Real Madrid star Brahim Diaz ready to write history with Morocco  (Read more...)

Football : Younes Belhanda joins Galatasaray

Younes Belhanda, the Moroccan international midfielder, has joined the Turkish club Galatasaray on Friday after signing a contract for four seasons, reports L’Equipe online sports newspaper. The 27-year-old footballer was on the books at Dynamo Kiev (Ukraine) which will receive more than ten million Euros (bonus included). Belhanda spent last year at Nice and will receive 3.35 million Euros. The rising Turkish team is relying on its latest recruits to boost its chances next

Hirak: New verdicts pronounced by the Court of First Instance in Al Hoceima

New verdicts were pronounced Thursday evening against the activists of the Hirak popular movement, reports this Friday the Arabic-language media Al Aoual. The Al Hoceima Court of First Instance sentenced Mohamed El Hilali and Abdelouahed Kammouni to a total of 17 months of imprisonment for their participation to the Hirak. The former is a journalist and editor of the electronic media Rif Press, continues Al Aoual. Mohamed El Hilali was sentenced to five months, while Abdelouahed Kammouni was

Cinema  : Two Moroccan filmmakers invited to be members of the Oscars Academy

Producer Khadija Alami and filmmaker Nabil Ayouch have been selected to join the Oscars Academy, reports the American media platform People. It is the first time that Morocco is represented during the selection of films nominated for the Oscars. The choice of this prestigious cinematographic awards ceremony recognizes filmmaking in Morocco. In order to be part of the Academy it is necessary to receive an invitation from the organization members are not confirmed until they accept their

The Central Bank delays the announcement of currency liberalization

Bank Al-Maghrib has postponed in a statement the announcement of the liberalization of Morocco’s currency, reports Reuters. The date of the step which is a reform package strongly suggested by the International Monetary Fund was supposed to be revealed on Thursday 29th of June. According to the same source, the Central Bank has issued a statement in this week informing reporters that the date of the dirham’s liberalization first phase will be announced on the 29th of

Hirak : 150 people arrested in the Rif according to AMDH

150 people have been arrested following the march that was organized on the 26th of June, the first day of Eid Al-Fitr, Khadija Ryadi a member of the Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH) told Middle East Monitor. Inhabitants of Al hoceima and neighboring villages, during the manifestation, called for the release of the detainees including Nasser Zefzafi, leader of the Hirak popular movement. According to Khadia Ryadi, «forty were still detained this morning, many of them from

UK : A Moroccan Imam arrested over links with ISIS in Birmingham

Tarik Chadlioui is among the six people arrested in Europe yesterday at the request of the Spanish authorities. The Belg-Moroccan Imam is accused of maintaining links with the «Islamic State» and encouraging individuals to engage in jihad, the Birmingham Mail said. The accused appeared before the magistrates of Westminster court to start deportation procedure. .According to the Daily Mail, the 43-year-old has a Belgian passport and lives in Birmingham with his family since 2015. He

Hirak : 40 children hospitalized after forces fire tear gas

40 children were hospitalized on Monday after security forces fired tear gas during the march that took place in Al Hoceima and Imzouren on the first day of Eid Al-Fitr. According to eyewitnesses, reported by Al Yaoum 24, these kids were sent to Mohammed VI hospital in Al Hoceima. Seniors and women were injured after using tear gas. On the other hand, the clashes with the demonstrators led to severe head and other sensitive body wounds. According to the Arabic-speaking website, there is no

Italy : A Moroccan national saves a woman who set herself on fire in Turin

Anas Sabi is a Moroccan national living in Turin, bravely saved a woman who set herself on fire in front of the National Social Security Institute's office in Turin (istituto nazionale della previdenza sociale). Originally from Casablanca, the man was queuing at the door right behind the desperate woman, whose condition is critical. «I saw her set herself in fire, it was terrible», Anas told the Italian Press agency ANSA today, adding that he is «thankful to god for giving me

Belgian deputies call for the release of the Hirak detainees

The Hirak movement is at the heart of a carte blanche written by four Belgian deputies namely, Marie Arena, a European deputy, Jamal Ikabza member of Wallonia-Brussels Federation, Fatiha Saidi, and Simone Susskind member of Brussels parliament. Parliamentarians called for the release of the political detainees, La Libre reports. After having contextualized the protest movement that has been taking place for several months in the Rif region, MEPs consider it «normal» that citizens

Netherlands : A manifestation to support the «Hiark» in Utrecht

On Saturday, 24th of June at 3pm, 500 Dutch nationals of Moroccan descent gathered in Moreelsepark in Utrecht (50 km away fromAmsterdam) to support the Hirak movement, reports the Dutch online newspaper NU. The Mohcine Fikri Committee in the Netherlands organized the event. The latter is concerned about the fate of the demonstrators in the Rif region. The participants demanded for releasing «the Hirak detainees» and putting an end of «the injustice in the Rif region»,

Hirak : 50 protesters arrested on Monday’s march according to a local activist

Following the march organized on Monday, the first day of Eid Al-fitr, 50 protesters were arrested by the police according to a local rights activist, reports Reuters. 39 police officers were sent to the hospital during the latest manifestation when the two camps clashed violently. The Ministry of Justice, according to the same source did not give details about the arrests. However, Faisal Aussar, a member of the local Human Rights Association told Reuters that «police and gendarmes

Grenfell fire : The husband of a Moroccan victim granted a passport to attend his wife’s funeral

Following the tragic fire that broke off in the Grenfell tower in London, UK and which caused the death of several people including 7 Moroccans. Sabah Abdullah, the husband of Khadija Khalloufi who was killed in the blaze, was granted an emergency passport to attend his wife’s funeral in Morocco, Metro UK reports. The retired university lecturer, who used to live in the 17th floor at the Grenfell building, lost his identity card and passport in the incident. The same source indicates

The Moroccan poet Abdellatif Laabi awarded at the International Poetry Festival in Mexico

The Moroccan poet Abdellatif Laabi received on the 29th of June the International award of the new golden century poetry during the inauguration of the Mexico's International Festival of Poetry, reports the Mexican news agency Notimex. Abdellatif Laabi, who writes poetry in French was born in 1942, he is one of the early instigators of the cultural revolution in the Maghreb, notably with the founding of the magazine «Souffles» in 1966. He was awarded the Goncourt Prize for poetry

USA : Supreme Court allows a part of the «Muslim ban»

The US Supreme Court handed over Donald Trump's «Muslim ban» on Monday (June 26th), pending a hearing in the fall, AFP said. The decree prohibiting the entry into the United States of the inhabitants of six predominantly Muslim countries (Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Iran, Somalia, Libya). The court is allowing the ban to go into effect for foreign nationals who lack any «bona fide relationship with any person or entity in the United States.» This decision of the Supreme Court

Eid Al-Fitr : Morocco's Ambassador invites the families of the Moroccan victim killed in Grenfell

Families of the Moroccan victims and survivors of the Grenfell tower fire were invited on Monday to the Moroccan Ambassador's residence in London to celebrate Eid Al-Fitr. This initiative of solidarity, which was part of the High Royal instructions, has brought comfort to the Moroccan families bereaved by this terrible fire. On this occasion, Ambassador Abdesselam Aboudrar, accompanied by the Consul General Abderrahim Beyyoudh, reiterated his condolences and sympathy to all the people

A Moroccan teenager migrant gets to Spain by hanging underneath a bus

A Moroccan teenager survived a 143 mile journey from Morocco to Spain hanging underneath a bus that was heading to Seville, Mirror UK reports. The 15-year-old boy «crammed himself into a tiny cavity underneath the coach before clinging on for hours.» According to the same source, a police spokesperson told AFP that : «The bus came from Tetouan, and when it arrived in Seville, the driver was going to let the passengers out when he noticed something strange» adding that

Belgium : A march to support the «Hirak» in Brussels

A manifestation was held on Saturday 25th of June in Brussels to support the «Hirak», according to Blad Rif online newspaper, which reports that 50 000 people took the streets in several European countries. The capital of Belgium has witnessed before that on the 28th of May a number of march that are pro-Hirak. Police says 16000 people marched in Brussels yesterday for #Rif. Organizers say 50000. Video: https://t.co/cBeTzzLXoa #Morocco #hirak — tamghribit (@HasnaAnkal)

Laayoune : Two American nationals deported to Las Palmas

«Around the end of this afternoon, the authorities of Laayoune sent back two American nationals to Las Palmas : a student and an architect», a source from the Sahara, who has requested anonymity, told Yabiladi. «The two men were from Casablanca. Berofe arriving to Laayoune, they had coordinated their trip with supporters of the Polisario Front», the same source added. They were also preparing to take part of a sit-in planned to be organized on Monday 26th of June by