Morocco's central bank explores digital currency cross-border payments
A central bank digital currency (CBDC) is controlled by the central bank, in contrast to cryptocurrencies that are usually decentralised.
Cryptocurrencies have been banned in Morocco since 2017, but the public continues to use them underground, circumventing restrictions.
The bank has been working with the IMF and the World Bank to assess the payment system impacts of its central bank digital currency (CBDC), Jouahri told a conference in Rabat.
The Moroccan central bank, together with its Egyptian peer and the World Bank, was also exploring the use of the CBDC for cross-border transfers, he said.
A draft law on crypto assets is currently under review by the finance ministry before entering the adoption process, Jouahri said last month.
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BBC News
3 hours ago
- BBC News
Starlink react afta network glitch, as Musk order shutdown of Starlink satellite service for territory wey Ukraine retake from Russia
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Howeva, afta di Starlink network go off Musk say dem dey work to restore am and e no go happun again. "Service go dey restored shortly. Sorry for di outage. SpaceX go remedy root cause to ensure say e no happun again," Musk tok for X. Wetin cause Starlink outage? According to Michael Nicolls, VP of Starlink Engineering, na internal software service bin cause di outage wey make network go off. E say dem don restore di network and dem dey work to find wetin cause am so e no go happun again. "Starlink don dey mostly recova from di network outage, wey last for about 2.5 hours. Di outage na sake of failure of key internal software services wey dey operate di core network," Nicolls tok for X. Starlink for dia own reply say dem sabi how important e dey to dey connected, and dem beg say make pipo no vex for di kasala. How big Starlink presence be for Africa? Starlink dey operate for more dan 20 African kontris, wit Somalia, wey dey suffer from Islamist insurgency - give am10-year licence on 13 April, two days bifor Lesotho decide to give dem too. Starlink dey provide high-speed internet services to remote or underserved areas, e be a potential game-changer for rural areas wey no fit access traditional forms of connectivity such as mobile broadband and fibre. Dis na beco Starlink, instead of relying on fibre optics or cables to transmit data, dey use a network of satellites for low Earth orbit. Becos dem dey closer to di ground, dem get faster transmission speeds dan traditional satellites. Nigeria na di first African state to allow Starlink to operate, for 2023. Di company since dat time don grown into di second-biggest internet service provider for di most-populous kontri for Africa. But Starlink no still get any presence for South Africa - di most industrialised nation for di continent. Enterprising locals bin don find way to connect to di service by using regional roaming packages wey dem bin buy for kontris wia di service bin dey available. Starlink end am last year while Icasa bin also warn local companies say anybody wey dem catch, wey dey provide di service illegally fit face hefty fine. Yet wit an estimated 20% of South Africans not having access to di internet at all - many in rural areas - e fit dey beneficial for both Starlink and di goment to reach a compromise. For Starlink e fit bring more market, while satellite broadband fit help di goment achieve dia goal of providing universal internet access by 2030. Report say Musk order shutdown of Starlink satellite service for Russia-Ukraine war A Reuters report say during a pivotal push by Ukraine to retake territory from Russia for late September 2022, Elon Musk bin give order wey disturb di counteroffensive and reduce Kyiv trust for Starlink. Di report say Starlink na di satellite internet service wey di billionaire provide early for di war to help Ukraine military maintain battlefield connectivity. According to three pipo wey dey familiar wit di command, dem tell Reuters say Musk bin tell one senior engineer for di California offices of SpaceX, di Musk venture wey dey control Starlink, to cut coverage for areas wey include Kherson, a strategic region north of di Black Sea wey Ukraine bin dey try to reclaim. "We gatz do dis," Michael Nicolls, di Starlink engineer, tell colleagues as e receive di order, one of dis pipo tell Reuters. Di report say staff bin obey, di three pipo tell Reuters, say dem deactivate at least hundred Starlink terminals, dia hexagon-shaped cells go dark for internal map of di company coverage. Di move bin also affect oda areas wey Russia seize, including some of Donetsk province inside east. According to di report, sake of Musk order, Ukrainian troops suddenly face communications blackout, according to wetin one Ukrainian military official, advisor to di armed forces, and two odas wey experience Starlink failure near di front lines. Soldiers bin panic, drones wey dey survey Russian forces bin go dark, and long-range artillery units, wey dey rely on Starlink to aim dia fire, struggle to hit targets. As a result, di Ukrainian military official and di military advisor say, troops bin fail to surround a Russian position for di town of Beryslav, east of Kherson, di administrative center of di region of di same name. Meanwhile, Ukraine counteroffensive bin succeed to reclaim Beryslav, di city of Kherson and some additional territory wey Russia don occupy. But Musk order, wey neva dey previously reported, na di first instance of di billionaire actively shutting off Starlink coverage ova a battlefield during di conflict, Reuters report. Reuters report say Musk and Nicolls no respond to dia requests for comment. But one SpaceX tok tok pesin say through mail say wetin di news agency bin report dey "inaccurate" and refer reporters to X post earlier dis year wia di company say: "Starlink dey fully committed to provide service to Ukraine." Di office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and di kontri Ministry of Defence no respond to Reuters requests for comment. Starlink still dey provide service to Ukraine, and di Ukrainian military rely on am for some connectivity.
Leader Live
4 hours ago
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Chancellor faces fiscal risks and ‘significant challenges' amid trade war
The IMF said the UK's 'limited' so-called headroom on its public finances gave little room to manoeuvre and called on Rachel Reeves to consider some tax changes or spending cuts. In its annual report on the UK economy, the IMF said: 'Risks to this strategy must be carefully managed. 'In an uncertain global environment and with limited fiscal headroom, fiscal rules could easily be breached if growth disappoints or interest rate shocks materialise.' The IMF praised the Government's fiscal plans, saying they 'strike a good balance between supporting growth and safeguarding fiscal sustainability'. It added that the pro-growth agenda 'covers the right areas to lift productivity'. But the IMF cautioned that 'delivering on this agenda will require overcoming significant challenges' amid the fallout from US President Donald Trump's trade war. 'Shockwaves from trade policies and rapid geopolitical developments are affecting global growth and creating heightened levels of volatility in financial markets,' it said. Added to this, it said, 'fiscal space is limited and constrained by an elevated interest burden and increasing demands on public resources, including defence and aging-related spending'. Ms Reeves said the report 'confirms that the choices we've taken have ensured Britain's economic recovery is under way, and that our plans will tackle the deep-rooted economic challenges that we inherited in the face of global headwinds'. 'Our fiscal rules allow us to confront those challenges by investing in Britain's renewal,' she said. The Washington-based IMF also recommended cutting the number of assessments of whether the Government is on track with its fiscal rules by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) from two to just once a year, ahead of the autumn budget. This could 'reduce pressure for overly frequent changes to fiscal policy', it said. The Chancellor's headroom against her main fiscal rule was estimated at £9.9 billion at the time of the spring statement in March. But the Government's U-turns on planned cuts to spending since then, such as changes to the welfare bill, are seen as having wiped this out, according to experts. This has raised fears that Ms Reeves will be forced to raise taxes or cut spending in the autumn budget. The IMF left its forecasts unchanged for the economy to grow by 1.2% this year and 1.4% in 2026. However, it added a note of caution, saying that 'risks to growth remain to the downside'. 'Tighter-than-expected financial conditions, combined with rising precautionary saving by households, would hinder the rebound in private consumption and slow the recovery,' the IMF said. Shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride said: 'This is yet more confirmation that Labour's mismanagement means that yet more tax rises are coming in the autumn.'
Times
4 hours ago
- Times
Jonathan Reynolds rules out ‘daft' wealth tax and says ‘get serious'
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