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

Morocco to benefit from the Chinese Belt and Road initiative

Morocco eyes mutual benefits as the Chinese Belt and Road initiative is under construction, the Xinhua news agency reports. The project that was first launched by the Chinese paramount leader, Xi Jinping during a speech to the Indonesian Parliament in 2013 will contribute in the creation of a modern Silk Road spanning on 65 countries. China has promised to build a maritime road to connect coastal Chinese cities to Africa and the Mediterranean, a step that would increase global economic

Murder of Hassan Shimi : Two suspects held in prison

  The two suspects that were directly involved in the murder of Hassan Shimi were detained yesterday in Sale’s local prison, MAP reports. The defendants will be prosecuted for «homicide and robbery». During the reconstruction of the crime scene on Saturday in Oued Eddahab neighborhood, security forces brought two suspects that are allegedly involved in the murder. For the record, Shimi was found murdered Wednesday evening at his home in Temara. Immediately informed,

Attijariwafa pays twice book value to acquire Barklays Egypt

Attijariwafa, one of Morocco’s biggest banks has paid twice book value for the acquisition of Barklays Egypt, Mohammed El Kettani the bank's CEO told Reuters on Sunday. Barklays’ acquisition will enable the Moroccan bank to expand its market share to 5 percent naming the new unit Attijari Bank Egypt. Kettani, speaking to the British news agency, did not reveal the value of the recent purchase but declared instead that it was «twice Barclays Egypt's 2016 book value or about

Emmanuel Macron wins the presidential election

Emmanuel Macron, the centrist candidate of France's En Marche Party won today 7th of May the French presidential election, projected results say. The 39-year-old politician defeated his far-right rival, Marine Le Pen by 65% to 35%, the BBC reports. Macron, who served in 2014 as the country's Minister of Economy, Industry and Digital Affairs will be France's youngest president. In August 2017, Macron launched a bid in the 2017 presidential election by creating a party that he named En Marche.

U.S Navy to hire contractors for Arabic and Moroccan language and cultural training

The U.S. Department of Navy, Naval Supply System Command, launched on May 5th a «fixed-price contract» in favor of the United States Naval Academy's Office Language Study Abroad program for Arabic and Moroccan language and culture training in Rabat. According to Marketwired, those who are interested in this offer «must be registered with the System for Award Management (SAM) database and have as part of the Registration all current Representations and

Italy : 10 Moroccans arrested for International drug trafficking

The Police of Bolzano, a city located in Northern Italy, have arrested twelve individuals allegedly involved in an international drugs trafficking network, Rai News reports. Among the defendants were 10 Moroccans and two Italians who reportedly transported «hundreds of kilograms of Hashish from Spain, as well as psychotropic drugs». The network operated in five Italian regions namely Trentino-Alto Adige in the north, Piedmont near the French borders, Lombardy, Vento

Morocco's textile industry is back on track

The Moroccan textile industry is slowely but surely recovering from the crisis that hit the sector a few years ago. According to the Moroccan Association of Textile and Clothing (Amith), the industry has scored positive and progressive numbers for 2016. Zone Bourse reports that the Kingdom collected MAD 34.22 billion last year through the exportation of textile products. One of Morocco's important clients remains Spain with which Morocco had made more than MAD 18.49 billion. Amith has been

Basketball : Mustapha khalfi to retire after FIBA AfroBasket 2017

Mustapha Khalfi the captain of the national basketball team will leave by the end of FIBA Afrobasket 2017, FIBA reports in an article published on its official website. The Moroccan player told FIBA on May the 5th that he is retiring once the championship is over. «This FIBA AfroBasket is likely to be the last one for half of our national team, including me. So I'll fight and do everything in my power in order to finish on a positive note» , Khalfi announced. The 37-year-old guard

Malawi drops its recognition of the «SADR»

Malawi has abandaned its recognition of the Polisario separatist front, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicates in a communiqué sent today to Yabiladi. The decision was announced on Friday 5th of May in Rabat by Malawi's top diplomat, Francis Kasail during a meeting that he had with Nasser Bourita, the same source reports. This is not the first time that the country makes such decision. In September 2008 Joyce Banda  considered the same thing, the statement points out. In March

Marrakech : Fire contained in the Mamounia hotel

A fire at the Mamounia hotel was contained Friday morning after it broke out because of a fuel tank truck. The tanker was located in an underground area outside the hotel in Marrakech to provide supplies for the hotel, local authorities report.  An employee slightly burned in the fire was transferred to the hospital to receive the necessary care, the same source added. For the record Mamounia is five-star palacial hotel in the old Medina of Marrakech. It is famous for being visited

Syrian refugees in Figuig : Human Rights Watch blames Morocco and Algeria

Human rights watch has reacted to the crisis linked to the Syrian refugees stuck in the borders between Algerian and Morocco. The organization released an article this morning claiming that authorities in both countries should afford medical assistance and protection to the Syrian asylum seekers who are trapped in the border area near Figuig. According to the same source, the group of refugees has crossed the borders of Algeria coming from Libya. They were on their way to Morocco when they got

Basketball : FIBA allows Muslim players to wear the veil

Gathered in Hong Kong, the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) has announced that veiled Muslim female players will be allowed to play with their hijabs on after being banned from it for three years. The ban was decided after a review conducted in 2014. «The headquarters approved the proposal submitted by the Technical Commission which authorizes the wearing of the veil by the players», said FIBA in a statement relayed by Radio Canada. Muslim players will be able to keep

Temara : A MAP photographer found dead in his home

Hassan Shimi, a photographer working for the MAP news agency, was found dead yesterday at his place, Le 360 reports. The man’s body was chained to a chair when discovered and presented signs of violence. Living in Temara, the young man had not given any sign of life since the day before, which pushed his sister to check his apartment where she found him death. «The death of Hassan Shimi was shocking to all of us», journalists from MAP news agency told the Huffpost Maroc.

Hicham El Guerouj might lose five world records

The Moroccan middle-distance runner, Hicham El Guerrouj could lose five world records according to the BBC. The European Athletic Association, which is the governing body for European athletes and records proposed to create a new list of world records to break up with the doping scandals that marked the period before 2005. The new list suggested by the Europian Association will not include records scored before 2005. As a result; rankings will have to abide to new strict criteria and

Youssef Ksiyer making jokes about Trump and Kim Jong in English

It seems that the Moroccan comedian, Youssef Ksiyer has a lot to say in English to his fans. After making funny videos in French and Arabic poking fun at life in Morocco, football and so many other things, the young man has decided to take a step forward. Youssef published Monday 2nd May on his official account on Facebook a video about Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un. Apparently, the 34-year-old comedian has found out the three main things that Donald Trump and Kim Jon Un president of

Mohammed VI museum of Modern and Contemporary Art : An exhibition of Picasso’s best works of art

After a long delay, finally an exhibition of Picasso’s best paintings will take part to the «Africa in the Capital» festival, the National Foundation of Museums (NFM) reports. The exposition entitled «Face a Picasso» is scheduled for the period between the 17th of May and the 31st of July, a communiqué indicates. Interviewed by Telquel, Mehdi Qotbi who is the NFM’s president announced that Lalla Salma will attend the inauguration of the display on May

Morocco worried about endangered Barbary Macaque Monkeys

Considered as a unique species, the Barbary Macaque monkeys that live in the Atlas Mountains of the Kingdom are in danger according to an article released by AFP. Interviewing Ahmed Harrad, a deputy director at the Barbary Macaque Conservation in the Rif association, the French news agency warns : «If nothing is done, this species will disappear within 10 years». The Barbary is the only macaque species distributed outside Asia. Numbers show that these monkeys are in danger faced

The bird captured and mistreated in Fnideq finally released

A griffon vulture captured and mistreated by a group of teenagers in Fnideq in February 2017 has finally recovered from its woonds, BirdLife International reports. The Bird identified as M13 was freed by Group de Recherche pour la Protection des Oiseaux au Maroc (GREPOM), a partner of BirdLife organization that works on protecting birds around the world. The Griffon was found, after being tortured by some young men who took pictures of it and posted them on social media, by the High