Morocco's Arrabet and Skaleet partner for a new neo-bank offering in Africa  (Read more...)

The most expensive gift given to Barack Obama is from King Mohammed VI

While in office, Barack Obama received several gifts from foreign governments, but the most expensive one of them all is King Mohammed VI's. According to federal documents made public on Wednesday by the State Department’s Protocol Office, the most valuable single gift given to the Obamas in 2016 «came from the king of Morocco». Reported on Friday by Fox News, the sovereign «presented the first family with an ornate gold-plated brooch adorned with diamonds and rubies, a

Morocco to launch a new exchange rate regime on Monday

The Ministry of Economy and Finance, after consulting with Bank Al-Maghrib (central bank), has decided to adopt, on Monday, a new exchange rate regime where the parity of the dirham is determined within a band of fluctuation of ± 2.5%, against ± 0.3% currently, compared to a central rate set by the Bank Al-Maghrib on the basis of a currency basket composed of the euro and the US dollar by up to 60% and 40% respectively. Under the new regime, Bank Al-Maghrib will continue to

Morocco hires international strategy consultants to manage its 2026 World Cup bid

Morocco is hiring international strategy consultants to manage its 2026 World Cup bid, reports Associated Press. VERO, a London-based consulting firm, which was in charge of Qatar’s 2022 World Cup bid, said that it is intending to «shape the vision of the expanded 48-team tournament in the Kingdom», said the same source. The United States of American, Mexico and Canada were the first nations to announce their wish of hosting the 2026 World Cup, submitting a joint bid on

Interior Minister receives new UNSG special representative and head of Minurso

Interior Minister Abdelouafi Laftit received on Friday the new special representative of the UN Secretary General for the Sahara and Head of the MINURSO, Colin Stewart. At this meeting, Laftit assured the UNSG special representative of the support of the Moroccan authorities in carrying out his functions, underlining that the Kingdom will continue its support to the MINURSO in fulfilling its mandate. Laftit reiterated Moroccan authorities’ warning against continued provocations and

UN-AU : After Paul Kagamé, Köhler meets Moussa Faki

Horst Köhler’s wish to give the African Union the chance to interfere in the Sahara conflict is becoming more visible these days. The UN Personal Envoy met on Friday, 12th of January, Moussa Faki Mahamat, a Chadian politician and the current Chairperson of the African Union Commission. The meeting comes only a few hours after the UN official held talks with the Rwandan President Paul Kagamé. In a few days, the latter will chair the Conference of Heads of State of the

Italy : Two teenagers are suspected of killing a homeless Moroccan man in December

The Italian police have managed to indentify two teenagers who were behind the death of a homeless Moroccan man near the northern city of Verona, reports Associated Press on Friday. A 13-year-old and a 17-year-old boy have set 64-year-old Ahmed Fdil on fire on December the 13th, said the same source quoting L’Arena di Verona, an Italian daily newspaper. «It was a joke», said the younger boy to teh police insisting that they did not intend to kill the man. Speaking to RAI, an

Guantanamo : Donald Trump sued by eleven detainees who accuse him of being anti-Muslim

On Thursday, 11th of January, eleven prisoners detained at the Guantanamo US military prison, located within Guantanamo Bay Naval Base filed a lawsuit against the US President, saying that they are illegally detained because they are Muslim, reports AFP. In their complaint, the prisoners refer to Donald Trump’s tweets and statements, they consider as Islamophobic. They are based on the arguments put forward by the opponents of the presidential decree against immigration, which

The U.S. new travel warning : Morocco is on the lowest advisory level for safety and security risk

The U.S. state department revealed on Wednesday, 10th of January, an updated travel warning system, reports AFP, a Paris-based French weekly newspaper. Featured on the states’ official website, the American government divided countries in the world into four main categories : «Exercise normal precautions, Exercise increased caution, Reconsider travel and Do not travel». Morocco is part of the first list, which is dedicated to the safe countries where U.S. citizens are

Mehdi Benatia voted best Maghreb player in 2017 by France Football magazine

Mehdi Benatia, a Moroccan-French footballer who plays for Italian club Juventus has been voted best Maghreb player in 2017 by France Football, a French weekly magazine containing football news from all over the world, ahead of Algeria’s Riyad Mahrez and the Dutch-Moroccan player Hakim Ziyech.   «Trained at OM (Olympique de Marseille), the Juventus center back made a name in Italy before playing for Bayern de Guardiola. Despite his mid-October knee injury», he performed

Moulay Hafid Elalamy to chair Morocco’s 2026 World Cup bid committee

As part of the preparation for Morocco’s bid to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the Chairmanship of Morocco’s Bid Committee has been assigned by King Mohammed VI to My Hafid Elalamy, reports MAP news agency. Elalamy’s work consists in providing all the necessary support to the Moroccan Royal Football Federation (FRMF) and the specific division created within the FRMF, in accordance with FIFA guidelines and specifications. He will act as the Government’s interlocutor for

Morocco : Jbel Irhoud registered as a national heritage site

Jbel Irhoud, an archaeological site located just north of the locality known as Tlet Ighoud, about 50 km south-east of the city of Safi in Morocco, has been registered as a national heritage site, announces AFP. The area is known for the rest of the world by the Hominin fossils that have been found there in 1960. The specimens discovered in Jbel Irhoud were later assigned to Homo sapiens and have been dated to over 300,000. This decision was made public in January by the Moroccan Official

NGOs and public personalities show support for Helena Maleno

Human rights organizations and several personalities support the Spanish journalist, Helena Maleno, accused of being involved in facilitating illegal immigration, believing that she is helping migrants enter the Spanish territory. The 47-year-old activist is to be heard, Wednesday by the judge in Tangier, reports AFP. Helena Maleno has for several years been able to locate migrants in difficulty off the coast of Spain. She has been living in the northern city for about fifteen years

A Moroccan woman dies in Cairo airport suffering a heart attack

A Moroccan national died on Tuesday, 9th of January, at the Cairo International Airport suffering a heart attack as she was preparing to fly to Casablanca. The deceased, Naima I. (66 years old), succumbed to her condition in the boarding lounge, while she was planning to get in a Royal Air Maroc flight to Casablanca. The woman was on a vacation to Egypt, said the Kingdom’s embassy in Cairo. As soon as it was informed by the Egyptian authorities of her death, the Moroccan embassy began

After the meeting in Abidjan, the South African foreign minister is in Rabat

The South African Minister of Foreign Affairs is in Morocco. Nkoana Mashabane is taking part in Rabat in the Ministerial Conference for an African Agenda on Migration, Bourita said the role of Morocco and South Africa remains pivotal regarding issues related to peace, development and migration. Speaking to MAP news agency, Nasser Bourita, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International cooperation, follow the important and historic meeting which took place late November in Abidjan, on the

Las Vegas : Nine Moroccan startups participate to the International Consumer Electronics Show

Morocco is participating for the first time in the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), to be held from the 9th to the 12th of January in Las Vegas, Nevada, says the Foundation MAScIR (Moroccan Foundation for Advanced Science, Innovation & Reserarch) in a statement sent Tuesday to Yabiladi. Two prototypes developed by the Foundation's researchers will be presented at the CES : the first one is a LAB ON CARD developed by the Center for Medical Biotechnology, which has succeeded in

SDX Energy expected to put one of its recent wells into production

SDX Energy, a British oil company operating in both Egypt and Morocco, announced on Tuesday, 9th of January, that its KSR-16 well, located at the Sebou project onshore Morocco, has been put into production, reports Proactive Investors. According to the same source, the well’s production rate is estimated at 8.43mln cubic feet of gas per day, considered as the company’s best results of the three recent new wells at the project. SDX is planning after this achievement to drill at the

Yasin Ben El-Mhanni allegedly bullied by Newcastle’s coach

Yasin Ben El-Mhanni, an English professional footballer of Moroccan descent who plays as a winger for Newcastle United, has claimed that he was bullied by Peter Beardsley, the current manager of the British club. According to Press Association, a multimedia news agency operating in the United Kingdom and Ireland, Ben El-Mhanni has lodged a complaint against Beardsley. As reported by the Dailymail, Beardsley has allegedly made racist comments to one of his players during a trip to Go Ape, an

Visa to launch contactless payment cards in Morocco

Moroccans can now use contactless visa cards to pay for their purchases, reports Verdict, an online newspaper based in London covering global business issues with speed, accuracy and intelligence. The technology is finally going to be introduced in Morocco allowing consumers in the North African Kingdom to process transactions in an easy and smart way. Speaking to the same source, Sami Romdhane, general manager of Visa international Morocco indicated that «contactless technology is