Morocco will stop people entering and leaving some of its biggest cities from midnight to contain a surge in COVID-19 cases, the interior and health Ministries said on Sunday. The cities to be locked down include the economic powerhouse of Casablanca as well as Tangier, Marrakech, Fez, and Meknes. The …
Read More »French forces kill leader of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb
French forces have killed the leader of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, Algerian Abdelmalek Droukdel, in northern Mali, France’s defense minister said. Droukdel was killed on Thursday near the Algerian border, where the group has bases from which it has carried out attacks and abductions of Westerners in the …
Read More »Morocco YouTuber jailed for insulting King Mohammed VI.
A well known Moroccan YouTuber has been jailed for four years and fined about $4,000 (£3,000) after being found guilty of insulting the country’s king. Mohamed Sekkaki was arrested earlier this month after criticizing King Mohammed’s speeches and for calling Moroccans donkeys. He plans to appeal against the verdict. Separately, …
Read More »Another deadly Mediterranean rafting: 4 killed, 16 missing
Four refugees have died and up to 16 more are missing after trying to cross into Europe from North Africa on a small raft, Spain’s coastguard says. Rescuers saved 58 people from the raft, which was found drifting around 37 miles off the coast of Morocco on Tuesday night. Three …
Read More »Moroccan human rights defenders targeted using malicious NSO Israeli spyware.
Two prominent human rights defenders in Morocco have been targeted using surveillance technology developed by the Israeli-based company NSO Group, according to new research published by Amnesty Tech. Maati Monjib, an academic and human rights activist, and Abdessadak El Bouchattaoui, a human rights lawyer who has represented protesters from the …
Read More »UNHCR says at least 40 feared dead or missing in shipwreck off Libya
About 40 people are feared dead or missing after the latest wreck of a boat carrying migrants bound for Europe off the coast of Libya, while about 60 people may have been rescued, the U.N. refugee agency said on Tuesday. “Terrible news coming in of potentially large loss of life …
Read More »Refugee found hiding behind car glove box in a desperate attempt to enter Europe.
An African man has been found crammed behind the glove box of a car in a bid to get to Europe — one of four people spotted in vehicles on the same day by authorities in Morocco and the Spanish enclave of Melilla, in North Africa. Three people — including …
Read More »Iraq sentences another French to death for joining Daesh.
An Iraqi court has sentenced to death a fourth French citizen for his suspected membership in the Daesh terrorist group and committing crimes, a day after three others were also condemned to capital punishment over the same charge. Iraqi Judge Ahmed Mohammed on Monday sentenced Mustafa Mohammed Ibrahim, 37, to …
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