Morocco - The African Mirror

Dec

2020

Algeria rejects Trump’s stance on Western Sahara

ALGERIA has rejected a decision by outgoing U.S. President Donald Trump to recognise Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara, saying the step would undermine efforts to end the decades-long conflict over the desert territory. Trump's administration said it was recognising Moroccan claims to Western Sahara as part of a deal under which Morocco agreed to normalise its relations with Israel. In Algiers, the Foreign Ministry said the U.S. decision "has no legal effect because it contradicts U.N. resolutions, especially U.N. Security Council resolutions on Western Sahara". "The proclamation would undermine the de-escalation efforts made at all levels in order to pave…

Dec

2020

By The African Mirror

Oman welcomes Morocco, Israel normalisation as step towards regional peace

NEWS

OMAN has welcomed Morocco's announcement that it was establishing diplomatic ties with Israel and hoped the move would strengthen efforts towards a lasting and just peace in the Middle East, its foreign ministry has announced. Israel and Morocco agreed on Thursday to normalise relations in a deal brokered with U.S. help, making Morocco the fourth Arab country after the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan to set aside hostilities with Israel in the past four months. In a departure from longstanding U.S. policy, President Donald Trump agreed as part of the deal to recognize Morocco's sovereignty over the disputed territory…

Dec

2020

By The African Mirror

U.S. nears sale of four sophisticated drones to Morocco – sources

NEWS

MIKE STONE and PATRICIA ZENGERLE THE United States is negotiating the sale of at least four sophisticated large aerial drones to Morocco, according to three U.S. sources familiar with the negotiations, and is expected to discuss the deal with members of Congress in the coming days. The sources did not indicate whether the deal, which has been in the works for several months, was in any way related to the an agreement brokered with U.S. help for Morocco to normalize relations with Israel. While the State Department has authorized the sale of the unmanned aerial vehicles, the sources said, it…

Dec

2020

By The African Mirror

Morocco says Covid-19 vaccine will be free to all citizens

COVID-19

MOROCCO’S King Mohammed VI ordered that all Moroccans should receive a coronavirus vaccine for free, the Royal palace has announced. Morocco plans to roll out China's Sinopharm vaccine in the coming weeks as soon as its phase three trials are over, Prime Minister Saad Dine El Otmani told Reuters last month. The country has also ordered doses from AstraZeneca and is in talks with other vaccine developers, he said. As of Tuesday, Morocco, with a population of about 36 million, had seen 384,088 confirmed cases and 6,370 deaths. It has around 40,000 active cases. - Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

After frantic search, Moroccan woman finds brother stranded on Canary Islands

NEWS

ON November 7, Sarah Bettache received an unexpected phone call from her brother Ahmed, who told her he was on the Spanish island of Gran Canaria. Two days earlier, the 19-year-old had left his native Morocco on a rickety boat and embarked on a dangerous journey to reach the Canary Islands archipelago, around 100 km (60 miles) away. Like a record number of other migrants this year, he was seeking a better future in Europe. Bettache, who is 27 and lives in France where she has citizenship, had no warning of her brother's drastic action, and nor did the rest…

Oct

2020

By The African Mirror

Eight players from Morocco’s Raja Casablanca test positive for COVID-19

SPORT

AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER A total of eight players at Morocco’s top club Raja Casablanca have tested positive for COVID-19, forcing the postponement of their CAF Champions League semi-final clash against Egyptian giants Zamalek. CAF has announced that the semi-final clash was re-scheduled from October 24 to November 1 after the Covid-positive players have to go into mandatory quarantine until October 27. In addition, CAF said its stance was also forced by a decision by the government of Morocco to withdraw special authorization for Raja to travel outside the country. In a statement, CAF said: “As a result, the team will…

Aug

2020

By The African Mirror

Morocco rejects normalising ties with Israel – PM

NEWS

MOROCCAN Prime Minister Saad Dine El Otmani has rejected any normalisation of relations with Israel. "We refuse any normalisation with the Zionist entity because this emboldens it to go further in breaching the rights of the Palestinian people," El Otmani told his Islamist PJD party. The remarks came ahead of a visit to the region by Jared Kushner, a senior adviser and son-in-law to U.S. President Donald Trump, and after the UAE and Israel struck a deal to normalise ties. Morocco's official position has been in support of the two-state solution, with East Jerusalem as capital of a Palestinian state.…

Aug

2020

By The African Mirror

Morocco may reimpose full lockdown as COVID-19 cases surge – King

COVID-19

MORROCO could return to a complete coronavirus lockdown as cases continue to spike, Moroccan King Mohammed VI said, warning of severe economic repercussions. The warning came as a jump in infections in the once-bustling tourist hub of Marrakech strained health services and led to protests by medical staff in recent days. New cases nationally have surged to more than 1,000 a day since Morocco lifted a strict three-month-long lockdown in late June and hit a record high of 1,766 on August 15. "If figures continue to increase, the COVID-19 Scientific Committee may recommend another lockdown, perhaps with even tighter restrictions,"…

Aug

2020

By The African Mirror

EU drops Morocco from safe country travel list

NEWS

KATE ABNETT THE European Union removed Morocco from its safe list of countries from which the bloc allows non-essential travel, after a review by EU ambassadors. The move leaves 10 countries on the new list, which takes effect August 8, after the EU also excluded Algeria last week. The safe countries deemed to have the coronavirus pandemic largely under control are Australia, Canada, Georgia, Japan, New Zealand, Rwanda, South Korea, Thailand, Tunisia, and Uruguay. China has also been approved, although travel would only open up if Chinese authorities also allowed in EU visitors. Morocco recorded a record high of 6,385…

Jul

2020

By The African Mirror

Morocco arrests dissident journalist on rape and spy charges

MEDIA FREEDOM

MOROCCAN police have arrested a dissident journalist and charged him with rape and helping foreign spies, a prosecutor said, in a case worrying rights groups. Omar Radi, a business journalist and critic of Morocco's human rights record, was also accused of receiving funds from abroad to undermine Morocco's security, the Casablanca prosecutor's office said in a statement. Radi, 33, denies all the charges, his lawyer Miloud Kandil told Reuters, adding that a first hearing would be on Sept. 22. His arrest follows 10 summons for a police investigation over suspicions of receiving funds linked to foreign intelligence which he denied.…