News Flash

Spain : The radioactive fertilizers coming from Morocco will be marketed

Held this weekend in a bunker at the Valencia port in Spain, three trucks coming from Morocco and carrying fertilizers for a company called Silla will finally be able to deliver their goods, said Thursday the Spanish daily newspaper Levante. On Sunday, the Nuclear Security Center (CSN) decided to isolate the trucks after discovering that the loads they carried were radioactive. However, after that the center authorized the trucks to market their loads. Indeed, the Spanish authorities stated

Mbark Boussoufa determined to get past the first round in Russia

Mbark Boussoufa, the Moroccan mid-fielder who’s to accompany the Atlas lions to Russia this summer is determined to perform well at the international competition. In an interview conducted by FIFA and published Monday, the 33-year-old footballer insisted that the national team will be «ready to put in a good performance». «We’re going to come up against some great teams and we know what to expect. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens», said

Terrorism : Six defendants transferred to El Arjat local prison

The investigating judge in charge of terrorism cases at the Salé Appeal Court ordered on Monday to transfer six defendants accused of terror-related crimes to El Arjat local prison, after hearing them. The defendants, who were previously brought before the Attorney General in the same court, are charged of «forming a gang to commit terrorist acts, belonging to a terrorism organization and glorifying it,» said a judicial source. For the record, the Central Bureau of

Spain : People rally for peace after a mosque was vandalized in Hernani

Residents of Hernani, a town and municipality located in the province of Gipuzkoa, Basque Country, Spain rallied on Sunday, 4th of March, to denounce the act of vandalizing a mosque, said Europa Press. Racist and xenophobic messages were found Saturday on the city’s mosque, according to the Islamic Federation of the Basque Country, reported El Diario newspaper. In fact, someone wrote «Get out Arabs» on the mosque’s gate next to a tag in the form of a target. The

Morocco’s Al Akhawayn University ranked first in the Maghreb region

Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane (UAI) topped the ranking of Maghreb universities for the third year in a row, according to the QS Arab Region University Ranking 2018. AUI ranked first in Morocco and the Maghreb region, according to an annual survey issued by the independent British educational marketing company Quacquarelli Symonds. AUI ranks 44th out of 100 Arab universities, while the American University of Beirut tops the ranking. According to the QS University Ranking, graduates of

CAF : The first women’s football symposium held in Marrakech

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) symposium on women's football, aiming to create a new path for the development of women's football in Africa, opened Monday in Marrakech with the participation of the presidents of several African federations. This symposium, co-organized by CAF and the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) is set to boost women's football in Africa. For two days, the participants will discuss a number of very specific topics relating to women's football in the

Valencia : Trucks coming from Morocco seized for carrying radioactive loads

Three trucks coming from Morocco have been stranded in the port of Valencia, Spain said Le Desk quoting EFE news agency. According to the Spanish Civil Guard, the trucks were carrying radioactive loads, containing substances such as uranium 235 and 238, plutonium-239, radium-226 and gallium 66. The three trucks were carrying fertilizers for a company called Silla, an importer of a Moroccan firm. The commodity was loaded in Jorf Lasfar, said the Spanish daily newspaper Levante, adding that

Girona : The Moroccan Consulate appoints a lawyer for a Moroccan man assaulted by a police officer in Lleida

A young man was assaulted by an urban guard officer in a bar in Lleida (a city in Catalonia), Wednesday. The images of this attack quickly went viral on the internet during the weekend. The Moroccan consulate in Girona eventually intervened by appointing a lawyer to «defend the young man», said EFE news agency. The consulate of Girona (the closest to the Catalan city) asked the mayor of Lérida for explanations as he is a «chief of the police and local

IAAF World Indoor Championships : Moroccan Abdelaati Iguider wins bronze

Morocco’s Abdelaati Iguider finished third in the men’s 1,500m final on Sunday at the IAAF World Indoor Championships held in Birmingham. The race was won by Ethiopian Samuel Tefera with 3:58.19, ahead of Polish Marcin Lewandowski (3:58.39) and Moroccan Iguider (3:58.43). Morocco’s Younes Salhi ended sixth in the men’s 3,000m final.

Kick-boxing : Badr Hari takes revenge on Hesdy Gerge

«I waited for this fight for so long,» said the Dutch-Moroccan kick-boxer Badr Hari, yesterday after defeating his Dutch opponent Hesdy Gerge, reports Telegraaph. It had been eight years since the two men had not met in a fight. In 2010, Badr Hari was disqualified for kicking his opponent's face on the ground and trying to get up. Hesdy Gerge was declared the winner. «Hesdy has a big heart, but mine is even bigger so I think there will soon be a new revenge,» he said

One killed and another person injured after a roof collapsed in Casablanca

At least one person is killed and another one is injured after the roof of a house collapsed Saturday, 3rd of March, in Derb Chorfa, a neighborhood in Mers Sultan, Casablanca, said Le 360. The victim is a 17-year-old girl whose twin sister was woonded also in the same incident. The latter was transfored to the hospital to get the necessary assistance. Firefighters arrived on scene and helped pull the two girls. Local authorities have opened an investigation to determine the circumstances of

Germany : More than 900 assaults reported against Muslims and Islamic places in 2017

At least 950 assaults were committed against Muslims and Islamic institutions last year in Germany, according to data provided by the Interior Minister and published Saturday by the regional daily newspaper Osnabruecker Zeitung, reports Le Soir. In addition to that, at least 33 people were injured in these attacks. Almost all of them have been perpetrated by far-right sympathizers. The Ministry reports also incitement to hatred, threatening letters, attacks against veiled women, and Nazi

Belgium : Mohamed Abrini and Ossama Krayem remanded in custody

Accused of being invovled in the November 13 attacks in Paris and the March 22 ones in Brussels, Mohamed Abrini and Ossama Krayem were remanded in custody for another two months, said Friday the Brussels Federal Prosecutor's Office to the Belga press agency. Mohamed Abrini was arrested on April 8, 2016. He was the man wearing a hat, spotted through a Closed-circuit television, in addition to two kamikazes in the Brussels Airport. On March 22, 2016, he dropped an explosives bag at the

A Moroccan activist believes her expulsion from the USA was a «political act»

A Moroccan left-wing activist denounced yesterday in Rabat the fact that she was expelled from the United States and separated from her children, accusing the Moroccan and American authorities of deporting her because of showing support for social protests in her country of origin, said EFE. Siham Byah, a 40-year-old mother of two children, stated in a conference held in Rabat that the US authorities initially withdrew her residence permit in 2012, after living for 13 years in the United

Fisheries agreement : Two Spanish MEPs call for the exclusion of Western Sahara

MEPs, Lidia Senra and Estefania Torres, from the Confederation Group of the European United Left and the Podemos respectively, urged on Thursday the European Union to exclude the Western Sahara waters from its fisheries agreement concluded with Morocco and which is expected to expire on the 14th of July 2018, reports EFE. «The EU must exclude Western Sahara from its next agreement with Morocco», demanded Estefania Torres. The MEP also called the European Union to sign an agreement

The launch of a space capsule carrying Moroccan scientific experiments is delayed

The UK Space Agency, an executive agency of the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for the United Kingdom's civil space programme, announced on Wednesday that it is postponing the launch of a space capsule that contains scientific experiments from Morocco, India and Mexico. The agency explained that rescheduling of this launch is due to logistical conditions invoked by the Mexican air force, reported Anadolu. Mohamed Kayyali, director of the British Space Agency, told the same

«QS World University Ranking 2018» : Mohammed V University tops the national list

Mohammed V University in Rabat topped on Thursday the list including Moroccan universities ranked by the «QS World University Ranking 2018», an annual publication of university rankings by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS). In Africa, the University of Rabat was ranked 45th, while internationally, it was positioned 801st out of the 1,000 universities studied worldwide, said a statement issued by the university. Mohammed V. Continentally, the Cadi Ayyad University was 55th,

Brussels : 3,000 Moroccans demand the release of political detainees

Around 3,000 Moroccan nationals from the Rif region took the streets in Brussels on Wednesday to demand the release of political prisoners in their country, reports Dutch-language Belgian platform VRT NWS. The protesters came from different European countries. Ahmed Zefzafi, the father of the figurehead of the Hirak protest movement, Nasser Zefzafi, also took part in the rally. The aim of the event was to draw the attention of the European Parliament to Moroccan political prisoners, says VRT