Rabat, Morocco - Flooding sparked by heavy rains has killed 24 people and left hundreds homeless this month in northern and central Morocco, the Interior Ministry announced Monday.

More than 4,500 people have been evacuated from their homes, according to the ministry, which attributed the deaths mainly to collapsing buildings and rivers bursting their banks.

The worst hit regions included Sidi Slimane, 100 kilometres north of the capital Rabat.

Flooding continued Monday near the Mediterranean port of Saidia, where emergency workers were erecting dykes and digging canals in attempts to channel floodwater towards the sea.

Rabat/Berlin - Six people were believed to have drowned after a German sailing boat capsized off the port of Mahdia north of the Moroccan capital Rabat in stormy weather, Moroccan police sources said Thursday.

Two days after the accident occurred on Tuesday, there was virtually no hope of finding any of the victims alive, the sources said.

A spokeswoman for the German Foreign Ministry also said that the six, who included three Germans, had probably drowned.

The seventh occupant of the boat, a 19-year-old German woman, managed to swim ashore.

Rabat, Morocco - The Moroccan authorities managed to cut illegal cannabis production by 65 per cent in 2008, the Interior Ministry said Friday.

Morocco is the world's second biggest grower after Afghanistan of cannabis, from which hashish is made.

The goal now is to reduce cannabis cultivation land from 60,000 hectares in 2008 to 50,000 hectares this year, the ministry said in a press release.

The government has fought cannabis cultivation by destroying crops and with an information campaign trying to persuade farmers to replace the drug with other crops.

The Moroccan authorities have been accused of failing to develop the economy of the northern Rif region, which relies heavily on cannabis cultivation.

Marrakesh  - Marrakesh in Morocco is not only one of the most exhilarating cities in Africa - for many it is the most attractive place in the entire continent.

The Atlantic Ocean may be 150 kilometres away, but the snow-capped High Atlas Mountains are less than 50 kilometres distant. For the "caravanserai" or caravans which once halted here after an arduous trek across the Sahara, the sight of this settlement after weeks of privation must have been a revelation.

Modern tourists who approach Marrakesh from the barren south of Morocco can appreciate what it was must have felt like to be confronted with such a city of contrasts. They will also find themselves captivated by the atmosphere of Oriental magic, especially in the historic medina.

Madrid  - Spain on Tuesday lent cautious support to Morocco's proposal of an autonomy to Western Sahara in the search of a solution to the three-decade conflict pitting Morocco and the Saharawi independence movement Polisario Front.

The proposal to grant the region autonomy instead of independence was a "positive contribution" to negotiations towards a "fair, lasting and mutually acceptable peaceful solution that respects the principle of self-determination," Spain and Morocco said in a joint declaration issued after a summit in Madrid.

Rabat, Morocco - A cold wave described by residents as exceptional was hitting Morocco on Tuesday, raising hopes that snow and rainfall would help to supply water for the agricultural season.

This week's cold wave has affected all parts of the country, but mainly the Ifrane area in the northern Atlas mountains. Rain and snowfall were reported also in Oujda near the Algerian border.

"We have not seen such cold and snowfall in two decades," residents told national television, explaining that the demand for firefood had risen in rural areas.