Morocco king accepts ministers` resignation

Rabat (Morocco): Morocco`s king has accepted the resignations of cabinet ministers from a political party that quit the Islamist-led government as talks are under way to find a replacement.

A statement from the palace yesterday night said the king had accepted the resignations of five ministers from the Istiqlal (Independence) Party but urging them to remain in their posts while Islamist Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane searched for a new partner. The Istiqlal Party pulled out of the government on July 9 citing the Islamists` high handed governing style and attempts to reform the ballooning fuel and food subsidies bill. The announcement came as Benkirane was meeting with the National Rally for Independents, a liberal party with roughly the same number of seats in parliament as Istiqlal. PTI