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

On the heels of his return from Dakhla, Sarkozy gets arrested

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was placed in custody on Tuesday, 20th of March, in Nanterre (Hauts-de-Seine), by the anti-corruption office, said Mediapart. He was summoned up after the opening of an investigation, suspecting the fact that his victorious presidential campaign in 2007 was allegedly financed by Libya, said Le Monde. A judicial inquiry was opened in April 2013 and Sarkozy was heard for the first time on these accusations. His custody can last forty-eight hours and he

Bank al-Maghrib : Morocco's growth to reach 3.3% in 2018

At the national level, growth would have accelerated to 4 percent in 2017 and is forecast to reach 3.3% in 2018, Bank Al-Maghrib (Morocco's central bank) said on Tuesday. «At the national level, growth would have accelerated to 4 percent in 2017, driven by a rebound of 14.8 percent in agricultural value added while non-agricultural activities would have grown by merely 2.7 percent,» the source added in a release following the first quarterly meeting of the year held by the bank's

A new FCB Escola to be opened in Rabat

After the closing of FCB Escola in Casablanca, it is finally in Rabat that the Catalan club will open a new school, the third one in Africa, reports this Monday the Fox Sports website. The same source spoke about an agreement reached, to be formalized in the coming days, between the football club and the Marita group, headed by entrepreneur Boulgoute Rahhal. This initiative is part of the entrepreneur's own will, «who wanted to give a gift to his sons (fans of Barça), but grant

Sahara : Köhler expected to attend a UN Security Council's closed session on Wednesday

The UN Security Council will hold a session on Wednesday, 21st of March, devoted to the Sahara issue. The meeting will be held in a closed session, with two briefings : The first one will be written by Horst Köhler, recalling the meetings he held with the various parties related to the file, while the second briefing will cover the signature of the new MINURSO’s head, Colin Stewart. The German envoy, before travelling to New York, visited Stockholm where he met with

Jerada : The trial of five detainees postponed to March the 26th

Five Hirak detainees from Jerada have just been heard at the Oujda’s Appeal Court. «The judges have again decided to postpone the examination of the file to March the 26th,» said a source present in court. They have also rejected the lawyers’ request for provisional release. Today's hearing was attended by the detainees' families and several representatives of the Hirak movement in the city of Jerada. Groups of students from the University of Oujda also attended the

The Sun makes fun of a local Moroccan football player

In an article entitled «the Most pointless piece of skill in history of football as player in Morocco copies famous Zinedine Zidane move — for absolutely no reason», the British tabloid newspaper The Sun made fun of a Raja football player, referring to his an «insignificant» feint he performed during a match. The video and photos the Sun was making fun of were shot during a game between OCK Khouribga and Raja Casablanca that took place three years ago,

Spain : A Moroccan inmate escapes prison

An inmate from the Sangonera Murcia La Verde (South-Western Spain) prison managed yesterday to escape during his transfer to a hospital, sources at the prison told others from the Government Delegation, according to La Verdad. Security forces are looking for the Moroccan prisoner who has a heavy criminal record. The man complained of severe pain in his foot before being transported to the Virgen de La Arrixaca hospital in Murcia by members of the Civil Guard. It was when he arrived at the

Brussels : The great mosque will be managed by local actors

The Belgian government announced on Friday that Saudi Arabia is not the official manager of the great mosque of Brussels anymore, reports Belga. The step was taken to implement a recommendation submitted by the parliamentary inquiry committee on terrorist attacks, intending to «put an end to the interference of foreign states in the teaching of Islam in Belgium», said the same source. A one-year period was given to plan the new structure, to which the Muslim Executive of

WSF in Brazil: Polisario members prevent Moroccans from defending the autonomy plan

The 13th session of the World Social Forum was held from the 13th to 17th of March in Brazil. This year's edition was attended by members of the Polisario delegation, supported by other foreign nationalities, who tried to prevent Moroccans from promoting the Moroccan plan for the settlement of the terrotorial dispute and which was presented in 2007. Two representatives from the Autonomists Support Forum of Tindouf FORSATIN, an NGO defending the autonomy plan, said that members from the

Morocco reveals the details of its World Cup bid

In a press conference held on Saturday, details on Morocco's World Cup bid submitted on Thursday in Zurich were unveiled, as well as the promotional campaign set to host the continental competition, said a communiqué issued by the bid committee. Indeed, this meeting has revealed the promotional campaign for the Moroccan bid, the slogan and the official website Morocco 2026. Chairperson of the bid committee, Moulay Hafid Elalamy stressed that hosting the FIFA World Cup is part of the

6 killed in a road accident on the Agadir-Marrakech highway

Six people died in a road accident that took place on Saturday on the Agadir-Marrakech highway, in the commune of Amskroud, local authorities at the Agadir-Ida Outanane prefecture said. Two trucks running in the same direction collided, and their cargo caught fire that burnt two cars running behind the said trucks, killing six passengers, the same source said. Local authorities and security and civil defence services, in addition to the specialized technical services rushed to the scene of

Jerada : Local authorities deny public forces' vehicle hitting and killing youngster

Local authorities in the Jerada province denied false and erroneous information, spread by some websites and social media platforms, saying that a 16-year-old youngster died on Wednesday in Jerada after been hit by a vehicle of public forces. To enlighten the public opinion and avoid any confusion that such information could cause, and also to avoid negative consequences that could be generated by such baseless allegations, the local authorities in the province of Jerada underlined that the an

Hervé Renard plans to sue a Moroccan player

Hervé Renard, a French former professional player and the current manager of the Morocco national team, said Thursday on his Twitter that he was planning to sue a Moroccan player who accused him of being corrupt, said AFP. «It’s been ten years now that I’m in Africa and no player has ever been selected without it being my sole responsibility», said the French coach in a statement released on Thursday on his Twitter. Communiqué Réaction aux propos

The US consulate general urges American citizens to avoid traveling to Jerada

In a security alert issued on Thursday, 15th of March, the US Consulate General in Casablanca urged American citizens in Morocco  to aviod traveling to Jerada. Based on Media reports, the American mission in the Kingdom wrote that «numerous demonstrations and protests continue to occur in Jerada on a regular basis and there have been reports of confrontations between security forces and demonstrators». The same alert acknowledged that these protests are not targeting US

Melilla : A Belgian national convicted of murder was arrested in Morocco

The Spanish police arrested a Belgian national sentenced to 10 years in prison while trying to enter Melilla through the border crossing with Morocco, said EFE. The man is considered by the Belgian authorities as «dangerous and violent,» said sources of the Spanish government delegation in Melilla, adding that he was sentenced to ten years in prison for collusion with murder and unlawful possession of weapons. His arrest took place yesterday at the Farhana border crossing,

Belgium : A terrorist will not be extradited to Morocco over fears of being tortured

A Belgian judge refused the extradition of a Belgian resident sentenced for terrorism to Morocco over «fears of being tortured», said on Friday La Libre. Bilal, who visited Syria in September 2015, was arrested months later in Brussels and was sentenced to 5 years in prison. He had links with the terrorist cell of Khalid Zerkani, described by the Belgian media as the most famous jihadist recruiter in Belgium. Released in June 2017, the Belgian Immigration Office was intending to

Melilla : A sub-Saharan hidden in a car whose driver fled to Morocco

The Guardia Civil found, on Thursday, a sub-Saharan migrant hiding in the trunk of a car which was intending to enter Melilla through the Farhana border crossing, said EFE. This occurred yesterday around 11am when members of the Spanish Guardia Civil were checking cars at the border crossing, Abdelmalik El Barkani, government delegate in Melilla. The driver of the car, a Moroccan national, however managed to escape returning to Morocco. «The Moroccan authorities have told us

Morocco submits its fifth World Cup bid to the FIFA

Morocco submitted on Thursday, 15th of March, its fifth bid to host the World Cup to the FIFA in Switzerland, announced the Morocco's 2026 World Cup Bid Committee in a statement sent to Yabiladi. Morocco's file contains 24 segments related to sustainable development as well as technical data concerning the country. It includes pieces of information on the stadiums to host matches, transportation means, training sites and accommodation, said the same source.   Moreover, the