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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...
Morocco arrests rights activist and historian Maati Monjib
Morocco on Tuesday arrested historian and human rights activist Maati Monjib after an investigation into alleged money laundering, a security source said. Monjib, 60, would be brought before the king's attorney general at the Rabat court of first instance, "which...
Algeria and Morocco continue to repress journalists and rights activists
Algerian regime wants to punish activist Amira Bouraoui Algerian prosecutors have requested a tougher two-year jail sentence for prominent anti-government activist Amira Bouraoui during her trial on appeal, a prisoners' rights group said Friday. Bouraoui, a...
Morocco picks Chinese Sinopharm and British AstraZeneca for upcoming Covid vaccination campaign
Morocco said Thursday it had ordered 65 million doses of novel coronavirus vaccine, as the North African kingdom prepared to launch a vaccination campaign targeting 25 million people. "Preparations have reached very advanced stages," Health Minister Khalid Ait Taleb...
Spain annoyed by Morocco’s PM El Othmani over his comments on Ceuta and Melilla
Spain has summoned the Moroccan ambassador to explain comments by its prime minister over the Spanish north African enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, which are claimed by Rabat. The spat comes at a sensitive time in relations between the two countries, in particular over...
Algeria’s mediocre diplomacy: Even the Tunisians are slowly turning their back to Algiers ($)
Between Tunis and Algiers, diplomatic relations are strained, resulting from the recent statements of two former top Tunisian state officials about the controversial handling of the Western Sahara issue by the Algerians. The ex-officials are the influential Moncef...
Divided Maghreb countries celebrate one common thing: the Couscous
Couscous, the Berber dish beloved across northern Africa's Maghreb region and beyond, Wednesday joined the UN list of the world's intangible cultural heritage. The countries that submitted the listing to UNESCO -- Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia and Mauritania -- may have...
Russia condemns US move to recognize Morocco sovereignty over Western Sahara
Russia on Friday condemned US President Donald Trump's decision to recognise Morocco's sovereignty over Western Sahara, saying it contravened international law. Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov called the US decision "unilateral", Russian news agencies...
The Western Sahara: What’s at stake?
Disputed and divided Western Sahara is a former Spanish colony, mostly under Morocco's control, where tensions have simmered since the 1970s. An Algerian-backed independence movement -- which holds a fifth of the territory -- has campaigned for a vote on...
Morocco recognizes Israel in exchange for Trump’s backing on the Western Sahara crisis
First impressions, by Arezki Daoud Today, 10 December 2020, Morocco said it will resume -"with minimum delay- diplomatic relations with the state of Israel. The announcement came after pressure from the United States, specifically from its outgoing President, Donald...
Morocco: Franco-Moroccan agreement on repatriation of child migrants
Paris and Rabat signed an agreement Monday on repatriating underage Moroccan migrants, the most complex of the measures demanded by European countries to deal with incoming migrants from the Maghreb region. The agreement calls for "concrete tools" for taking care of...
Morocco says it arrested three men in Tetouan allegedly linked to IS
Moroccan police said Friday they have arrested three men in the northern city of Tetouan suspected of "terrorist plots" and links to the Islamic State group. The three had recorded a "video in which they pledge allegiance to the supposed emir of (IS)... and specify...
Minorities: The Amazigh people remain abused by North African regimes
The Berbers of Egypt: By Hager Harabech Siwa Oasis, Egypt, Dec 2, 2020 - Youssef Diab drives his truck through the Egyptian oasis of Siwa, singing catchy songs in a local Berber dialect that clings to life despite the dominance of Arabic. The UN has classified Siwi,...
Morocco says it’s serious about Covid-19 vaccination, people still doubt it
Morocco hopes to launch an ambitious vaccination campaign against the novel coronavirus by year-end, but its efforts have sparked suspicion and rumours in the country, hard-hit by the pandemic. The North African kingdom is hoping to immunise 20 million adults against...
Western Sahara: It’s tough to run a business in Guerguerat
Kamal Zerfi has long run a junkyard in a no-man's land on the far edge of the Sahara desert. Then government soldiers came and things took a turn for the worse. Zerfi lives in a remote outpost of the Western Sahara region claimed by both Morocco and Polisario Front...
W.Sahara: Polisario says it pounded defensive wall, as Morocco reinforces position at border post
Polisario says it pounded Morocco defensive wall in Western Sahara On 19 November 2020, the pro-independence Polisario Front said it launched "massive attacks" against a Moroccan defensive wall that cuts through the disputed Western Sahara. The territory is at the...
Spain confronts more migrants with new camps in the Canary Islands
Spanish authorities want to resume migrant deportations Spain's Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska on Friday called for deportations of migrants – suspended amid the coronavirus pandemic -- to resume, after meeting his counterpart in Morocco. Arrivals of...
Spain to fast-track deportations of migrants specifically from Ceuta and Melilla
Spain's Constitutional Court on Thursday backed the rapid deportation of migrants who illegally enter the country's north African enclaves, Ceuta and Melilla, a practice criticised by rights groups. The court said in a statement that it had validated almost all of a...
Spain confronts major migrant crisis on Canary Islands
Spain's defence minister admitted Friday the government needed to look critically at its approach to the migrant crisis at an overwhelmed Canary Islands port after conditions there became "unsuitable for humans". The situation at Arguineguin port on Gran Canaria, the...
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