AUSTIN, TEXAS (AP) – Four more states have joined a Texas-led coalition suing the Obama administration over executive action on immigration.

DETROIT (AP)-- A Chicago-area Arab community activist has been released from a Michigan jail to await her sentence for failing to tell U.S. immigration officials about her conviction for bombings that killed two people in Israel in 1969.

PARIS — The French port city of Calais has become ground zero for an explosion in immigration, as asylum seekers blocked from crossing the English Channel to Britain settle into overcrowded, makeshift camps that have become their permanent homes.

Latinos favor President Barack Obama’s executive action on immigration by a more than 2-to-1 margin, in contrast to a slight majority of Americans overall, who oppose it, according to a new Gallup poll.

OTTAWA – The number of Syrian refugees brought to Canada in the past 18 months isn’t as abysmal as it could be – but that’s thanks largely to Quebec, which has its own immigration system.

Rabat – Spanish sovereignty over Ceuta and Melilla, two Spanish enclaves in northern Morocco, is threatened, says a new report from the Spanish Institute Elcano.

While President Barack Obama reassured a small audience of immigrants gathered in a Nashville community center Tuesday that his recent executive order would provide a reprieve from deportation, he also delivered what, by now, has become a regular challenge to Congress:

Prime Minister David Cameron has backed a new fund to help areas such as Boston cope with the demands placed on services by immigration.

A march in Dresden that drew 10,000 people has capped a winter of anti-immigration demonstrations in Germany’s cities and prompted condemnation from a nervous government.

Bavaria is renowned for its world-famous 'Oktoberfest' which attracts hundreds of thousands of foreigners each year. Last week, however, the Christian Social Union (CSU), which rules the state, made clear that only a certain type of foreigner is welcome to stay for longer: Those who speak German.

The Refugee Action Coalition says a hunger strike by asylum seekers at Australia's detention centre in Papua New Guinea ended after intimidation from Australian immigration staff.

Rabat(Map) – Morocco is a gateway to Africa and the Arab world, Mexico’s Deputy Foreign Secretary, Carlos de Icaza Gonzalez said.

Rabat – French newspaper Les Echo has chosen Oukaimden, Marrakech among the best skiing destinations in the world.

Interview with Fouad Ahidar, Senior Vice President of the Brussels Parliament.

Residents wait at the bus stop in the Ronna neighborhood, where Syrian and Iraqi refugees are concentrated in Södertalje, Sweden. The Swedish city is known for its open-door policy toward refugees, especially Christian Syrians and Iraqis. People of Middle Eastern origin make up 30,000 of the town's 90,000 residents. (Redux/Pulitzer Center)

WASHINGTON — In a symbolic gesture of disapproval, House Republicans last week approved a bill to nullify President Barack Obama’s executive order shielding millions of immigrants in the country illegally from deportation.

DRESDEN, Germany — As it does every Advent, this history-laden city has erected the gift stalls, the glühwein stands and the Ferris wheel of Germany’s oldest Christmas market, around the Frauenkirche, the 18th-century church that was magnificently rebuilt after the Allies’ catastrophic bombing in 1945.

JERUSALEM – Israeli police have shut down around 30 nightclubs frequented by undocumented African immigrants and asylum-seekers in southern Tel Aviv, local press reports said Friday, in a macro-operation that also saw numerous arrests and confiscation of illegal substances.

Forbidden from working or sending their children to school, many immigrants struggle to survive in society's shadows.

Canadian François Crépeau accuses Government of putting migrants’ lives at risk

Washington (AP) — Emboldened House Republicans issued a stern but symbolic rebuke to President Barack Obama over immigration Thursday, passing a bill declaring his executive actions to curb deportations "null and void and without legal effect."

Sydney: Australia's conservative government on Friday further tightened immigration laws by introducing controversial temporary visas for refugees which do not allow them to settle permanently in the country.

The left of center government of Prime Minister Stefan Lofven has been forced to call new elections less than three months after taking office. Unable to pass a budget through the Rikstag (parliament), Lofven faced a choice of either resigning or calling snap elections, slated for March 22, 2015. Although the budget was the trigger, most observers believe that immigration policy is at the root of the fall. David Crouch of the UK Guardian explains:

PARIS – The economic crisis in Europe doubled the number of Spanish, Portuguese and Italian immigrants in France between 2009 and 2012, raising the percentage of European immigrants in France to 46 percent of the total, according to a report released Friday.

 “I’m going to make a Moroccan Shabbos dinner; you must join us,” said Asma Chaabi, visiting Miami from Rabat, Morocco.

AUSTIN, Texas -- Texas and 16 other states, including Wisconsin, filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday challenging President Barack Obama's executive actions on immigration, arguing that he had violated his constitutional duty to enforce the laws and illegally placed new burdens on state budgets.

Rabat - The 10th edition of Aeromart, an international business convention of aeronautical and space industries, will see the participation of six Moroccan companies, LaVieEco reported.

Noureddine Bellaoui, aka "MagicNoor" made his first appearance before the Moroccan public in 2012, invited by comedian Hassan El Fad in Marrakech laughter festival to present a magic trick in his "halqa".

ROME - (NewMediaWire) - December 1, 2014 - If countries of the Mediterranean want to stem the tide on forced migration and human suffering, they must put agricultural, food and rural development at the core of regional cooperation, FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva said today.

MEPs acknowledged Lebanon's struggle with the enormous migration flows and voiced their concerns about the internal crisis there and growing extremism across the region, in a Foreign Affairs Committee debate with its Prime Minister Tammam Saeb Salam on Tuesday afternoon.

When net migration falls, David Cameron can take the credit: for making Britain poor, hostile and pessimistic.

Moroccan-born comedian Gad Elmaleh and Belgian singer Stromae are virtually unknown to the British public. But in London they play to sell-out crowds at top venues - one sign of how rising immigration is changing Britain's population and economy.

The Swiss government avoided a new headache on Sunday when voters rejected a popular initiative to impose radical immigration curbs, but the result is unlikely to lend it any leverage in talks with the European Union related to migration.

A campaigner in Australia is lobbying the Minister of Maori Development to change immigration laws in Aotearoa to match legislation across the Tasman, which prohibits certain rights for New Zealanders.

PHNOM PENH, Dec 2 (Bernama) -- The General Department of Immigration rounded up 1,168 foreigners from July to November for living illegally in the country, Xinhua news agency reports citing the National Police on Tuesday.

Fewer and fewer people choose the EU as a long-term residence, but Germany is the exception to this rule, according to an OECD finding, most likely due to the effects of the eurozone crisis. EurActiv Germany reports.

EU countries are cutting back on search and rescue missions in the Mediterranean, leaving the job up to fishermen like Kamel Ben Ramdan.

Beijing/ with Map – Morocco will launch an air route to China in a bid to encourage Chinese investment in Morocco, Minister of Infrastructure, Transport and Logistics, Aziz Rabbah, said Friday.

A new study has shown that Germany's social system experiences a financial gain because of immigration while at the same time accruing losses due to a lack of integration.

The Prime Minister sets out plans to overhaul the benefits system to reduce the number of migrants coming to the UK and announces an emergency fund to help communities with large foreign populations.

Amsterdam (Map)– Morocco topped the favorite travel destinations for Dutch tourists, according to a survey conducted by Dutch leading travel website, Riksja Travel.

Paris(Map) – The UNESCO nominated on Thursday 'Argan, Practices and Know-how Concerning the Argan Tree' for possible inscription in the 2014 Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

The Swiss will once again head to the polls this weekend to decide whether to dramatically slash immigration numbers, this time in the name of saving the environment in a proposal opponents have labelled xenophobic.

A man who has spent two months in a Tucson church to avoid deportation is not getting any help from the president's new executive action on immigration, even though his attorneys say he's eligible.

Britain has reported a big increase in immigration last year despite government efforts to control the numbers of arrivals.

At many times in Europe’s turbulent history religious leaders have turned a blind eye to violence and discrimination. At other times faith itself has set the battleground. This awareness heightened both the strangeness and the poignancy of the Nov. 25 speech by Pope Francis to members of the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

Rabat (Map)- Spanish writer Juan Goytisolo, 83, will receive the Cervantes prize, the most important prize of literature in the Spanish-speaking world.

Rabat(Map) – King Mohammed VI will pay, as of November 27, an official visit to the People’s Republic of China, at the invitation of president Xi Jinping, the ministry of the Royal Household, Protocol and Chancellery announced on Monday.

Rabat (Map)- South Korean Prime Minister Chung Hong-won arrived this Monday to Rabat on a three-day official visit to Morocco.

My fellow Americans, tonight I’d like to talk with you about immigration. For more than 200 years, our tradition of welcoming immigrants from around the world has given us a tremendous advantage over other nations.

Barack Obama is ordering far-reaching changes to the US immigration system that will protect nearly five million people from deportation, and will have implications for undocumented Irish migrants.

The new plan tests the limits of his presidential powers and inviting a showdown with newly-emboldened Republicans.

NIGEL Farage has been forced into damage-limitation after Ukip's Rochester and Strood by-election candidate Mark Reckless suggested EU migrants settled in the UK could be forced to leave if Britain quit the 28-member bloc.

The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) has set a December deadline for switching off analogue broadcast signals within Nairobi, 45 days before a three-month negotiation window period ordered by the Supreme Court expires.

Washington (AP): President Barack Obama said on Wednesday he will sidestep Congress and unveil administrative actions on immigration, measures that could spare from deportation as many as 5 million people illegally in the U.S. and set up one the most pitched partisan confrontations of his presidency.

President Obama is reportedly about to announce that up to five million illegal immigrants will no longer be subject to deportation, but most voters oppose his plan. The majority, in fact, continue to believe the federal government already isn't doing enough to send illegal immigrants back home.

WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama is poised to give relief from deportation to millions of undocumented immigrants who are parents of US citizens or of permanent legal residents, according to a source familiar with White House deliberations.

Marrakech- Moroccan tourists are traveling to Israel at a remarkable rate, with over 2239 visiting this year.

Parents and grandparents of Canadian citizens and residents are eligible for Canadian residency and perhaps, citizenship under the Parent and Grandparent Programme (PGP) (Shutterstock).

CHIOS, Greece—Amer Khalif, a 23-year-old Syrian refugee, swam frantically toward the Greek coast-guard boat, screaming "Help, help!" Two friends panted behind him, clinging to their inner tubes and splashing in the clear Aegean water on a warm September morning.

New York- In the world population, there are approximately 1.6 billion Muslims, making Islam the second largest religion. As Dr. Omid Safi states in his book "Memories of Muhammad", "whether some of us think of ourselves as Americans first or citizens of one shared planet first, it is simply part of being an educated citizen to have accurate knowledge of the faith of Islam."

In August, the Magazine reported on a couple who spent millions of euros to save migrants in danger of drowning at sea. Their 60-day mission has now ended - so what did they achieve, asks Alison Gee?

"We helped to save around 3,000 men, women and children who would have otherwise been likely to perish," says Christopher Catrambone who - as we reported earlier - set up the Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS) with his wife, Regina, and daughter, Maria Luisa.

"They are not refugees, they are all illegal immigrants" is the phrase most often pronounced as a kind of mantra by several anti-immigration politicians, mostly by the Lega and in general by critics of migration as we talk about disembarking.

Rabat (with Map) – The US Embassy in Rabat moved Monday to its new location on Mohammed VI Avenue in Souissi, Rabat which will host the office of the US Agency for International Development for Morocco (USAID-Morocco).

Rabat- Jean-Pierre Legrand, leader of the National Front in Roubaix, France, has proposed to “entrust the keys of a disused church to Muslims” who suddenly find themselves without a mosque.

After denouncing the far-right group to which he says he once belonged, UK Twitter user Matthew Lester gained attention on Sunday when he visited a local mosque to apologise to Muslim community members.

Rabat(Map) - The Moroccan Expatriates Council (CCME) decided "regretfully" to freeze its partnership with the "Tropenmuseum" until further notice, sources from CCME said.

San José (Costa Rica) Map– The President of the Republic of Costa Rica Luis Guillermo Solis received last Friday at the presidential palace in San José a Moroccan parliamentary delegation which is taking part in the work of the human rights commission of the Forum of Presiding Officers of Legislative Assemblies of Central America and the Caribbean Basin (FOPREL).

Brussels (Map)-The Council of Moroccan Ulema for Europe strongly condemned the "criminal fire attack" on the Grand Mosque of Strasbourg, calling it "a despicable act contrary to the values of tolerance and coexistance."

Forget the euro crisis, Europe is endangered by its anti-immigrant fervor.

MELILLA,—For nearly a decade, Spain has counted on tall border fences to discourage migrants from crossing illegally from Morocco into two small Spanish enclaves on Africa's Mediterranean coast.

Rabat - Africa has made history. During the closing session of the First Global Forum on Youth Policies, held in Baku, Azerbaijan that was held on October 28–30, the birth of the African Network of Youth Policy Experts (AfriNYPE) was announced, the goal of which is to advance the cause of youth policies in the region.

Canada's government is considering legislation to curb immigration rights for polygamists.

At a press briefing today, House Speaker John Boehner warned President Obama not to act alone on immigration.

According to the 2014 MasterCard Global Destination Cities Index, Casablanca is the 5th most popular destination city in Africa with a total number of international visitors that amounts to 989,219 and a visitor spend of $737 million(US$).

Yu Zhengsheng, chairman of the National Committee of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, visited Morocco for a three-day official visit. He met King Mohamed VI on Tuesday and held separate meetings with Prime Minister Benkirane and President of the Chamber of Representatives Alami on Monday.

At 22- year-old, Yousef Taleb wants to revolutionize the tablet segment in the world. Combining two cutting-edge technologies in a single device, this little genius gives us his story.

Rabat - Montasser AlDe’emeh, a Belgian researcher and specialist in Islamic radicalization and international jihad, has criticized Moroccan Imams for being “monolingual.”

Marrakesh (Map) - German carrier Air Berlin inaugurated Monday a new route linking the German western city of Düsseldorf to Marrakesh with two weekly direct flights, the Moroccan airports authority (ONMT) announced.

German anxiety about its plans to curb immigration from the European Union, saying it would tackle what has become a major public concern regardless.

The number of illegal immigrants entering Britain could quadruple because a vital agreement with France is under threat.

A government whistleblower here has revealed that “furious” French chiefs are thinking about scrapping the Le Touquet Treaty which effectively moved the UK border across the Channel.

On a continent where Muslim leaders are decrying a surge in discrimination and aggression, Alisiv Ceran is the terrorist who wasn’t.

The Conservative government plans to increase immigration levels significantly as it heads into an election year in 2015.

Abstract: One of the most important challenges facing the European Union over the next few decades is demographic: as birthrates continue to decline and the population ages, immigration will be needed to sustain a sufficient working-age population. This volume takes that fact as a point of departure for analyzing patterns and prospects of immigration from the Middle East and North Africa to Europe, taking into account existing migration links and current EU migration policies as well as demographic, economic, and political developments in the Middle East and North Africa.

Marrakesh (Map) - The British low-cost airline EasyJet inaugurated its new route connecting Glasgow (Scotland) to Marrakesh, airport sources said.

Rabat-Visitors of the Morocco pavilion located within Epcot theme park at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida will now have the opportunity to meet “B’net Al Houwariyate”, an internationally-acclaimed ensemble of female performers from Marrakech who play traditional instruments, dance and perform songs ranging from rural Amazigh chants to Chaabi festival rhythms.

Jerusalem— The Swedish government on Thursday officially recognized a state of Palestine, as the new prime minister, Stefan Lofven, ignored Israeli protests and followed through on a pledge he made at his inauguration this month.

Paris(Map) - HM King Mohammed VI gave his orders to the Moroccan diplomatic and consular services in France to take the necessary measures to facilitate access to Moroccan justice to Valérie Rhaba, whose husband was arrested on Oct.15 at the Casablanca airport while he was trying to board to join terrorist organization "ISIS" together with two daughters, aged 4 and 2.

Beirut (MAP) - The Arab organization for social responsibility and lasting development awarded on Tuesday its golden shield to the Rabat town council, on the sidelines of a conference on lasting development challenges at the local level held in Beirut.

A statement from the Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the "Kingdom of Morocco welcomes the smooth and peaceful climate that characterized the legislative elections, held, on Sunday, October 26th, in the Republic of Tunisia."

Rabat ( Map) – Indonesia formally appointed Mr. Hassan Berkani as honorary consul of the Republic of Indonesia in Casablanca.

Washington –According to an official statement released by the White House, American Vice President Joe Biden will travel to Morocco during the week of November 17th. He will lead the U.S. delegation to the Fifth Annual Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Marrakesh.

London(MAP) - HM King Mohammed VI leads with intelligence and clear-sightedness the process of democratic and economic development in Morocco, said Sir Jeremy Greenstock, Chairman of the United Nations Association - UK (UNA-UK).

A Muslim woman is nursing a broken arm after being pushed onto a road in an unprovoked racist attack in the Australian city of Melbourne, a report said.

Marrakech- The largest Moroccan mosque in the North Brabant (southern Netherlands) opened its doors at a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Roosendaal in the Netherlands on Friday, according to Maghreb Arab Press (MAP).

Despite being home to some 20 million Muslims, Russia today has only two hotels – both in the traditionally Muslim region of Tatarstan – that are officially recognized as halal. (File photo: AFP)