Dutch-Moroccan ex-anti-terrorism official denies «spying for Morocco», seeks PM's testimony  (Read more...)

Swiss chocolate Toblerone gets Halal certified

Swiss chocolate bar brand owned by US confectionery company Mondelez got Halal certified, revealed Swiss newspaper Blick, quoted by Le News.   Toblerone chocolate has been «produced in conformity with Islamic law» since April 2018, says the same source. The only factory that produces the Swiss chocolate bar is in Bern, Switzerland, explained the newspaper. The recipe which «contains sugar, whole milk powder, cocoa butter, cocoa mass, honey, milk fat, almonds, soya

Scandinavian tourists killed in Imlil : The police arrest a suspect in Marrakech

After discovering the bodies of two Scandinavian tourists in the region of Chamharouch (near Imlil, a small town in Al Haouz province), the Central Bureau of Judicial Investigation (BCIJ) announced Tuesday, December the 18th, that a suspect was arrested. The man is suspected of killing the two women who were found dead with cuts to their necks, reported a BCIJ communiqué sent this morning to Yabiladi. The investigation launched yesterday helped to arrest the suspect in Marrakech. He is

Financial Times enumerate 5 reasons to live in Casablanca

British daily «Financial Times» has enumerated five reasons to live in the city of Casablanca which has become «Africa's financial powerhouse». In an article authored by Simon Brandon, the daily gave the first reason as been «the establishment in 2010 of Casablanca Finance City (CFC), a business hub formed from a public-private partnership, located on the site of a defunct airport». Secondly, the daily went on to say, «there are tax breaks on offer

Bodies of two foreign tourists found in mountainous area in central Morocco

The bodies of two foreign tourists, a Norwegian and a Danish, with signs of knife wounds on their necks, were found Monday morning in an unsupervised mountainous area, 10 km from the Imlil centre in El Haouz province, towards the summit of Mount Toubkal, said local authorities. As soon as they were informed of the incident, the local and security authorities went to the scene and an investigation was opened under the supervision of the competent prosecutor's office in order to clarify the

The US launches space programs for Moroccan students through a competition

Morocco is to house the fifth edition of the Race2Race competition. The latter is organized by the Scientific Morocco Association and the US Embassy in Rabat, reports Satellite Prome. Applicants will be accepted, starting from December the 16th to January the 19th, 2019. It is open to Moroccan students aged between «15 to 18 with an interest in science and mathematics», said the same source. Pre-selection will take place between January the 20th and February the 24th. Voting will

Eredivisie : Morocco’s Hakim Ziyech scores three goals against De Graafschap

AFC Ajax defeated De Graafschap 8-0 on Sunday in an Eredivisie match, the highest echelon of professional football in the Netherlands, says the club. Moroccan international Noussair Mazraoui scored the team’s first goal. Hakim Ziyech, Moroccan-Dutch attacking midfielder scored three goals, elevating his team’s score. Three other goals were scored later by Daley Blind, a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder, left-back and center-back for Ajax.

Belgium to increase the number of asylum seekers

Belgian politician in charge of migration Maggie De Block announced that the country wants to increase the number of people who can apply for asylum in Belgium. Through this initiative, the country would respond to more asylum applications submitted to the Federal Agency for the reception of asylum seekers (Fedasil), reports Le Soir. «We must be creative, as we did in previous crises», said the minister, quoted by De Standaard. «I asked Fedasil to check if it was possible.

Morocco's El Morabity wins Dubai Ultramarathon, Raji 2nd in women's event

Moroccan runner Rachid El Morabity won «Meraas Al Marmoom Ultramarathon 2018» in Dubai, the world’s longest desert ultra-run 270km, while his compatriot Aziza Raji finished second in the women's race. Rachid El Morabity covered the distance of the five-day competition, which ended on Saturday evening, in more than 30 hours, ahead of French Muriel Robert and Iranian Akbar Najdi Niryan. In the women's event, Moroccan Aziza Raji achieved a great feat for the Arab runners by

El Jadida : Four sub-Saharan nationals arrested for online fraud and extortion

Police arrested on Saturday, December the 15th, four sub-Saharan nationals for their alleged involvement in online fraud and extortion in El Jadida. The first findings of the investigation revealed that the four men shared obscene content on the internet with a German national, before blackmailing him, said the police in a communiqué. The four suspects made the victim give them 18,000 euros, before they were identified by the police. The search conducted by the security services in a

Amnesty International urges the Moroccan authorities to deliver justice during Hirak appeal

Speaking of Hirak detainees convicted by the Casablanca first instance court, Amnesty International argued that these protesters have been «denied their right to a fair trial». In a note made public on Monday, December the 17th, the London-based non-governmental organization stressed that the «first trial proceedings resulted in a gross miscarriage of justice». After interviewing six Hirak lawyers, and families of the detainees and analyzing charge sheets, the

2030 World Cup : The Morocco-Spain-Portugal bid to be examined by FIFA in Marrakech

Marrakech will host from the 15th to the 19th of January a meeting set to examine the number of teams that would participate to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, reports the Spanish sports online newspaper AS. During the same meeting, FIFA will examine the feasibility of a joint bid, bringing Morocco, Spain and Portugal together for the 2030 World Cup. FIFA President Gianni Infantino is expected to convince the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) President Aleksander Ceferin into

Huelva Gate : One of the complaints filed by Moroccan workers was dismissed

A La Palma del Condado court has dismissed one of the complaints lodged by four Moroccan femal farm workers against their former boss in Almonte, reports Spanish news agency EFE. The complanit was closed after «the reported crimes have not been proven», the Andalusia High Court told the same source. Furthermore, EFE says that during the «investigation conducted» by the authorities the Moroccan women presented weak evidence that did not support their claims. However,

Political parties in Ceuta and Melilla want to sign a new friendship treaty with Morocco

In October, Coalition for Melilla, a political party in the North African enclave, called for the signing of a new treaty of friendship, good-neighborliness and cooperation between Morocco and Spain. The same idea was adopted by the Caballas Coalition, a left-wing party in Ceuta. Both bodies have agreed to share their project at the House of Representatives in Madrid to get the support of other MPs. The two parties are planning to meet with representatives from Podemos and the United Left,

Migration : The European Union to grant Morocco 148 million euros

The European Union (EU) has announced that it is granting Morocco € 148 million through its Emergency Trust Fund for Africa to fight against irregular migration. «This additional grant adopted by the Emergency Trust Fund for Africa will bring the total amount of money given to Morocco in 2018 to 148 million euros», said the European Commission in a communiqué released Friday. This funding, «will help to intensify the fight against migrants smuggling and human

Moroccan Teacher Charifi Hamdi named for Global Teacher Prize 2019

Moroccan teacher Charif Hamidi has been included in the top 50 shortlist for the Varkey Foundation Global Teacher Prize 2019 which is worth one million dollars. The teachers shortlisted for the Global Teacher Prize 2019 were selected from over 10,000 nominations and applications from 179 countries around the world. Charif Hamidi was shortlisted for launching an education technology revolution in Morocco that provides youth with quality education. He named this revolution

A man dies after jumping in front of Morocco's high speed train

A man was killed on Friday, December the 14th, after jumping in front of Morocco's high speed train at around 6:55 pm, said Morocco's national railway operator ONCF in a communiqué published on its Twitter account. The accident occurred between Sidi Lyamani and Aquouass Briech, which has disturbed rail traffic, added the same statement. pic.twitter.com/DDEoV73wSy — ONCF (@ONCFgroup) December 14, 2018 Railway disturbance will lasted until 9:15 pm, promised the same source,

Al Hoceima : Several ministers announced that the delay has been caught up

The projects linked to the strategic development plan of Al Hoceima province «are progressing very well» assured Thursday in Rabat, the Minister of Equipment, Transport, Logistics and Water, Abdelkader Amara. «Generally speaking, the progress covers all sectors» Abdelkader Amara told reporters at an inter-ministerial meeting chaired by the Minister of Interior, Abdelouafi Laftit. Concerning the water sector, almost all projects have been completed,

Morocco to issue an annual report on human rights by the end of 2018

Minister of State for Human Rights Mustapha Ramid said that a report on the human rights situation in the country must be completed before the end of 2018. During a press conference held Thursday in Rabat, Mustapha El Khalfi, government spokesman and Minister Delegate in charge of relations with the parliament and the civil society, announced that the Minister submitted a presentation to the Council of Government, highlighting the progress of the preparation of the executive plan for the