First Independent Mena Newspaper
The European Investment Bank Group (EIB) announced a financial support for the private sector in Morocco worth €440 million, notably through its credit lines with Moroccan financial institutions. The loan is intended to assist Morocco in addressing the impact of COVID-19 on the economy. “These credit lines dedicated to financing the private sector would be […]
The International Monetary Fund has vowed to remain closely engaged with Morocco as the authorities address the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. This came in a communiqué issued by the IMF confirming that the North African country drew the $3 billion available resources under the arrangement. The authorities will use funds purchased under the PLL […]
Several Moroccan companies have converted their production chains to make personal protective gears (facemasks/shields, gloves…) and even ventilators to help combat the shortage due to the coronavirus pandemic. Sensing the urgent needs, some companies worked night shifts to scale up the country’s daily production of face-masks to over 3.3 million, while other firms such as […]
Morocco is mobilizing all its medical resources and infrastructures to expand its Covid-19 treatment capacity and provide more ICU beds, ventilators and healthcare staff to help contain the coronavirus pandemic, which has so far killed 90 people in the country, infected 1,184, while 88 others recovered. To support the country’s response efforts, the Royal Armed […]
Chad’s former ruler Hissene Habre has been granted two months leave from prison in Senegal, where he is serving life for crimes against humanity. The prison is being used to hold new detainees in coronavirus quarantine. Habre, who ruled Chad from 1982 to 1990, was convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity at an […]
The World Health Organization chief has angrily slammed as “racist” and a remnant of the “colonial mentality” recent comments made by two French scientists suggesting a vaccine for the new coronavirus should be tested in Africa. “Africa cannot and will not be a testing ground for any vaccine,” WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a […]
The Covid-19 pandemic, which affected so far 1,423 and killed 173 people in Algeria, does not prevent the Algerian justice system from punishing “Hirak” activists and journalists. On Monday, Abdelouahab Fersaoui, president of the Rassemblement-Actions-Jeunesse (RAJ), an association at the forefront of the anti-regime popular movement, known as “Hirak”, was handed a one year in […]
Egypt has refused to welcome its citizens stranded in Qatar amid global battle against covid-19 and diplomatic tension between the two countries. A source at Qatar’s foreign ministry told Doha-based news network Al Jazeera that the Gulf country has charted a plane to bring home Egyptian nationals but Egypt has refused to let the Spanish […]
The Moroccan government lifted the threshold on foreign debt as it braces for dwindling foreign exchange reserves due to the impact of coronavirus on the flow of hard currency to the country. The move aims at addressing the needs in terms of foreign exchange reserves as the coronavirus repercussions are expected to hit tourism revenues, […]
Moroccan public authorities have announced that wearing facemasks in public and at work place will be compulsory as of this Tuesday March 7 for all people authorized to go out of their homes and that breakers of the decision will face sanctions. The measure, taken as part of efforts aimed at stopping the spread […]