Morocco's exports surge 5.3% to 331 billion dirhams  (Read more...)

Ivory Coast : Morocco’s Cimaf to build a cement plant in Bouaké

Morocco’s Ciment de l'Afrique (Cimaf) is to build a cement plant in Bouaké, Ivory Coast, expected to produce 300,000 tons of cement per year, reports Journal de Brazza citing the Cimaf’s managing director Khalid Iben Khayat. «We have acquired the land and are preparing the permits to begin construction», said Khalid Iben Khayat. Journal de Brazza recalls that in November 2011, Cimaf Group laid the foundation stone of its first plant in Côte

The Court of Arbitration rejects Morocco’s request to let Munir Haddadi join the Atlas Lions

The Court of Arbitration for Sport has rejected, Monday, the appeal filed by the Moroccan Royal Football Federation and Spanish-Moroccan forward Munir El Haddadi against FIFA and the Spanish football governing body, says the Court in a press release. Morocco’s request to allow Barcelona player Haddadi join the Atlas Lions for the 2018 World Cup in Russia has been rejected previously by FIFA in March 2018. The «decision is now confirmed and the request to change the sporting

Koh Lanta’s participant suspected of sexually assaulting Candid Renard has been released

The man suspected of sexually assaulting a «Koh-Lanta»’s participant was arrested Monday, May 14, after he arrived in the Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle airport, says AFP. He was released on the same day after being heard by the police, denying all accusations, says Le Parisien. The latter was «placed in custody by the Seine-Saint-Denis police», reports Bobigny public prosecutor. The arrest took place after the daughter of international coach Hervé Renard

Spanish Foreign Minister to visit Morocco on Wednesday

Spanish Foreign Minister Alfonso Dastis is expected to visit Morocco on Wednesday to meet his counterpart, Nasser Bourita, says Europe Press. The two leaders will discuss issues of common interest, including trade, migration policies and the fight against terrorism. Relations between the two countries «are doing well», diplomatic sources said, adding that Alfonso Dastis' visit intends to respond to Nasser Bourita's visit on May 3, 2017 in Spain - his first official trip as

Interior Ministry : Four individuals affiliated to ISIS arrested Monday in Morocco

The Ministry of Interior announced Monday, 14th of May, that the Central Bureau of Judicial Investigation arrested 4 individuals affiliated to «ISIS», aged between 20 and 27 years old. The arrestees were operating in Fez, Casablanca, Kenitra and Midar (near Nador), says the same source. The first elements of the investigation revealed that the suspects were spreading propaganda, promoting ISIS ideology and were inciting others to carry out terrorist attacks in the Kingdom, says the

CFG Bank to boost its presence in West Africa

Moroccan lender CFG Bank is planning to expand operations in French-speaking countries in West Africa through Ivory Coast or Senegal, says Bloomberg. The bank founded in 1992 wants to begin «strategic alliances» in one of the above-mentioned countries by 2019, Laureen Kouassi-Olsson, the regional head of Western and Central Africa at Amethis Finance, a private-equity which acquired a 13-percent stake in CFG told the same source. «We’re looking at these two countries

La Fouine's new song on Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah goes viral within hours

Moroccan rapper La Fouine has released a new song on Egyptian football player Mohamed Salah, attracting more than one million views in only a few hours, says Alarabiya English. In his song, the Trappes-native rapper paid homage to Mohamed Salah who scored 43 goals in one season. The Liverpool forward has been named the Premier League's Player of the season. The Egyptian player is also known in his hometown for helping the Egyptian national team qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia this

Hervé Renard's daughter claims being sexually assaulted by a Koh Lanta's participant

French coach Hervé Renard, who currently manages the Moroccan national football team, has announced in an interview with Le Parisien, Saturday, that his daughter had been sexually assaulted by one of the French reality game show Koh Lanta's participants, reports BFMTV. Candide Renard, who participates to the above-mentioned show, claimed that one of the participants has allegedly sexually assaulted her on the night of the 4th to the 5th day of shooting in Fiji. The name of the

Hada Houa L'Maroc : Bigg reacts to the viral boycott through a remix of «This is America»

Moroccan rapper Taoufik Hazeb aka Don Bigg has released a new track, inspired by U.S. big hit «This is America». Bigg's «Hada Houa l'Maroc», released Friday 11th of May, is a remix of the American song released on the 5th of the current month by actor and rapper Donald Grover. In his version of the viral track, Don Bigg rapped in Moroccan Arabic criticizing the current situation in Morocco and the boycott campaign, converting his anger into words. Taoufik Hazeb's rap

A German brewery prints Saudi flag on its beer bottles, outraging Muslim social media users

Many Saudis have taken their anger to social media after a local German brewery printed Saudi Arabia's flag on its beer bottles, reports Deutshe Welle. The Eichbaum brewery, located in Mannheim (Southern Germany), did not know that the inclusion of Saudi Arabia's flag on its beer bottle caps would generate a wave of criticism on Facebook and Twitter. Many Muslim internet users found it inappropriate and insulting to print the Islamic statement of faith (which is featured on the Saudi flag) on

Four Moroccan alleged terrorists arrested in Italy

14 people have been arrested Thursday, May the 10th, in Italy for their alleged links with a terrorist organization in Syria, reports Euronews. Some of the arrestees «believed to have created a network to finance the al-Nusra Front, a terrorist group fighting against Bashar El-Assad’s regime», are Moroccan. The arrests took place in several regions : Lombardy, Veneto, Emilia-Romagna and Sardinia. Ten of the arrestees are Syrian while four of them are Moroccan. Those

Casablanca : Doc Samad assaulted and threatened with death

Dr. Samad Benalla aka «Doc Samad» was assaulted in his office located in Casablanca, reports Kifach, citing a photo published by the sexology expert on his Facebook account. On the photo, Doc Samad appeared to have bruises on his face. Next to the photo, Doc Samad wrote that he left Morocco to «thoroughly think» about his future and «rearrange» his thoughts. «I am not giving up. I am a Moroccan and I love my country. Experience is the key to

Moroccans to rally Saturday in Rotterdam to support the Hirak

Moroccan-Dutch nationals to rally Saturday, in Rotterdam (Netherlands) demanding «better living conditions in northern Morocco», reports Dutch newspaper Rijnmond Friday. The rally will start at 2:00pm in the Schouwburg Square, after the delivery of a speech by the organizers, says the same source. «Many Riffians believe that the Moroccan government is investing too little money in the region [in addition to] corruption and unemployment», says Rijnmond. It recalls

Ryanair launches new routes linking Turin and Treviso to Fez

Irish low-cost airline Ryanair announced Thursday, 10th of May, that it is launching new routes connecting Turin and Treviso, two cities in Italy, to Fez, says La Tribuna de Treviso. The two weekly flights will be operational starting from the end of October. Tickets are can be purchased. Ryan air Italy Sales and Marketing Director, John Alborante, told the same source : «We are pleased to launch two new lines from Turin and Treviso to Fez as part of our 2018/2019 winter program, two

Sahara : Horst Köhler to attend a series of meetings at the European Union on May 15

UN Personal Envoy for Western Sahara Horst Köhler is expected to hold a meeting on Tuesday 15th of May at the European Parliament. He is expected to hold talks with representatives from the European and African institutions. Eight months after being appointed by Secretary-General António Guterres, Horst Köhler has not officially unveiled yet his plans for relaunching talks between Morocco and the Polisario, suspended since March 2012. In its resolution 2414, the United

Moroccans to rally Sunday in Rabat to support the Palestinian Great March of Return

Moroccan associations for the support of the Palestinian people will organize Sunday in Rabat a mass rally, commemorating the Nakba Day, reports Middle East Monitor. The Moroccan Working Group for Palestine and the Moroccan Association for Solidarity with the Palestinian Struggle will be organizing the marches initiated to show support for the Great March of Return, a six-week campaign composed of a series of protests launched at the Gaza Strip, near the Gaza-Israel border to denounce the

Moroccan midfielder Youssouf Hadji to retire from football

Moroccan international footballer Youssouf Hadji announced Wednesday, 9th of May, that he will retire from football by the end of the current season, reports France Football. Youssouf Hadji raccrochera les crampons à l'issue de cette saison 2017/2018. C'est aujourd'hui le deuxième meilleur buteur de l'histoire du club avec 85 buts !#ASNL #ASNLforEver #Respect➡ https://t.co/ASQLNgtVFE pic.twitter.com/sw83XiBSKH — AS Nancy-Lorraine (@asnlofficiel) 9 mai 2018 The

Japan’s Furukawa Electric inaugurates a plant in Tangier Automotive City

Japanese electric and electronics equipment company Furukawa has opened a new plant in the Tangier Automotive City (TAC) through its subsidiary Optical Fiber Solutions (OFS). The inauguration of the new factory took place, Wednesday, and was attended by Minister of Industry, Investment, Trade and Digital Economy Moulay Hafid Elalamy,and Furukaza’s Executive Vice President Takahide Kimura. «The opening of this plant meets the needs and strong demand for optical fiber cables and