First Independent Mena Newspaper
Moroccan authorities continued their unabated crackdown on terrorists in 2017 with the busting of nine terror cells and the arrest of 189 extremists and 20 returning foreign fighters. These figures were revealed by the chief of Morocco’s counter-terrorism agency, the Central Bureau for Judicial Investigations (BCIJ), Abdelhak Khiame who said that the total number of […]
The Committee for the Protection of Journalists (CPJ) has slammed in a recent report Egypt for being the African country with the most journalists in jail. The CPJ deplored that of the 20 journalists behind bars in Egypt, a dozen had not been convicted or sentenced for any crime. “The prolonged imprisonment of Egyptian journalists […]
US has lifted a ban on citrus fruits originating from the fields of the eastern Moroccan region of Berkane, which was imposed on December 23, 2016, the National Food Safety Authority (ONSSA) said. The resumption of US imports of Berkane’s citrus was based on the results of an inspection conducted by US experts from the […]
The executive board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) commended Morocco for its “sound” macroeconomic policies and reforms while stressing the need for structural reform efforts. “Executive Directors commended the authorities for the sound macroeconomic policies and reform implementation that have helped improve the resilience of the Moroccan economy, upgrade the fiscal and financial policy […]
The audit report on the Morocco-EU fisheries accord, commissioned by the European Commission, concluded that the agreement has worked satisfactorily and that 75% of its socio-economic impacts benefit the Moroccan southern regions, and recommended the renewal of this agreement, which will expire in July 2018 as it stands as an instrument of in-depth cooperation with […]
The World Bank Board has announced a €172 million loan to the Moroccan city of Casablanca, hosting around 12 pc of the North African country’s population and contributing 20 pc of the national GDP. The loan, first of its kind, will enable the city’s managers to solve its growing urban challenges. It will support the […]
Members of the European Parliament adopted with an overwhelming majority the EU’s annual human rights report, which underscores the “significant progress” made by Morocco and chastizes Algeria for its “deplorable” human rights record. The EU report on human rights and democracy in the world in 2016 gives a broad picture of the EU’s human rights […]
Is the US seeking to tap into Morocco’s natural gas projects? This question rose to the fore after media reports said that chief of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Scott Pruitt is in Morocco this week to “update” environmental cooperation under the US-Morocco Free Trade Agreement to include an option to supply the Kingdom […]
The defense ministers of Egypt, Cyprus and Greece vowed to step up cooperation in combating drug, weapons and human trafficking in the East Mediterranean and to share information on countering the threat of terrorism. The Ministers also announced the setting up of a coordinating body to oversee joint special forces drills geared toward protecting vital […]
Leaders from the 57-member countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation have called on the world community to recognize East-Jerusalem as the “Occupied Capital” of the future State of Palestine and condemned the US administration’s move to recognize Al-Quds as capital of Israel and to relocate the American embassy from Tel Aviv to the holy […]