RABAT, June 5, 2024 (AFP) – Eight people in Morocco have died and dozens of others were hospitalised after drinking homemade liquor, the health ministry said on Wednesday. “Serious complications from poisoning” led to the death of eight people in the town of Sidi Allal Tazi, about 100 kilometres (over 60 miles) north Rabat, said the regional health directorate. More than 100 people in the town suffered from alcohol poisoning between Monday and Wednesday from […]
Tag: Morocco
France insists no Morocco snub over quake aid
PARIS, Sept 11, 2023 (AFP) – France is insisting that the reluctance of Morocco to accept French offers of aid in the wake of Friday’s devastating quake does not represent a snub, even if it comes at a time of growing tensions between Rabat and the former colonial power. Along with the United States, France was conspicuously absent from a list of four countries Morocco said on Sunday it would seek aid from — Britain, […]
Morocco rescuers scour rubble for survivors after quake kills 2,100
TAFEGHAGHTE, Morocco, Sept 10, 2023 (AFP) – Using heavy equipment and even their bare hands, rescuers in Morocco on Sunday stepped up efforts to find survivors of a devastating earthquake that killed more than 2,100 people and flattened villages. The first foreign rescuers flew in to help after the North African country’s strongest-ever quake killed at least 2,122 people and injured more than 2,400, many seriously, according to official figures updated late on Sunday. Friday’s […]
Morocco mourns quake victims as death toll passes 2,000
TAFEGHAGHTE, Morocco, Sept 10, 2023 (AFP) – Moroccans on Sunday mourned the victims of a devastating earthquake that killed more than 2,000 people, as rescue teams raced to find survivors trapped in the rubble of flattened villages. The strongest-ever quake to hit the country has killed at least 2,012 people and injured over 2,059, many of them critically, according to the latest official figures. Friday’s 6.8-magnitude quake struck 72 kilometres (45 miles) southwest of the […]
Soaring prices pressure Morocco’s agriculture model
by Ismail Bellaouali Agence France-Presse RABAT, Morocco (AFP) — Soaring inflation in Morocco is driving up living costs and stirring public anger, and as food prices increase the country’s export-led agricultural model is coming under fire. On April 8, protesters gathered outside parliament in the capital Rabat, with some saying “The rise in prices is a disgrace” and: “We’re an agricultural country but vegetables are too expensive.” Official figures from February put year-on-year inflation in […]
Migrants in Morocco limbo as they cling to Europe dreams
by Kaouthar Oudrhiri Agence France-Presse CASABLANCA, Morocco (AFP) — Oumar left home in Guinea five years ago in search of a better life in Europe, but today he inhabits a daily purgatory of hunger, cold and police violence in Morocco. “Just surviving every day is a battle,” said the 25-year-old. “It’s exhausting not eating enough, not sleeping under a roof, not feeling safe, experiencing racism.” He spends his nights camped out on the pavement outside […]
Shunned by youth, Morocco cosmetic argan oil craft faces uncertain future
Essaouira, Morocco (AFP) by Kaouther Larbi Morocco’s argan oil is highly prized by the cosmetics industry, yet it is now mostly produced by elderly workers, raising questions about how long the artisanal practice can continue. A dozen women, sitting on the floor of a workshop inland from Essaouira, a port town on Morocco’s Atlantic coast, work to deftly shell argan nuts, crush them and extract the oil. It is a time-honoured and labour-intensive craft, […]
World Cup win makes Morocco the ‘pride’ of Arab fans
DOHA, Qatar (AFP) — Thousands of Morocco fans descended on the streets of Doha to celebrate their country becoming the first Arab nation to reach the World Cup quarter-finals on Tuesday. Despite some minor trouble outside the stadium, the victory over Spain became a celebration of “Arab pride” for supporters from across the region. Walid Regragui’s side won 3-0 in a penalty shootout after the match finished goalless following extra-time. So many people packed Doha’s […]
World Cup riots in Brussels after Morocco beat Belgium
Brussels, Belgium (AFP) Police used water cannon and teargas after coming under attack from football supporters who brought havoc to the centre of Brussels on Sunday following Morocco’s shock 2-0 World Cup win over Belgium in Qatar. Dozens of fans smashed shop windows, threw fireworks and torched vehicles. Police said that 11 people had been arrested with one remaining in custody. Even before the end of the match, “dozens of people, including some wearing hoodies, […]
Drought tightens its grip on Morocco
by Kaouthar Oudrhiri Agence France-Presse OULED ESSI MASSEOUD, Morocco (AFP) — Mohamed gave up farming because of successive droughts that have hit his previously fertile but isolated village in Morocco and because he just couldn’t bear it any longer. “To see villagers rush to public fountains in the morning or to a neighbor to get water makes you want to cry,” the man in his 60s said. “The water shortage is making us suffer,” he […]
One person killed fighting Morocco forest fire
RABAT, Morocco (AFP) — One volunteer firefighter has been killed and another injured in a forest fire in northern Morocco, where new blazes have broken out after a few days of calm, according to local authorities. The two victims were helping Monday in operations to extinguish a fire in Tanouate province near Fez and Meknes, local sources told AFP. The injured volunteer was hospitalized but his life was not in danger. Firefighting services were working […]
Morocco, Israel strengthen military links as army chief visits kingdom
RABAT, Morocco (AFP) — Israel and Morocco strengthened military ties during meetings Tuesday between the Jewish state’s army chief and Moroccan defense officials in the kingdom, amid tension with Rabat’s rival Algeria. Israeli army chief Aviv Kohavi, who arrived Monday, met with the Inspector General of the Royal Armed Forces Belkhir El Farouk, an Israeli army statement said. He also met with Morocco’s minister delegate in charge of defense administration, Abdellatif Loudiyi, and intelligence chief […]
