Flash actualités

Days after recovery near Ceuta, young Moroccan’s body still awaits return home

For days, the family of a young Moroccan man, Yassine Chadli, has been waiting for authorization from a court in Ceuta to repatriate his body to Morocco after Spanish Civil Guard officers found him dead in the waters near the border area on May 11. Although his identity has been officially confirmed and all administrative procedures completed, the family is still awaiting judicial approval to transfer the body through the Tarajal crossing into Morocco ahead of his burial in his hometown of El

Germany: Mother and daughter flying from Morocco caught with €20,000 in undeclared gold

Two women arriving from Morocco at Germany’s Weeze Airport are facing a tax evasion investigation after customs officers discovered nearly €20,000 worth of undeclared gold jewelry hidden in plain sight, worn openly by the passengers themselves. Accoridng to media reports, the mother, 52, and daughter, 31, had arrived from Morocco and walked through the green channel for travelers with nothing to declare. But a German customs trainee became suspicious of the amount of gold jewelry

Philippe Lalliot named France ambassador to Morocco

Philippe Lalliot’s appointment as France’s ambassador to Morocco was formalized by decree and published in the Official Journal on May 15, 2026. The senior official at France’s Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs succeeds Christophe Lecourtier, who has taken over as head of the French Development Agency. A graduate of the Sorbonne, Sciences Po and the École nationale d’administration, Philippe Lalliot began serving as first secretary at the

AfDB approves 200 million euros for Morocco vocational training programme

The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group has approved €200 million in financing for the implementation of the «Cap Compétences 2030» programme in Morocco. The results-based financing aims to strengthen the relevance, quality, and diversification of vocational training, notably through the digitisation of services, the large-scale expansion of apprenticeship programmes, and improved pathways into the labour market, the bank said in a statement

Death toll climbs to seven in Fez residential building collapse

At least seven people, including a child, were killed and six others injured after a four-storey residential building collapsed around 3 a.m. on Thursday in Aïn Noqbi neighborhood in Fez, according to an update from 2M. Three of the injured were admitted to the intensive care unit at Hassan II University Hospital, while Civil Protection teams continued searching through the rubble amid fears that more than 10 people could still be trapped beneath the debris. ⛔️ انهيار

FC Barcelona closes youth academies in Rabat and Casablanca

FC Barcelona announced on Wednesday that it had closed its youth training academies in Casablanca and Rabat, effective May 12. Without providing details on the reasons behind the decision, the Spanish club recalled that its first center in Morocco opened in Rabat in 2023, followed by a second academy in Casablanca in 2024. When launching its first academy in Morocco, FC Barcelona presented the initiative as part of its efforts to promote football development worldwide through youth training.

Morocco urges realistic UN peacekeeping mandates amid MINURSO review

As the United Nations Security Council began reviewing the strategic assessment of MINURSO’s mandate in the Sahara last April, Morocco on Wednesday outlined in Rabat its reform-oriented vision for UN peacekeeping operations. Speaking in the presence of António Guterres during the second Ministerial Conference on Peacekeeping in French-speaking environments, Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita called for UN mandates that are more closely aligned with realities on the ground.

Sahara: Pro-Polisario media claim Washington has lost neutrality

The Polisario has chosen to respond anonymously to the anger voiced on social media by the U.S. ambassador to Morocco following a meeting with the head of MINURSO. According to a Sahrawi media outlet, «sources close to the Polisario Front believe these statements confirm Washington’s loss of neutrality and illustrate the failure of U.S.-led mediation efforts, insofar as the American position effectively rules out the option of a self-determination referendum.» Another media

Morocco and Mauritania seek new momentum in economic ties

Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani received a Moroccan delegation on Wednesday led by Karim Zidane, Minister Delegate to the Head of Government in charge of Investment, Convergence, and Public Policy Evaluation, according to the Mauritanian News Agency (AMI). Following the meeting, the Moroccan official reaffirmed «the commitment of His Majesty King Mohammed VI to strengthening the distinguished ties of fraternity and cooperation between the Kingdom of Morocco and the

FICAM 2026 in Meknes unveils animation festival winners

The 24th edition of the Meknes International Animation Film Festival (FICAM 2026) came to a close on Wednesday, May 20, with the announcement of a list of winners shaped by the choices of a professional jury, young viewers and the public. Unveiled during the closing ceremony, the award-winning short and feature films underscored the power of animated cinema as a vehicle for universal messages, emotion and shared values. In the animated short film competition, the Jury Grand Prize went to

France details measures backing support for Moroccan sovereignty in Sahara

France has reiterated that the «present and future of the Sahara lie within Moroccan sovereignty» and outlined concrete measures being implemented in line with that position. The statement was made on Wednesday in Rabat by Jean-Noël Barrot during a press briefing following talks with Nasser Bourita, Morocco’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation, and Moroccans Residing Abroad. Emphasizing that the Sahara issue is strategic for both France and the region,

Polisario quietly commemorates 53 years of armed struggle

The Polisario is marking, this Wednesday, May 20, with great discretion, the 53rd anniversary of the launch of its armed struggle. The traditional military parade held in the «liberated territories», in Tifariti or Bir Lahlou, has not been possible since November 13, 2020. Worse still, no festivities were organized this year to mark the occasion, whereas in 2024, the Front held military parades in the Tindouf camps on Algerian territory. Brahim Ghali was present but did not speak,

Morocco pushes pharmaceutical hub ambitions with World Bank and Gates Foundation

Moroccan Health Minister Amine Tehraoui launched discussions on Wednesday with the World Bank Group and the Gates Foundation to develop a roadmap aimed at positioning Morocco as a regional pharmaceutical and logistics hub. The meeting, held on the sidelines of the 79th World Health Assembly in Geneva, focused on the first strategic orientations and priority areas of cooperation under AIM2030, the World Bank Group’s African initiative for access to medicines and the development of medical

UAE man jailed for video inciting child marriage in Morocco

On Wednesday, the Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeal sentenced Emirati citizen Saif Salem Saif Ali Al-Maqbali to three years in prison and fined him AED 5 million over a video that sparked widespread controversy after it included remarks encouraging marriage to underage girls in Morocco. The court also ordered the removal of the offensive video, the closure of the defendant’s online accounts, and the confiscation of the phone used in the incident, according to the Emirates News

Morocco and France announce state visit by King Mohammed VI, historic treaty in the works

Morocco’s and France’s foreign ministers announced on Tuesday in Rabat that a state visit by King Mohammed VI to France is «planned» and will be preceded by high-level meetings in the Moroccan capital next July, according to Jeune Afrique. Speaking to the press alongside his French counterpart Jean-Noël Barrot during a visit to Morocco to attend a ministerial conference on «peacekeeping in the Francophone space», Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita

Aya Gold and Silver plans 500 million dollar Morocco mining expansion

Canada’s Aya Gold & Silver is preparing for a major expansion drive in Morocco, with an ambitious $500 million investment program planned through 2030. The strategy aims to significantly increase silver production while introducing gold extraction into the company’s operations for the first time, according to Asharq. Aya Gold & Silver is among the leading foreign mining companies operating in the kingdom. Its activities are centered on the Zgounder silver mine, which it

Al Aoula journalist and news anchor Chihab Zeriouh dies at 58

Moroccan journalist and news anchor Chihab Zeriouh, a longtime figure at public broadcaster Al Aoula, died on the morning of Wednesday, May 20, 2026, at a private clinic in Rabat. He was 58 and leaves behind a career spanning more than three decades in national radio and television. Born in 1968, Zeriouh began his media career in 1994 at National Radio before joining the news department at Al Aoula, where he worked as both a journalist and news anchor. Over the years, he covered numerous

Moroccan activists join Global Sumud Flotilla hunger strike after Israeli detention

The second Global Sumud Flotilla announced that more than 87 activists had launched an open-ended hunger strike in protest against what they described as their abduction by Israeli forces, following the interception of their boats in international waters as they were heading to the besieged Gaza Strip with humanitarian aid. In a post published on Facebook, the Global Movement to Gaza, Morocco said several Moroccan participants were among those taking part in the hunger strike, denouncing what