Authorities could not prevent thousands of Catalans from taking the streets and voicing their choices. Catalan officials said that 90 % of those who voted supported independence in yesterday’s vote. In the Maghreb region, the referendum of Catalonia almost went unnoticed. As Morocco showed support for Madrid, Algiers and the Polisario Front remained silent in an embarrassing way.
Soukaina Boutiyeb is a Casablanca native. When she was 14, she left the Kingdom with her family to settle down in Canada. She is currently the Executive Director of Alliance des Femmes Francophonie Canadienne, an organization that aims at protecting the contribution of Francophone women in their communities and preserving their right to live and fully flourish in French.
Anti-Israel groups are once again angered by the participation of an Israeli filmmaker to one of Morocco's most known festivals. Organizers of the International Women Film Festival of Sale invited Simone Bitton, an Israeli-French documentary filmmaker of Moroccan descent.
Morocco and Algeria have managed to collaborate in the past, most precisely during June 1993. The kingdom back then handed over to the Algerians the leader of one of the most dangerous Islamic groups in Algeria, the Armed Islamic Group (GIA), who fled to Morocco seeking refuge.
The Moroccan Centre of Conjuncture delivered yesterday in Casablanca the findings of its exploratory study on the emergence of the Moroccan economy. An analysis that focuses on the challenges of the following objective : maintaining sustained and regular economic growth.
On Wednesday, the American online newspaper, the Daily Beast revealed how an account on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter allegedly led by the Russian government stole the identity of an authentic Muslim organization to share Islamophobic propaganda and conspiracy theories online. The group posted memes about politics, Osama ben Laden, ISIS and Hillary Clinton provoking chaos and tension among Muslims in the USA.
The new EU-Moroccan trade negotiations have been targeted by a group of MEPs and the Polisario Front. Both believe that these talks would be in conflict with the CJEU’s verdict pronounced on the 21st of December 2016. The Front even called for the organization of a separate agreement with the EU.
The 2017 edition of the World Economic Forum (WEF) Competitiveness report has just been released today. Accordingly, Morocco was ranked 70th out of 137 countries, losing one place compared to 2016.
After being expelled by the Spanish between September 1609 and January 1610, Moriscos found exile in Morocco, most precisely Salé, where they established a Republic. The Corsair city, was heavily known for piracy and operated massively in the Barbary coasts, capturing slaves, ships and organizing raids.
While the General Directorate of Prison Administration and Reintegration (DGAPR) has denied the circulating news suggesting that a hunger strike has been initiated by several Hirak detainees, the Moroccan Observatory of Prisons declared on Monday that the health of prisoners in the local prison in Ain Sbaa, Casablanca is deteriorating. Meanwhile, demonstrations and arrests have been resumed in the Rif province as the trial of activist Nawal Ben Aissa is scheduled for the 23rd of October.