King Mohammed VI oversees Family Code reform: 100 proposed amendments under review  (Read more...)

Marrakech to host the Judo World Championships Open 2017

The Moroccan Royal Judo Federation, in partnership with the Ministry of Youth and Sports, organized a seminar in Marrakesh preparing for the Judo World Championships Open 2017, which the city will host from November the 9th to the 12th. The competition will bring together more than 60 of the best judokas in the world, representing more than 40 countries in the world. «The organization of this great international competition by the Royal Moroccan Judo Federation illustrates the

2017 Volleyball Nations Cup : Morocco defeats Nigeria (1-3)

Morocco’s men national volleyball team defeated on Tuesday 24th of October Nigeria (1-3) in their opening match in Pool C in the 2017 Men’s African Nations championship, reports the International Volleyball Federation. «The coach Japhet Nuhu side won the first set 26-24 but could not maintain the lead, allowing the North Africans to rally back and claim the 2nd and 3rd sets 20-25, 17-25 respectively», states The National, a Nigerian online newspaper. Morocco which

The European Parliament adopts the Euro-Mediterranean Aviation agreement signed with Morocco

The European Parliament, the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union, adopted on Tuesday in Strasbourg by a large majority (511 votes), the Euro-Mediterranean aviation agreement with Morocco. According to EC Europa, this agreement «constitutes the very first stage in the strengthening of air relations between the Community and the neighboring countries of the European Union in the context of the Commission communication 'Developing the agenda for the Community's

The Security Council has postponed Tuesday’s meeting on Western Sahara to a later date

The Security Council has postponed Tuesday's meeting devoted to the Western Sahara conflict, initially scheduled today, to a later day. The meeting is probably postponed as the personal envoy of the UN Secretary-General is still touring the region. Last night, Horst Köhler was in Algeria where he met the Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika. After visiting Morocco, the Tindouf camps and Algeria, the former German president is expected to visit Mauritania to complete his first trip to

Belgium : Will Salah Abdeslam be transported daily by a helicopter to attend his trial ?

The trial of Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the 13th November Paris attacks, will take place between the 18th and 22nd of December in Brussels. The French-Moroccan detainee «might be transported by a helicopter daily» to attend his trial, as reported by L’Express. The daily hearings will be about Salah Abdeslam’s appearance in Forest following the shooting that took place on the 15th of March 2016, three days before his arrest. On the other hand, the Prisons

Hate speech against Dutch-Moroccans : Geert Wilders’ appeal to take place on Tuesday

Geert Wilders’ appeal against a previous verdict pronounced against him for discriminating Moroccans will take place on Tuesday in the high security court at Schiphol, Netherlands, reports NLTimes. The Dutch politician and the current leader of the Party for Freedom (PVV), who was convicted of hate speech and wasn't given a punishement appealed alongside the Public Prosecutor. «The court booked two days this week for the start of this appeal», states the same source adding

Moroccan MPs denounce Messahel's accusations

Abdelkader Messahel’s recent accusations against Morocco were at the heart of the oral session at the House of Representatives on Monday. Presidents of parliamentary groups and MPs took turns condemning the latest statement of the Algerian Minister of Foreign Affairs. MP Omar Balafrej, from the Federation of the Democratic Left, commented on the Algeria Minister’s statement indicating that «responding to the irresponsible accusations of the Algerian minister tends to give him

Six people arrested over links with a recently dismantled terrorist cell

On the 17th, 21st and 23rd of October, the Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations (BCIJ) arrested six individuals in Rabat, Beni Mellal and Douar Ouled Saad Draa in Moulay Abdellah commune (El Jadida), for having links with the terrorist cell dismantled on October the 14th, said the Ministry of Interior in statement issued on Monday. The Ministry recalls in a same statement that the dismantling of this cell allowed, on the 14th of October, the arrest of 11 people. Chemical liquids and

Italy : the Moroccan national who set fire to his apartment had previously warned his friend against it

The Moroccan national who deliberately set fire to his apartment in San Ferno della Battaglia, near Como (Northern Italy), in the night of Thursday to Friday, had sent, a few hours before the tragedy, a message on WhatsApp to a person he knew settled down in the city of Monza, says the Italian newspaper II Giornale. «I cannot take it anymore, I'm going to set fire to everything,» he wrote. Except that the message was not received on time. It was only the next day that the woman

Morocco is targeting the Indian tourism market according to the ONMT

Morocco is willing to target the Indian tourism market in the upcoming years, said the director general of the Moroccan National Office of Tourism (ONMT), Adberrafie Zouiten. «Morocco wants to open up more and more to India, one of the emerging countries, and hopes to capture the attention of a large number of Indian tourists and make them visit the kingdom,» said the CEO of the ONMT in an interview with MAP news agency after a working visit to New Delhi. He added:

Morocco sends medical aid to Madagascar

King Mohammed VI gave his instructions to send emergency medical aid to the Republic of Madagascar to relieve the pneumonic plague epidemic that hit the country, said on Sunday a statment issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. The aid consists of 34 tons of medicines, medical devices and protection equipments that go hand in hand with the World Organization standards, the statment said. For the record, experts expect the plague in Madagascar to spread as

Casablanca: A first edition of the colorful «Holy Run» festival

The French Radio NRJ launched on Saturday, 21st of October the first edition of the «Holy Run» festival in Morocco, with a celebration that has not lacked color. The «Holy Run» is a 5km race where each km is distinguished by a colorful zone, 5 in total. «Holy Runners» get splashed by colors, all with non-stop music. After the finish line, the NRJ's stars hosted a concert at the Al Amal complex in Casablanca. This first edition was marked by the presence of

Wydad qualified for the African Champion League Final after defeating USM Alger 3-1

Wydad Athletic Club (WAC) defeated on Saturday, 21st of October, Algerians USM Alger 3-1 and got qualified for the African Champions League Final, an annual continental club football competition run by the Confederation of African Football. The Moroccan side aim to win their second Champions League title after claiming their first crown back in 1992.  The Casablanca team was forced to finish the match with 10 players after the expulsion of Amine Atouchi in the 56th minute after he was

Morocco recalls its ambassador over Algerian Foreign Minister's accusations

Morocco has recalled its ambassador to Algeria after the Algerian Foreign Minister accused Rabat of «laundering hashish money» in Africa, reports AFP. As a response, the Algerian Foreign Ministry also summoned its Charge d'affaires in Rabat Friday evening to protest against «the very serious statements … concerning the African policy of the Kingdom of Morocco». The diplomatic crisis between the two neighboring countries erupted when the Algerian Foreign Minister,

Italy : A Moroccan suicidal father sets fire to his apartment

A 49-year-old Moroccan national and father to four children have committed suicide in a tragic incident, on Friday. According to Milano Corriere, a local online newspaper, the father who lives in San Fermo della Battaglia, a commune in Lombardy region, set his apartment to fire. Desperately, the Moroccan national locked himself inside with his four children ( a boy and three girls)and set the place ablaze. The same source indicates that the man and three of his kids were found dead. The

Jamel Debbouze says he was offered a job at the government

Would you see Jamel Debbouze as a member of the government? As strange as it sounds, the French-Moroccan comedian and actor told RMC that he was offered a job at the government, reports Les Inrocks.   «I was offered to be a Secretary of State», he told Christophe Dugarry when invited to Team Duga show. «Of course not, I refused», he continued, «because it is obviously not what I do, I would be bored to death, I would be less productive, frozen and

A UN prevention of torture delegation is to visit Morocco for the first time

The United Nations Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT), a treaty body in the UN human rights created in February 2007, is set to visit Morocco for the first time from the 22nd to the 28th of October; the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said on Thursday. The delegation is supposed to «advise the Government on the establishment of a national detention monitoring body, officially known as the National Prevention Mechanism (NPM)», states the same source. The SPT is also

Hirak : A group of Tunisian social activists allegedly prevented from entering Al Hoceima

The Moroccan security services reportedly prevented a Tunisian delegation of social activists who had come to Morocco on the 16th of October from entering Al Hoceima city, a number of human rights groups said in a joint statement published on E-Joussour, a website led by the Maghreb-Machrek ONG. They are «observers of Hamid Mahdaoui's trial and other activists detained in Casablanca following the social unrest witnessed in the Rif region». «The delegation was