Western Sahara

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At least 10 fishermen drowned on Tuesday when a Moroccan fishing trawler sank off the coast of the disputed Western Sahara.

Five sailors were rescued while two crew members were still missing, the authorities said, with a search under way.

The incident happened in the province of Aousserd, 220 km (136 miles) away from Dakhla city, the state-run Moroccan news agency, MAP, said.

It was not yet clear what caused the trawler to sink.

Western Sahara, which is disputed between Morocco and the Algeria-backed Polisario movement, has a long coastline and access to rich fishing waters.

EPACopyright: EPA

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is on an official visit to Morocco, aimed at mending ties following a deep diplomatic crisis between the two countries.

"The better the relations are between Morocco and Spain, the better it is for Spain, for Morocco, for Europe, for business, and for the citizens of both countries," Mr Sanchez said at an economic forum in Rabat.

He and a dozen Spanish ministers are set to meet top members of the Moroccan government on Thursday.

They are expected to sign some 24 deals including Spanish investments in the kingdom and on partnerships in areas from culture and education to desalination and rail transport, Spanish government sources said.

This visit comes amid disputes over migration and territory and after Madrid reversed decades of neutrality on the Western Sahara conflict to back Morocco's position.

Also Spain's North African enclaves of Melilla and Ceuta - which both border Morocco - have long been magnets for people fleeing violence and poverty across Africa, seeking refuge via the continent's only land frontiers with the European Union.

Tensions were strained last year after the deaths of at least 23 sub-Saharan migrants who were attempting to cross from Morocco to the Spanish enclave of Melilla.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres held a meeting with Morocco's King Mohammed VI on Wednesday, where they discussed the disputed Western Sahara region.

Western Sahara - a former Spanish colony - is considered a "non-self-governing territory" by the United Nations.

Morocco controls 80% of the territory and the rest is held by the Polisario movement - which fought with Morocco for years after Spanish forces withdrew in 1975.

In October, the UN Security Council called on both sides to resume negotiations

The two leaders met on Wednesday on the side-lines of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations held in the Moroccan city of Fez.

King Mohammed reaffirmed Morocco's position that the dispute be resolved "on the basis of the autonomy initiative, within the framework of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom".

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The UN Security Council has voted for the resumption of negotiations between parties to the disputed Western Sahara.

The Thursday resolution called for the parties to resume negotiations "in good faith with a view to achieving a just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution" for Western Sahara.

Thirteen countries in the 15-member council voted in favour of the resolution, with Kenya and Russia abstaining.

Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony, is disputed by the Algerian-backed Polisario Front and Morocco.

Morocco controls around 80% of Western Sahara and the rest is held by the Polisario movement - which fought with Morocco for years after Spanish forces withdrew in 1975.

The 16-year-long insurgency ended with a UN-brokered truce in 1991 and the promise of a referendum on independence which has yet to take place.

• Find out more about Western Sahara

South Africa is "unapologetic" in its support of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) in Western Sahara, President Cyril Ramaphosa has said.

He is hosting Brahim Ghali, the visiting leader of Polisario Front - the republic's pro-independence group.

Western Sahara - a former Spanish colony is considered a "non-self-governing territory" by the United Nations.

Morocco, which controls 80% of the territory and claims ownership on the entire replublic, has clashed with neighbouring Algeria which has backed the Polisario Front since the 1970s after the Spanish left.

"We are concerned about the silence that persists in the world about the struggle for self determination for the people of Western Sahara," Mr Ramaphosa said on Tuesday.

"It's a just struggle, it's a noble struggle, it's an honourable struggle, a people who want to determine their own destiny though self determination," said Mr Ramaphosa, drawing comparison with South Africa's fight against white minority apartheid regime.

Moroccan media report that Donald Trump's daughter has been visiting the disputed territory of Western Sahara, which has been agitating for independence from Morocco for decades.

A photo on news site le360 appears to show Ivanka Trump sitting on a beach in the city of Dakhla.

Under President Trump, the US agreed to recognise Morocco's claim to the whole of Western Sahara, in return for Morocco normalising relations with Israel.

Western Sahara is not a common destination for tourists. The UK government, among others, advises travellers to remain vigilant at all times because of the likelihood of attacks.

Ms Trump's choice of local attire, known as melhfa, in this photo has bemused some online while others have praised her:

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• A quick guide to Western Sahara
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The European Union has urged Algeria to reverse its decision to suspend a cooperation agreement with Spain, amid a dispute over Western Sahara.

On Wednesday, Algeria suspended its 2002 friendship treaty with Spain, threatening trade ties, including supplies of Algerian gas.

In March, Spain publicly recognised Morocco's plan to grant Western Sahara autonomy rather than full independence, resolving a diplomatic spat with Morocco but angering Algeria.

Algeria supports the Polisario movement which is seeking independence for Western Sahara.

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Algeria has suspended a 20-year-old co-operation treaty with Spain, after Madrid reversed its neutral stance towards Western Sahara.

In March Spain publicly recognised Morocco's autonomy plan for the disputed territory to end a diplomatic spat with the kingdom, Algeria's arch-rival.

Morocco controls around 80% of the Western Sahara.

The rest is held by the Algerian-backed Polisario movement, which fought a 15-year war with Morocco after Spanish forces withdrew in 1975.

International efforts to resolve the dispute have repeatedly failed.

• PROFILE: Western Sahara - a quick guide

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Morocco and Spain have announced they have turned a new page in relations - after Madrid pledged support for Morocco's autonomy plan for the disputed Western Sahara.

During a meeting in Rabat, King Mohammed and the Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said they were willing to usher in a new phase, "based on mutual respect, mutual trust, permanent consultation and frank and faithful co-operation".

In a statement, Mr Sanchez reaffirmed the autonomy plan as a realistic option for Western Sahara.

Morocco considers the former Spanish colony its own.

But the Algeria-backed Polisario Front wants to establish its own state.

• Find out more about Western Sahara

AFPCopyright: AFP

Algeria's national handball team will not take part in the African Men's Handball Championship to be held in Morocco from 13 to 23 January, local media report.

At an event to draw the matches in Ivory Coast on Wednesday, Algeria was not among the participating nations.

The boycott of the Algerian side was expected, after it emerged that some of the games would be hosted in the city of Layoun in the disputed territory of Western Sahara.

Morocco claims sovereignty of Western Sahara, while Algeria backs the Polisario movement fighting for independence in the former Spanish colony.

ReutersCopyright: Reuters

The leader of a Western Saharan separatist group arrived in Algeria early on Wednesday, after leaving a hospital in Spain where he was being treated for Covid-19.

Brahim Ghali, the Polisario Front leader, left Spain at 01:40 local time (23:40 GMT) on a chartered plane.

"He arrived safe and sound," the Reuters news agency quoted Jalil Mohamed, the Polisario Front's spokesman, as saying.

The move came after a judge in Madrid turned down a request by prosecutors to detain him in relation to alleged human rights abuses.

His presence in Spain had triggered a diplomatic row between Spain and Morocco, which claims sovereignty over Western Sahara - a former Spanish colony.

AFPCopyright: AFP

The leader of a Western Saharan separatist group has left a hospital in Spain and is flying back to Algeria, a spokesman for the group said.

The move comes after a judge in Madrid turned down a request by prosecutors to detain the Polisario Front leader, Brahim Ghali, in relation to alleged human rights abuses.

Mr Ghali was being treated for Covid-19 in Spain.

He denies abuses in the Sahrawi refugee camps in Algeria where Polisario is based.

Mr Ghali's presence in Spain has angered Morocco, which claims sovereignty over Western Sahara - a former Spanish colony.

Madrid has accused Rabat of retaliating by letting thousands of migrants flood into Spain's north African cities of Ceuta and Melilla

AFPCopyright: AFP

A judge in Madrid has turned down a request by prosecutors to detain an African separatist leader who's been accused of torture and genocide connected with Spain's former colony of Western Sahara.

The decision leaves the Polisario Front leader Brahim Ghali free to leave Spain when he's recovered from Covid-19.

Mr Ghali's lawyer wants the court to throw out the case brought by dissidents.

Mr Ghali denies abuses in Sahrawi refugee camps in Algeria.

His presence in Spain has angered Morocco, which claims sovereignty over Western Sahara.

Madrid has accused Rabat of retaliating by letting thousands of migrants enter Spain's North African cities of Ceuta and Melilla.

AFPCopyright: AFP

The leader of Western Sahara's independence movement, Brahim Ghali, is due to appear before a Spanish court to answer allegations of torture and genocide.

The head of the Polisario Front is being treated for Covid-19 in Logroño, northern Spain, and will testify via a video link with Madrid's National Court.

Mr Ghali's presence in Spain has angered Morocco, which claims the former Spanish colony.

Last month more than 8,000 Moroccans crossed the border into Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta in an action which Spanish politicians say was supported by the Moroccan authorities.