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Morocco’s tourist influx hit record 960,000 despite earthquake

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Despite the deadly and devastating earthquake that hit Morocco on September 8 where hundreds of people were killed and property worth billions of dollars destroyed, the country’s tourism sector has bounced back stronger with a record 960,000 tourist influx record in September 2023, a 7% increase compared to the same period last year.

According to data from the Tourism Ministry released on Wednesday, the number of tourists that have visited the country since the disaster reached record-high levels in 2023.

The ministry said tourist arrivals “surpassed figures from September 2019 and 2022” after it welcomed a total of 11.1 million tourists over the first nine months of 2023, more than the total number of visitors in 2022.

“We couldn’t have hoped for a better context to announce the record for the month of September than the Annual Meetings of the World Bank and IMF in Marrakech,” the statement said.

Also corroborating the data, Tourism Minister, Fatim-Zahra Ammor, said the influx of tourists was “a significant achievement that highlights the attractiveness of Morocco, the resilience of the Moroccan tourism sector, and the effectiveness of the country’s response to the earthquake.

“Even after this tragic earthquake, the growth of Moroccan tourism is maintained, and we remain determined to reach our goal of 14 million tourists by the end of December 2023.

“Key to this ambitious plan is a restructuring of Morocco’s tourism offerings, including a diverse range of experience packages such as city breaks, cultural tours, beach vacations, watersports, mountain hiking, and gastronomic experiences”.

Culture

Kenyan officials arrest four Tiktokers for filming robbery prank video outside police station

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Kenyan Police authorities have arrested four young Tiktokers for filming a robbery prank outside a police station in the Kilifi North Sub-county.

Local media reports that the four young people who were aiming for social media fame, were arrested after filming and publishing on Tiktok a fake robbery outside the police station.

“The four young people, one of whom is 17 years old, made a video titled ‘wezi mbele ya police station’ (robbery outside a police station), and posted it on the popular video platform. However, police didn’t take it lightly,” one report wrote.

“In the video, a seemingly drunk man exits the Administration Police (AP) canteen and gets robbed by two others on a motorcycle.

“The 18-year-old cameraman was among those arrested. Police identified them through CCTV footage at the AP canteen. The youths were arrested at their homes in Kilifi, with the oldest being 27 years old,” another report said.

The Kilifi North Sub-county Police Commander, Kenneth Maina, who confirmed the incident and arrest of the suspects, said investigations are still ongoing, and the suspects will face charges, including cybercrimes.

“The viral video of a daylight robbery at the Kilifi Administration Police canteen in Kilifi was not real but a prank by a group of youths creating content for their TikTok account,” Maina said.

Maina said they were pursuing another suspect who was still at large, adding that the youths revealed they only wanted to attract followers to their TikTok account.

“There were five youths and we managed to arrest four of them and the other one we have a crucial lead that will lead us to an arrest,” the Police Commander said.

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Ghanaian Supreme Court begins hearing in case challenging anti-LGBTQ+ bill

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The Ghanaian Supreme Court Thursday began hearing on a suit challenging the anti-LGBTQ+ bill passed by parliament in February.

The suit filed by lawyer and journalist, Richard Dela Sky, seeks to challenge the controversial bill which prescribes a three-year jail term for people identified as gay and five to 10 years for LGBT advocates.

The lawsuit, which was filed in March, sought the court to prevent the parliament Speaker and Clerk from sending the bill to President Nana Akufo Addo, while also seeking that the president should not sign the bill into law.

A second case brought before the apex court by academic researcher, Dr Amanda Odoi, is challenging the constitutionality of the bill and was also heard by the court.

Presiding judge, Justice Gertrude Torkornoo, however, expressed concern about the strong language used in some of the sworn statements.

“I think that the language is intemperate, a lot of the paragraphs contain language that is inappropriate, scandalous, so I want to give you directions,” Torkornoo said.

Local media reports that the tense events on day one of the hearing did not come as a surprise to many given the controversial nature of the bill, which has been condemned by Western donors and human rights groups.

“The hearing was presided over by the chief justice along with four other Supreme Court judges and broadcast live on television, because of the keen interest in the case among Ghanaians,” the report said.

“President Akufo Addo had said he would await the verdict of the Supreme Court before deciding whether or not to sign the bill into law and the case has been adjourned to 17 May,” the report said.

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