Morocco expels two Norwegians from Laayoune  (Read more...)

Centrale Danone reduces milk purchases because of the viral boycott campaign

Central Danone has reduced its raw milk purchases by 30% as it is still facing a viral boycott campaign, reports French-language newspaper Telquel after receiving a letter sent by the company. «In the future, purchasing raw milk from dairy farmers will depend on the sales», wrote Centrale Danone explaining its decision. Speaking to Médias 24 on Tuesday, director general of Central Danone Didier Lamblin stated that «[we] have tried to make a change and overcome the

Morocco’s Amine Harit wins Bundesliga Rookie of the Season Award

French-born Moroccan professional footballer Amine Harit, who also plays for FC Schalke 04 and the Morocco national team, has been named Bundesliga’s Rookie for the 2017/18 season, reports the BBC. The 20-year-old midfielder moved from the French club Nantes last year to Schalke where he helped his team to be part of the Champions League. With his German club, Harit scored three goals and registered seven assists in 31 Bundesliga, says the same source. Hervé Renard

King Mohammed VI chairs an operation to deliver humanitarian aid to the Palestinian People

King Mohammed VI personally chaired, supervised and kicked off, Tuesday at the Casablanca international airport, the operation to deliver humanitarian aid to the brotherly Palestinian people. This operation includes the setting up of a field hospital of the Royal Armed Forces (FAR), the granting of blankets and a batch of essential medicines, as well as the provision of food aid by the Mohammed V Foundation for Solidarity. The hospital, which will be set up in the Gaza Strip, will provide

UK : A London mosque accepts bitcoin donations in Ramadan

The Shacklewell Lane Mosque in Hackney, East London, accepts cryptocurrency to raise at least £ 10,000 for urgent refurbishment works, says TRTworld quoting the mosque leaders. «For a donor that already has a bitcoin or an ethereum account, the effort of converting cryptocurrency into say British pounds or dollars can be quite burdensome. The mosque effectively takes the burden on themselves», said blockchain consultant Lukasz Musial, who helped the mosque set up the

North American and Moroccan candidates to meet FIFA’s bid inspectors on Wednesday

North American and Moroccan candidates, bidding to host the 2026 World Cup, will attend a meeting Wednesday, 30 May, in Zurich with FIFA’s bid inspectors, reports ESPN quoting  Associated Press. Officials from the joint United States-Canada-Mexico team and Morocco will be answering questions from a «FIFA-appointed panel evaluating their bids ahead of the June 13 vote», said FIFA Monday. FIFA’s evaluation reports will be published ahead of the vote scheduled

Morocco and Spain work on a third power line to strengthen interconnectivity

Minister of Energy, Mining and Sustainable Development, Aziz Rabbah, stressed, Monday in Rabat, the need to strengthen interconnectivity with Spain to benefit from electricity under better conditions and secure the supply of electricity in the national market. At the end of his talks with Spanish minister for Energy, Tourism and the Digital Agenda, Alvaro Nadal Belda, Rabbah told the press, that «fruitful» energy cooperation between Morocco and Spain is part of a vision of regional

RAM offers 5000-dirham flights to attend the 2018 World Cup

Royal Air Maroc (RAM) is offering 5,000-dirham round trip flights for St. Petersburg, Moscow and Kaliningrad, the cities where the Atlas Lions will play during the 2018 FIFA World Cup, says the Moroccan national carrier in a communiqué sent Monday to Yabiladi. The flights will link Casablanca, Tangier, Oujda and Marrakech to the three above-mentioned Russian cities. The initiative is a partnership bringing together the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the Royal Moroccan Football Federation

Egypt blocks Youtube because of an anti-Islam video

Egypt announced on Monday, 28 May, that it is banning Youtube for a month because of a video, denigrating Prophet Mohammed, says Numerama. The decision was made after the Egypt’s top administrative court ended on Saturday an appeal over a 2012 amateurish film entitled Innocence of Muslims and «which depicts the prophet Mohammed as a buffoon and a pedophile», wrote the Guardian. The video has been banned in several Muslim countries, such as Libya, Afghanistan, Egypt and even

Germany : An employee at the Moroccan consulate receives a poisoned letter

On Monday morning, May 28, an employee at the Moroccan Consulate in Düsseldorf, Germany, received a letter that contained suspicious powder. The latter gave the employee an unpleasant-looking rash, reports German online newspaper Westdeutsche Zeitung. According to the same source, the police went to the consulate to «determine the nature of the powder». Moreover, WDR rejects the hypothesis, suggesting that the powder was poisonous, indicating that

Journalist Souad Mekhennet receives the 2018 Ludwig Börne Prize

Journalist Souad Mekhennet, a German national of Moroccan origin, received on Sunday in Frankfurt the 2018 Ludwig Börne Prize, one of the most esteemed literary prizes across German-speaking countries. The Washington Post National Security Reporter becomes the first Arab and Muslim journalist to win the award. Mekhennet won in 2017 the Daniel Pearl Award for courage and integrity in journalism. The Ludwig Börne Foundation honors outstanding achievements in essay, criticism and

France : Arrested in Morocco, a former Salafist shares his story

Julien (a nickname), a French former Salafist, has recently shared his story with Le Parisien, recalling his radicalized past. It all started for him in 2010, when he was only 18 years old. Julien found answers to his «existential questions» in Salafist Islam. «It was the new black, Salafist literature was the best and the most widespread out there», he told the French daily newspaper. «When you are part of the doctrine, you think that you are with the

Libya : Moroccan migrants start a hunger strike to protest against their delayed repatriation

Dozens of illegal Moroccan migrants in Libya started on Sunday, 27th of May, an open hunger strike, protesting against their delayed repatriation, a local official told Xinhua. According to the same source, a delegation from the Moroccan embassy visited the migrants in April, and «collected their information for temporary travel documents» to send them back to Morocco, head of the information office of Tripoli’s anti-illegal immigration department Husni Abu-Ayana told Xinhua

Morocco’s army to set up field hospital in Gaza

King Mohammed VI gave his instructions to set up a medical-surgical field hospital of the royal armed forces (FAR) in Gaza, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in a statement issued Sunday evening. The hospital aims to provide civilians in the Gaza strip with the necessary assistance, added the same statement. The Moroccan Monarch’s initiative in this holy month of Ramadan is in line with his unwavering commitment to the Palestinian cause and shows his

King Mohammed VI to visit Sudan in October, announces Khartoum

King Mohammed VI is expected to visit Sudan, announced the Sudanese minister of Presidential Affairs Ahmed Saad Omer. The announcement was made official in a statement that reviews Prime Minister Bakri Hassan's visit to the Kingdom, reports Sudan Tribune. Last week, Omer paid a three-day visit to Rabat, where he met with the Prime Minister Saad-Eddine El Othmani. Sudan recognizes Morocco's sovereignty over the Sahara. President Omar El Bashir visits Morocco where he spends his summer

2026 World Cup : Former footballer David Trezeguet named ambassador of Morocco's bid

In a video published on the official Twitter account of the Moroccan World Cup Committee, French former footballer David Trezeguet announced that he supports the Moroccan bid, joining the list of ambassadors hired by the Kingdom to promote its bid. «I am convinced that Morocco will offer the best conditions to the players and all lovers of football», said the World Cup champion. #Support "I am convinced that #Morocco will offer the best conditions to the players and all lovers

Hirak : Nasser Zafzafi's family goes on hunger strike

After Hirak leader Nasser Zafzafi said Wednesday that he is on hunger strike, members of his family joined him announcing that Friday on Facebook. Zafzafi's family is protesting against the conditions in which Nasser Zafzafi is held, after almost one year of his arrest in Al Hoceima. Naima Ghallaf, a Hirak lawyer, said on Facebook that eleven Hirak detainees have also gone on hunger strike. Together with the other Hirak detainees, Zafzafi had previously started hunger strikes, protesting

Israeli weapons : The DGSN denies allegations without having to spell things out

A few days ago, online platform Mena Defense revealed that during a parade organized to commemorate the 62nd anniversary of the Directorate General of National Security (DGSN), policemen were carrying «IWI Tavor X95», an Israeli bullpup assault rifle designed and produced by Israel Weapon Industries (IWI) as part of the Tavor rifle family. On Friday, DGSN issued a statement, relayed by MAP, in which it «categorically» denied having «showcased Israeli weapons

Pope Francis to pay Morocco an official visit

Pope Francis is to pay Morocco an official visit for the first time ever. Vincenzo Abbinante, honorary consul of Morocco in Bari, Italy, told online newspaper Turiweb that the Pope «will go on a trip to the Kingdom soon». «We have started procedures to invite His Majesty the King of Morocco to the the Holy See in Rome», added the diplomat, before stating that Morocco «has become a hub for coexistence, intercultural and inter-religious dialogue». For the