First Independent Mena Newspaper
Spanish protests over the expulsion of RTVE and EFE crews from Fnideq on August 15 has exposed what critics call a glaring double standard on press freedom, one where Spanish journalists’ rights trigger immediate government statements, while similar treatment of Moroccan and Italian journalists on Spanish-controlled soil draws only silence. Moroccan authorities asked the Spanish […]
Moroccan security forces intercepted 294 candidates for irregular migration in and around Fnideq near occupied Ceuta on Saturday, August 15, as authorities mounted a large-scale operation to prevent any attempted mass crossing toward the Spanish-controlled enclave, a security source told Moroccan media. The updated toll marked a sharp rise from the 111 arrests logged earlier […]
The European Commission said this week it remains committed to a “long-standing, comprehensive and deep” partnership with Morocco and is prepared to open talks on a new Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement, though it gave no indication of when negotiations might begin saying it all depends on Rabat. “There is no timeline for negotiating rounds or […]
Morocco’s National Human Rights Council (CNDH) has asked Spain’s Ombudsman to open an investigation into alleged violations of the rights of Moroccan migrants in Ceuta, the council’s president Amina Bouayach said. Bouayach told Moroccan broadcaster 2M that she had sent a letter to Spain’s Defensor del Pueblo, the institution responsible for protecting fundamental rights, requesting […]
Far from the images of the mass border rushes at Ceuta and Melilla, a different migration story is unfolding in Algeria in the western Mediterranean. According to data released on August 12 by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Algeria has become the leading country of origin for irregular migration to Spain, well ahead of […]
Moroccan security forces have mounted an exceptional deployment across the country’s northern border region ahead of August 15, a date targeted by viral online calls for coordinated mass crossing attempts into the Spanish-controlled enclave of Ceuta (Sebta). National Police, Royal Gendarmerie and Auxiliary Forces have sharply increased checkpoints and inspections on roads and maritime access […]
A rare cross-party coalition in Spain has called for Morocco’s exclusion from co-hosting the 2030 FIFA World Cup, treating the global governing body as if it were a family heirloom, even as the joint Spain-Portugal-Morocco bid succeeded largely thanks to African support secured by Rabat. Right-wing Vox, left-wing Sumar and Podemos, and elements of the […]
Morocco has reached a new milestone in Norway’s fresh berry market, reclaiming its position as leading supplier of raspberries and blackberries and surpassing, for the first time, half of the country’s total imports in the category. Between July 2025 and June 2026, Norway imported 707 tons of fresh raspberries and blackberries from Morocco, worth more […]
Morocco’s Interior Ministry said it has detained several people suspected of inciting illegal mass border crossings into the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, following the circulation of social media posts calling for such attempts around August 15. In a statement by its spokesperson, the ministry said it had monitored messages of unknown origin on […]
In the wake of Spain’s self-inflicted migration crisis, analyses underpinned by Moroccophobia spawned in Spanish media. Some suggested Spain should consider cutting or threatening to cut electricity flows through the submarine cables to Morocco as leverage. Such proposals ignore the mutual benefits of the interconnection and risk exposing deeper economic interdependence, energy experts and bilateral […]