Morocco

Morocco has chosen a mass vaccination campaign aimed at 80% of the population. He is fast: in less than three months, more than 12% of Moroccans have been vaccinated. His strategy? Expectation and control. Morocco started the vaccine race in the summer of 2020, with the Chinese, and has since multiplied sources of supply and so far avoided shortages of doses.…

Morocco has just started a project to generalize social protection for an annual amount of 5.7 billion dollars. Last year, Moroccan authorities announced that the coronavirus crisis revealed the weakness of the country's social protection network. It is July 29, 2020 that Morocco announced the establishment a plan to generalize…

Dah Al-Bendir, head of the Polisario Gendarmerie and senior official, was killed on Wednesday, April 7, in a drone strike aimed at his convoy in disputed territory in Western Sahara. If Rabat remains silent about this operation, the Polisario Front confirms it and maintains its hostile position vis-à-vis the Moroccan army. The…

Morocco was officially qualified after a draw between Burundi and the Central African Republic (2-2) and was content with a draw in Mauritania (0-0) for the 5th day in the qualifiers in Group E. It is a result that does not necessarily suit Mauritania who no longer has his fate in hand for a qualification for CAN 2021. More than 16 months later, the return match looks strange to the first stage (0-0). Between Moroccans and Mauritanians there were no winners, no goals. And above all, a little spectacle, so to speak. In the…

Historian and human rights activist Maâti Monjib, who was on hunger strike for 19 days, was released on probation on Tuesday, March 23rd. In prison for three months and convicted of "fraud" and "danger to state security", he has repeatedly condemned an "violent" arrest. He and his lawyers intend to drop all charges against him and against other detainees. "The accusations against me are made by the political police. (...) Now that I enjoy temporary release, I will fight for the release of the other detainees ”: these…

Morocco ignores the vaccination of undocumented migrants in the country, even though it is one of the first countries to have a vaccination program in Africa. There was no official decision on the matter, even though tens of thousands of legal foreign residents have been vaccinated, according to a statement from an official from the Ministry of Health responsible for the vaccination campaign. The COVID-19 pandemic has ravaged Morocco's tourism sector and led to reduced industrial exports. The country…

In Africa, not everyone is happy with the election of South African Patrice Motsepe as president of the African Football Confederation (CAF). Last Friday, during a CAF general meeting in Rabat, the South African billionaire benefited from the withdrawal of three West African candidates in his favor. But for Senegalese Abdoulaye Thiam, editor-in-chief of the "Sud Quotidien" and chairman of the Senegalese sports press association, politics…

On Thursday, the Moroccan government approved a bill to legalize cannabis for medical use, but retained the ban on its recreational use. The country is the best producer of world cannabis. However, Parliament still needs to give its final approval to the legislation. The bill calls for the establishment of a national authority to regulate the industry and to set up cooperatives that would grow "certified" cannabis plants. The move would "transform illegal" cannabis plantations into "legal and…

Younès Belhanda was fired by Galatasaray on Wednesday, March 10, after criticizing the leaders of the Turkish club. He arrived at the Istanbul club in 2017. The story between Younès Belhanda and Galatasaray has just ended abruptly. The Moroccan international footballer was fired on Wednesday, March 10, by the Turkish club. A…

Pro-independent rebels fighting Morocco for Western Sahara said on Saturday that the UN was responsible for "political stalemate" over the disputed territory, on the 45th anniversary of their unilateral declaration of independence. The Algeria-backed Polisario Front controls about one-fifth of Western Sahara's large, arid territory and demands a promised UN-led referendum on self-determination. Morocco has offered autonomy but claims that the territory is a sovereign part of the empire. "We call on…