia made the front pages of global media with Tunisians clashing with security forces over the past days to complain about their living conditions. The riots, which are still underway, have been taking place in several regions,...
Morocco’s abusive use of preventative detention
Morocco's detention of thousands of suspects awaiting judicial proceedings has sparked a heated debate in the North African country, with even prison authorities criticising its "excessive" use. Rights groups have warned of the use of preventative detention against...
Western Sahara: How Trump’s madness could undermine Morocco’s claim over the Western Sahara
By Arezki Daoud: Anger in the United States against disgraced American president Donald Trump has reached its peak. His opponents, in the millions, including an increasing number of fellow Republicans, can't wait to get rid of him and erase his legacy. Not only...
Turkey’s growing influence in the Maghreb, from drones to soap operas
By Hamza Mekouar: Turkey is boosting its influence across North Africa, analysts say, intervening militarily in war-torn Libya and using "soft power", trade and investment in Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco. While Turkish-made drones have won battles in Libya, its soap...
Morocco: Torrential rain and dilapidated drainage systems kill one in Casablanca
Torrential rain in Morocco this week after a period of drought has caused at least one death in its economic capital Casablanca, as bad weather remains forecast for the coming days. Authorities said one person was killed and four injured after the roof of a structure...
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