logo
Morocco: United States (US) Secretary of State Commends His Majesty the King's Leadership in Advancing Peace & Security

Morocco: United States (US) Secretary of State Commends His Majesty the King's Leadership in Advancing Peace & Security

Zawya29-01-2025
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio commended the leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI in advancing regional and global peace and security.
In a press release released Monday in Washington following a phone call with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates, MFA Nasser Bourita, the US Secretary of State stressed the importance of the US-Moroccan strategic partnership in advancing regional and global peace and security, hailing the leadership of His Majesty the King in this context.
Discussions also focused on the implementation of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza, the release of the hostages, and Morocco's leadership in contributing humanitarian aid for Gaza, the State Department spokesperson said in a press release.
The head of American diplomacy also expressed the US willingness to cooperate intensively with Morocco in advancing shared interests in the region and ending conflicts, including building on the Abraham Accords.
During this call, Rubio and MFA Bourita also affirmed the importance of expanding trade, investment, and commercial cooperation that would benefit Americans and Moroccans, the State Department concluded.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Kingdom of Morocco - Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Ukrainian drone strikes kill 3 in Russia
Ukrainian drone strikes kill 3 in Russia

Gulf Today

time40 minutes ago

  • Gulf Today

Ukrainian drone strikes kill 3 in Russia

Ukrainian drone strikes killed three people and wounded two others overnight in western Russia, regional governors said on Saturday. One woman was killed and two other people were wounded in an attack on an enterprise in Penza, the region's governor, Oleg Melnichenko, wrote on Telegram. An elderly man was killed inside a house that caught fire due to falling drone debris in the Samara region, governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev posted on Telegram. In the Rostov region, a guard at an industrial facility was killed after a drone attack and a fire in one of the site's buildings, acting Rostov governor Yuri Sliusar said. "The military repelled a massive air attack during the night," destroying drones over seven districts, Sliusar posted on Telegram. Russia's defence ministry said its air defence systems had destroyed 112 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory -- 34 over the Rostov region -- in a nearly nine-hour period, from Friday night to Saturday morning. In Ukraine's central-eastern Dnipropetrovsk region, overnight Russian drone attacks left three people wounded, governor Sergiy Lysak wrote on Telegram. Several buildings, homes and cars were damaged, he said. Russian forces have claimed advances in Dnipropetrovsk, recently announcing the capture of two villages there, part of Moscow's accelerated capture of territory in July, according to AFP's analysis of data from the US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW). Kyiv denies any Russian presence in the Dnipropetrovsk area. Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has consistently rejected calls for a ceasefire in the more than three-year conflict, said Friday that he wanted peace but that his demands for ending Moscow's military offensive were "unchanged". Those demands include that Ukraine abandon territory and end ambitions to join NATO. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, meanwhile, said only Putin could end the war and renewed his call for a meeting between the two leaders. "The United States has proposed this. Ukraine has supported it. What is needed is Russia's readiness," he wrote on X. Agence France-Presse

GENIUS sets new stablecoin rules but remains vague on foreign issuers
GENIUS sets new stablecoin rules but remains vague on foreign issuers

Crypto Insight

time11 hours ago

  • Crypto Insight

GENIUS sets new stablecoin rules but remains vague on foreign issuers

The signing of the GENIUS Act into law established the first comprehensive regulatory framework for US-issued stablecoins. Supporters argue it will enhance trust, drive mainstream adoption and bolster the dollar's status as the global reserve currency. With stablecoins now gaining traction in global finance, the GENIUS Act could also prove a boon for the developing world, attract institutional interest and drive a resurgence in decentralized finance (DeFi). However, concerns remain over unresolved issues, such as the regulation of foreign issuers, doubts about the ban on yield-bearing stablecoins and the potential dominance of corporate and traditional finance players. Industry experts surveyed by Cointelegraph agree that the GENIUS Act is a landmark event for the US blockchain and stablecoin sector, if not the global crypto industry. 'Banks, fintechs and even large retailers — essentially anyone with significant consumer or institutional distribution — will all be considering issuing their own stablecoin,' Christian Catalini, founder of the MIT Cryptoeconomics Lab, told Cointelegraph, adding that a stablecoin strategy will now be an integral part of all payments and financial services companies. GENIUS Act's foreign stablecoin 'loophole' A major weakness of the GENIUS Act is what the Atlantic Council calls the 'Tether loophole.' The US think tank argued in a blog post that the US stablecoin law did not 'adequately' regulate offshore stablecoin issuers. The law aims to bring order to US stablecoins by imposing strict rules on reserves, financial disclosures and sanctions compliance. This could put local issuers at a competitive disadvantage and potentially encourage new issuers to incorporate in less-demanding jurisdictions offshore. 'The foreign issuer loophole was not sufficiently fixed,' Timothy Massad, a research fellow at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and former chairman of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission, told Cointelegraph. Massad is a co-author of the Atlantic Council blog. The GENIUS Act requires Tether and other foreign issuers to meet standards 'comparable' to those of US issuers, but what qualifies as 'comparable' isn't clearly defined, Massad added. But Christopher Perkins, president of CoinFund, said that regulated US stablecoins give end users confidence that their holdings are fully backed, paving the way for more companies to set up shop in the US. 'I think many investors will choose the onshore regulated version of stablecoins because of the incremental confidence they deliver.' In a recent media interview, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said that the company's 'foreign stablecoin' USDt will comply with the GENIUS Act. It is also planning to launch a domestic stablecoin under the new law. Stablecoin issuance goes mainstream with GENIUS The GENIUS Act opens doors for giant US commercial banks like Bank of America to issue their own stablecoins, while mega retailers like Walmart and Amazon are also reportedly exploring stablecoin issuance. The prospect of regulated corporate stablecoin issuers raises questions about how crypto-native stablecoins like Tether and USDC will be affected. 'Tether less so, as its lead offshore is substantial,' Catalini said. He added that most of the new competition will focus on the US market, which presents 'a more significant challenge for USDC.' Meanwhile, Keith Vander Leest, US general manager at London-based stablecoin infrastructure startup BVNK, said that new players won't necessarily flood the market. Non-crypto native firms launching stablecoins will probably move cautiously, beginning with small-scale pilot programs to build comfort and competency. 'It is more likely for banks to move quicker into issuing than corporates,' Vander Leest told Cointelegraph. Many will be 'use-case specific' stablecoins. The number of new stablecoins that 'reach scale' will be limited, he said. GENIUS and stablecoins increase US debt demand The White House claims that the GENIUS Act will increase demand for US debt and cement the dollar's status as the world's reserve currency. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that dollar-linked stablecoins could eventually reach at least $2 trillion in market capitalization, up from today's market cap of about $267 billion. Markus Hammer, a consultant and principal at HammerBlocks, said that because US-issued stablecoins must be 100% backed by US dollars or their equivalents, they will naturally drive up demand for US debt. 'Emerging markets, in particular, may become significant users of US dollar stablecoins, as these offer more stability and efficiency compared to their often fragile local financial systems,' he told Cointelegraph. But Hammer disagreed on the dollar's renewed dominance, claiming that trust in US-based currencies is gradually eroding. According to Massad, the act's impact will depend on whether stablecoins become an important means of payment or remain a niche use case. Business-to-business payments make up the bulk of international payments, and it's not clear whether there will be significant growth in the use of stablecoins for that purpose, he said. GENIUS reshapes stablecoin utility The GENIUS Act prohibits stablecoin issuers from paying 'interest or yield' to individuals holding stablecoins. Could that put US-issued stablecoins at a competitive disadvantage? 'Without yield, stablecoins are a depreciating asset,' Perkins said. 'And while many believe that payments are the killer use case for stablecoins, they also serve as an important store of value in the developing world. Holders will turn to DeFi to reconstitute yield.' In time, it is possible that yield-bearing securities or tokens will become more accessible, continued Perkins. Until then, institutional investors, who have a fiduciary duty to earn interest on their holdings, may need to explore other ways to earn interest. They could offer compliant revenue-sharing agreements with issuers to gain yield exposure, for instance. It almost seems counterintuitive, but the removal of yield on stablecoins could actually be good news for Ethereum-based DeFi as the main alternative for passive income generation. Overall, 'the signing of the Act is a significant milestone,' Massad said. 'Stablecoins are the most useful application of blockchain technology to date, and even if they don't become a major means of payment, they will generate useful competition into payments — we may see tokenized bank deposits soon.' Catalini of MIT Cryptoeconomics Lab called stablecoins 'the first tokenized assets to start its journey towards mainstream adoption.' He added that assets such as bonds and securities will soon follow. The GENIUS Act sets a regulatory foundation for stablecoin issuance in the US and signals mainstream adoption is underway. Despite concerns over unresolved issues such as the vague language around foreign issuers, industry leaders view the law as a critical step for regulated dollar-backed tokens. Source:

US President Trump orders firing of labour official over 'rigged' jobs data
US President Trump orders firing of labour official over 'rigged' jobs data

Khaleej Times

time15 hours ago

  • Khaleej Times

US President Trump orders firing of labour official over 'rigged' jobs data

President Donald Trump said Friday (August 1) he has ordered the firing of a key economic official, accusing her of manipulating employment data for political reasons after a new report showed cracks in the US jobs market. US job growth missed expectations in July, Labor Department data showed, and revisions to hiring figures in recent months brought them to the weakest levels since the Covid-19 pandemic. Without providing evidence, Trump lashed out at the department's commissioner of labor statistics, writing on social media that the jobs numbers "were RIGGED in order to make the Republicans, and ME, look bad." In a separate post on his Truth Social platform, he charged that Commissioner Erika McEntarfer had "faked" jobs data to boost Democrats' chances of victory in the recent presidential election. "McEntarfer said there were only 73,000 Jobs added (a shock!) but, more importantly, that a major mistake was made by them, 258,000 Jobs downward, in the prior two months," Trump said, referring to latest data for July. "Similar things happened in the first part of the year, always to the negative," Trump said, insisting that the world's biggest economy was "booming" under his leadership. He later told reporters "we need people that we can trust," accusing the economic official of inflating hiring figures under former president Joe Biden's administration. 'Dangerous precedent' The US added 73,000 jobs last month, while the unemployment rate rose to 4.2 percent from 4.1 per cent, said the Department of Labour earlier Friday. Hiring numbers for May were revised down from 144,000 to 19,000. The figure for June was shifted from 147,000 to 14,000. This was notably lower than job creation levels in recent years. During the pandemic, the economy lost jobs. The employment data points to challenges in the key labor market as companies took a cautious approach in hiring and investment while grappling with Trump's sweeping — and rapidly changing — tariffs this year. The numbers also pile pressure on the central bank as it mulls the best time to cut interest rates. With tariff levels climbing since the start of the year, both on imports from various countries and on sector-specific products such as steel, aluminum and autos, many firms have faced higher business costs. Some are now passing them along to consumers. William Beach, who previously held McEntarfer post at the Bureau of Labor Statistics, warned that her firing "sets a dangerous precedent and undermines the statistical mission of the Bureau." The National Association for Business Economics (NABE) condemned her dismissal, saying large revisions in jobs numbers "reflect not manipulation, but rather the dwindling resources afforded to statistical agencies." "Firing the head of a key government agency because you don't like the numbers they report, which come from surveys using long established procedures, is what happens in authoritarian countries, not democratic ones," slammed Larry Summers, former US Treasury secretary under Democratic president Bill Clinton. 'Gamechanger' Heather Long, chief economist at the Navy Federal Credit Union, said Friday's jobs report was a "gamechanger." "The labor market is deteriorating quickly," said Long, noting that of the growth in July, "75 per cent of those jobs were in one sector: health care." "The economy needs certainty soon on tariffs," Long said. "The longer this tariff whiplash lasts, the more likely this weak hiring environment turns into layoffs." It remains unclear when the dust will settle, with Trump ordering the reimposition of steeper tariffs on scores of economies late Thursday, which are set to take effect in a week. A sharp weakening in the labor market could push the Federal Reserve toward slashing interest rates sooner to shore up the economy. On Friday, the two Fed officials who voted this week against the central bank's decision to keep rates unchanged warned that standing pat risks further damaging the economy. Both Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman and Governor Christopher Waller argued that the inflationary effects of tariffs were temporary. They added in separate statements that the bank should focus on fortifying the economy to avert further weakening in the labor market. Putting off an interest rate cut "could result in a deterioration in the labor market and a further slowing in economic growth," Bowman said.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store