On Sunday, the customs aborted an attempt to export 150 pure gold old French coins without authorization, a source at the customs said.

Investigations have shown that these coins date to the Napoleon Bonaparte era.

A Frenchman attempted to smuggle these coins, weighing 964 grams, out of the Moroccan territory. Following the scanning procedure, a careful manual search of his travel bag allowed the seizure of the coins.

These accidents were mainly due to non-respect of priority, excessive speeding, non-control of vehicles and pedestrian and driver errors, the source pointed out in a statement on Tuesday. 

A total of 47,765  traffic tickets were issued by the police during the same week.

The sum of fines paid by road traffic violators stood at 8,248,475 dirhams, the statement said.

"To forestall any de-anchoring of inflation expectations and to guarantee the conditions for a rapid return to levels in line with the price stability objective, the Board decided to raise the key interest rate by 50 basis points to 2%and to continue to monitor closely the economic developments, both nationally and internationally, and in particular, the evolution of inflationary pressures," said BAM in a statement issued at the end of its board's 2022 third quarterly meeting.

During this meeting, the Board analyzed the international economic developments and noted that they remain deeply marked by the aftermath of the pandemic and the implications of the war in Ukraine, namely through the persistence of higher energy and food prices, as well as supply chains disruptions. 

These developments are driving inflation to exceptionally high levels, leading central banks to reinforce the rapid and largely synchronized tightening of their monetary policies, entailing a significant slowdown in the global economy after the rebound marked in 2021.

At the domestic level, the Board noted that the economy continues to suffer from this unfavorable external environment and the repercussions of a particularly severe drought, along with a pronounced deceleration in growth and a sharp acceleration in inflation, which continues to be fueled by external pressures. However, the latest available data show a broad spread to non-tradable products prices, the statement said.

Compared to its June forecasts, Bank Al-Maghrib is expecting a significantly higher level of inflation in 2022 (6.3%), followed by a less pronounced downturn in 2023 (2.4%).

According to Bank Al-Maghrib's projections, economic growth will slow down markedly to 0.8% this year, as a result of a 14.7% decline in agricultural value added and a slowdown to 3.4% of the growth pace of non-agricultural activities.

In 2023, it would accelerate to 3.6%, linked to the projected 11.9% increase in agricultural value added, under the assumption of a return to an average cereal production of 75 million quintals. However, non-agricultural activities would continue to slow, with their pace returning to 2.5%.

As regards external accounts, the strong trade dynamic is expected to continue this year with an increase in exports by 34%, driven mainly by sales of phosphate and derivatives, which would reach 144.5 billion dirhams, and of the automotive sector, which would amount to nearly 100 billion. In 2023, exports are projected to decline by 1.1%, with a relative decrease in phosphate and derivatives prices.

Concurrently, imports are expected to rise by 34.5 percent in 2022, due to the increase in the energy bill to 135.1 billion dirhams and the increase in purchases of semi-finished products to 167 billion. In 2023, they would decline by 4.6 percent, mainly due to the expected drops in oil prices and wheat supplies.

Travel receipts, benefiting from the reopening of borders and the significant decline in the pandemic worldwide, are expected to improve significantly to 79.8 billion dirhams this year and to stabilize at this level in 2023.

Taking into consideration the performance recorded since the beginning of the year, remittances are expected to continue to rise, totaling around 100 billion dirhams for the year as a whole before returning to 92.4 billion in 2023, BAM says.

Under these conditions, the current account deficit would be equivalent to 3.2% of GDP in 2022 before narrowing to 1.9% in 2023. Regarding FDI, revenues would amount to about 3.2% of GDP annually over the next two years. 

Overall, and assuming in particular the fulfilment of the external financing forecasts of the Treasury, the official assets of reserves would stand at 343.7 billion dirhams at the end of 2022 and 360.7 billion dirhams at the end of 2023, thus ensuring a cover of approximately 6 months of imports of goods and services. 

As to monetary conditions, the strong appreciation of the dollar against the euro is reflected in the nominal effective exchange rate of the dirham. After an increase of 2.1% in 2021, the latter is expected to slightly decline over the year as a whole before appreciating by 1.7%in 2023. 

Considering the lower levels of domestic inflation compared to partner and competitor countries, this rate will depreciate in real terms by 1.8% in 2022 before increasing by 0.4% in 2023.

On the same note, the quarterly assessments conducted by Bank Al-Maghrib continue to show the absence of signs of misalignment of the dirham with the fundamentals of the national economy.

Lending rates were broadly unchanged in the second quarter of 2022, covering an 18 basis point decline in consumer loans and increases of 29 bp in equipment loans and 30 bp in real estate loans to companies.  

As for the banks' liquidity needs, they would increase to 85.1 billion dirhams at the end of 2022 and to 89.6 billion at the end of 2023. Bank credit to the non-financial sector would increase by 4% in 2022 and by 3.6% in 2023.

Regarding public finance, fiscal execution for the first eight months of the year shows a 24.5 percent improvement in ordinary revenue. At the same time, overall expenses increased by 13.1%, reflecting in particular the increase in compensation costs.

Taking into account the expected increase in tax revenues, the mobilization of resources under specific financing as well as the expected evolution of the subsidy costs, the fiscal deficit would, according to Bank Al-Maghrib's projections, increase from 5.9% of GDP in 2021 to 5.5% in 2022 before decreasing to 5% in 2023.

"Considering these developments, Bank Al-Maghrib projects that inflation will accelerate to 6.3 percent on average this year compared with 1.4 percent in 2021, before returning to 2.4 percent in 2023," said the Central Bank in a statement issued after its board's 2022 third quarterly meeting.

'Driven by the increase in food prices included therein, core inflation would accelerate to 6.3% in 2022 after 1.7% in 2021, before decelerating to 2.5% in 2023, according to the same source.

A total of 24,905,099 people have received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, while the number of fully vaccinated people (1st and 2nd doses) has reached 23,401,079, the ministry pointed out in its daily COVID-19 bulletin, noting that 6,813,807 people have received the third dose of the vaccine, while 48,936 people have received the fourth dose.

According to the same source, the number of COVID-19 cases reported since the start of the outbreak of the virus rose to 1,264,903, while recoveries increased to 1,248,517, i.e. a recovery rate of 98.7%.

The new COVID-19 cases were recorded in the regions of Casablanca-Settat (12), Laâyoune-Sakia El Hamra (02), Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima (02), Béni Mellal-Khénifra (02), Fez-Meknes (01) and Rabat-Salé-Kénitra (01).

As for coronavirus-related fatalities, they stood at 16,278, with no death reported in the past 24 hours.

The number of active cases dropped to 108, while no severe or critical cases were recorded in the past 24 hours.

Shamelessly, nor with regard to ethics and the basics of journalism, the Algerian news agency has arrogated to itself the right to distort reality by imputing to the head of the United Nations remarks that he did not record in the official statement released on the same occasion by the office of his own spokesman and that neither the Secretary General nor the UN have ever held.

While the "readout" of the UN Secretary General only mentions the issue of the Moroccan Sahara among the "regional issues" discussed during the interview alongside those of Libya and Mali, the APS, true to its sickly anti-Moroccan obsession, gives free rein to an imagination that borders on the ridiculous, by repeating the words of the Algerian foreign minister during his speech at the UN General Assembly.

The agency in charge has pushed ridiculousness to the limit by putting these fictitious and fabricated statements in quotation marks to give them a simulacrum of seriousness and authenticity. A trampling of ethics that has no equal except in an agency subservient to a regime in distress.

APS has certainly forgotten, or pretended to forget, that the fact that the issue of the Moroccan Sahara is mentioned during the meeting between Guterres and the Algerian minister is a normal thing, because Algeria is the main party to this regional dispute and that the political process is conducted under the exclusive auspices of the United Nations.

The lies of the APS are not limited to the issue of the Moroccan Sahara, since they also concern the Palestinian question. While the UN spokesperson's statement makes no mention or allusion to this issue, the Algerian disinformation agency refers to "Algeria's efforts to consolidate Palestinian national unity and to resume the peace process in the Middle East through the revival of the Arab peace initiative.

Another eloquent example of this "behavior" that disregards the rules of ethics is when the APS will usurp the function of spokesman for the UN Secretary General and "confirm" the participation of the latter in the next Summit of Arab States in Algiers. This is unprecedented in the world of the press and media.

The propagandist imagination of the Algerian agency is not satisfied with this level of ridicule when it will evoke a "working session" with the head of the United Nations, while the office of the spokesman of the latter speaks only of a "meeting". Fortunately, being ridiculous won't kill anyone!

According to statement from the Ministry of Justice, the two sides welcomed the strength and depth of relations and the strength of the ties that unite the two countries, which draw their strength from the depth of the fraternal relationship between the leaders of the two countries, HM King Mohammed VI and His Highness Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani.

Ouahbi gave, on this occasion, an overview of the Moroccan experience in the field of justice, the statement added, noting that he reviewed the reforms that the justice sector is undergoing, at the level of legislation, infrastructure, court development, digitization and training.

He expressed the willingness of the Kingdom to open up to the Qatari experience in justice and take advantage of the foundations of its success, especially in the field of digitalization.

For his part, the Qatari minister recalled, during the meeting, the most important reforms carried out by the State of Qatar in the justice sector, as well as he welcomed the depth of relations between the two countries, expressing his immense gratitude to the Kingdom of Morocco, King and people.

He stressed that the Moroccan experience in the field of justice deserves attention, noting the need for both parties to take advantage of both experiences in terms of exchange of experiences and training.

The two parties agreed, according to the statement, to create a joint technical committee between the two ministries with the aim of preparing draft agreements to be signed in the near future, to raise Moroccan-Qatari relations to the highest level.

The visit of the Minister of Justice in Qatar is part of a tour in several Arab countries that took him to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Kingdom of Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, and also includes Jordan and Egypt.

The two parties have reviewed, during their talks, various aspects and levels of bilateral cooperation in the security field, and examine the mechanisms to enhance and diversify this cooperation, to combine and coordinate efforts to meet security challenges in a common regional environment, said a statement from the Directorate General of National Security (DGSN).

The two parties also stressed the importance of strengthening cooperation in police training, exchange of experiences, expertise and best practices in the security field, in addition to the exchange of information to combat the various threats and risks that threaten the security of both countries and the safety of their citizens, the statement added.

This meeting was also an opportunity for the central directors of the DGSN and DGST to meet with their Mauritanian counterparts, to discuss operational cooperation and technical assistance in various fields and security specialties of common interest, said.

This meeting illustrates the vital importance of Morocco-Mauritania bilateral cooperation in the security field as a model of effective and regular South-South cooperation, especially since it comes in the wake of a similar visit to the Kingdom of Morocco in 2020, notes the same source, adding that it also reflects the firm and unwavering determination to face the challenges and security threats according to a common vision.

The Moroccan writer of international renown won the International Prize of this great cultural event for his collection of poetry entitled "Douleur et lumière du monde" (Pain and Light of the World), which evokes "the tragedies and beauties of the contemporary world to show the richness and complexity."

The Camaiore Literary Award, initiated by the poet Francesco Belluomini, is part of "the prestigious events dedicated to poetry at the international level."

Also a painter and poet, Tahar Ben Jelloun is known for his novel awarded the Goncourt Prize "The Sacred Night" and his many educational essays, including "Racism explained to my daughter", translated into more than 25 languages, and his latest work "Honey and bitterness", published by La Nave di Teseo.

The award ceremony took place in the presence of the cultural counselor of the Embassy of the Kingdom in Rome, Saloua Bentaher, and the Deputy Consul of the Kingdom in Bologna, Abdelali El Hachimi.

The works of the native of Fez in 1944 are known worldwide. It was after studying philosophy that he wrote his first poems. In 1971, he moved to France to pursue studies in sociology, collaborated with the newspaper Le Monde and published several novels.

Royal Gendarmerie and Civil Protection services transported the injured to the Regional Hospital of Beni Mellal to provide them with the necessary care, said the same source, noting the some of hem were able to leave the hospital.