Islamophobic extremist : Unraveling the Magdeburg attacker's motives  (Read more...)

11 people sentenced to 20 years for terrorism plot

The criminal court of first instance in charge of terrorism-related cases pronounced, on Thursday evening, sentences ranging from 5 to 20 years in prison, against 11 defendants. The convicts were linked to terrorism cases. The chamber thus sentenced the main accused to 20 years in prison, and 18 years in prison for two other defendants, 10 years to 5 and five years in prison for the rest. The accused are charged for «organizing a gang and preparing for terrorist acts as part of a

Air Arabia launches a line linking Marrakech to London

Air Arabia is launching a new line linking Marrakesh and London Gatwick airports. The air line will be operational starting from November  the 1st and aims to promote the city, indicates Zone Bourse. The airline is thus expanding its offer to Britain, «one of the main basins issuing tourists in Europe,» said the same source. Two flights a week will be offered each week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Adel Ali, the chairman of the Air Arabia group, said: «The opening of a

Balance Agri-Nutrients : «OCP will be the loser» regarding the phosphate cargo

Following the ruling of the South African court regarding the phosphate cargo shipped from Morocco to New Zealand, OCP, the leading state-owned company, has accused the court of «political piracy» for detaining the 54,000 ton shipment for more than 73 days, Stuff.co reports. Speaking to the same source, Mark Wynne, chief executive of Balance Agri-Nutrients, the fertilizer company that was awaiting the phosphate shipment sent by OCP, said that Morocco’s decision was

Morocco : Bank Al Maghrib to adopt an autonomous status  

  The government council, held on Thursday, adopted Bill 40-17 on the status of Bank Al Maghrib, presented by the Minister of Economy and Finance. This project is devoted to redesigning the status of Bank Al Maghrib through the expansion of its missions contributing to the prevention of systemic risk and strengthening financial stability and to adapt its instruments of intervention to this mission, The Deputy Minister for Relations with Parliament and Civil Society, government spokesman

Tourism : A campaign to promote Morocco as a destination in Italy

An Italian travel agency called King Holidays, based in Milan and Rome, is promoting Morocco as a tourism destination in Milano through a campaign, Engage.it reports. The project comes as collaboration with the National Organization for Tourism in Morocco and the local agency. According to the same source, the compaign is posting pictures of Morocco on public transportation «to promote Morocco as a destination through 'King Holidays there', developed by m & cs , Milan

Italy: Italian-Moroccan Hajar Dakiri, a new member of the ICFTU National Council

At the end of its 18th national congress in Rome, the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (Confederazione Italiana Sindacati Lavoratori, CISL) has just elected a young Italian-Moroccan member of its national council. According to the Edv, an Italian online newspaper, Hajar Dakiri was elected through the vote of the regional delegates of the second Italian trade union confederation, which has more than 4 million members. The young student is now a member of the ICFTU local branch

Moroccan phosphate cargo : OCP denounces the seizure

By deciding to take the case of the «Cherry Blossom» ship to a different level, the South African court has made a highly political decision and committed a serious abuse of power, OCP said on Thursday in a statement reported by MAP news agency, denouncing what the company called a «serious political interference». «Not only does it (the court) assume jurisdiction to act which contradicts the basic principles of international law but, moreover, its decision

Six new cement plants launched in Africa by LafargeHolcim Maroc Afrique

Six new cement plants will be created in Africa by a coalition of LafargeHolcim and SNI, under their joint subsidiary LafargeHolcim Maroc Afrique (LHMA), and for a total capacity of 3 million tons, the subsidiary said in a communique issued byt the company. The decision to develop the six cement plants was made following a strategic study 6 months ago. The study has identified the considerable growth opportunities not yet covered by ongoing projects, both in the countries where the subsidiary

Ali Idrissi Kaitouni, The «cursed» poet from Hassan II era passed away

Poet, artist, politician and human rights activist, Ali Idrissi Kaitouni died on Wednesday in Casablanca at the age of 58 after suffering from cancer, reports Al Aoual on Thursday.   Born in Fes on November the 17th 1985, the artist belong to a family of activists who fought for the independence of the Kingdom which marked his entire career, the same source recalls. The deceased participated in several plays and even organized an exhibition in the late 70's before leaving Morocco to Spain

The «humiliating» video of Nasser Zefzafi is filmed at the BNPJ, according to his lawyers

The video that went viral on the internet showing the body of Hirak leader Nasser Zefzafi and which was seen as humiliating and degrading was shot at the National Judicial Police Brigade (BNPJ). This is what Zefzafi has told his lawyers. Reported on Wednesday by Alyaoum 24, Rachid Belali stated that he visited Nasser Zefzafi on Tuesday. The detainee of the Hirak allegedly told him that the video, published by an online newspaper close to the security services and immediately deleted, was

L’Boulvard is back on stage for 2017

The cult festival L’Boulvard is back on track from September the 15th to the 24th for its 17th edition, reports La Dépêche.ma. The event could not be held in 2016 due to lack of funding, when its official sponsor had not renewed its contract. «The organization is finalizing the partnership agreements with the sponsors of this edition, which will cost about MAD5 million,» said the same source. The venue of the festival has not yet been disclosed. The organizers

RAM : The electronic ban to be lifted from direct flights linking Morocco to USA

The electronic ban applied on the direct flights linking Morocco to the USA will be lifted according t a communiqué released today by Royal Air Maroc (RAM). Passengers starting from Thursday will be allowed to carry laptop computers and other large electronic devices in aircraft cabins, Reuters reports. The USA government announced on the 21st of March the ban of computers and tablets on flights coming from 10 countries including Morocco. The same security measure was taken by the UK

The creation of an Islam institute in Belgium

Giving life to a faculty of Islamic theology, a long-term objective that surrounds the creation of an Institute of Islam in Belgium. Initiated by a commission headed in 2015 by Jean-Claude Marcourt, Minister of Higher Education, the project should see the light day, according to La Libre. The Cabinet of the Minister and the Executive of the Muslims of Belgium (EMB) have thus signed a memorandum of understanding regarding this project. The main objective behind the creation of this institute is

Mohamed Boussaid : the participating banks will start operating is in a few weeks

After being approved by the Central Bank, participatory banks will start operating in the coming weeks, Mohamed Boussaid Minister of Economy and Finance said on Tuesday in Rabat. The Minister’s statement was disclosed in a response to an oral question in the House of Representatives. In order to allow participatory banks to have the necessary liquidity for their activities, sukuks (bonds) will be issued, the Minister said adding that the importance of this project relies on «a

Fitch Ratings : Covered bonds to promote housing finance

Fitch Ratings believes that introducing covered bonds to the Moroccan market would  contribute to the «growth of retail mortgage lending», reports Reuters. The institution which is one of the «Big Three credit rating agencies», believes that covered bonds could be a reliable source of funding for banks as «deposits provide about 70% of banks' funding. Retail mortgage loans by banks totalled MAD 188 billion (USD 18 billion) at end-2016,

BCP becomes the leading banking group in Niger after new acquisition

After finishing the acquisition of the International Bank for Africa in Niger (BIA-Niger), the country's second largest banking institution, the Central Populaire Bank is strengthening its presence in Africa, particularly in West Africa, MAP reported. In addition, it is a transaction after a first acquisition in the same country, Atlantic Bank Niger. The BCP is now the leading Moroccan banking group in Niger. Marking, therefore, another step taken by the banking institution as part of its

Crédit Agricole proposes new products to finance agri-food

Crédit Agricole Group of Morocco (GCAM) announced yesterday during  a press conference the launch of new offers for the agri-food sector, the group said in a statement. «Presented in the form of packages per channel combining operating and investment credits with pre-financing or advances on subsidies granted by the State, these offers target suppliers as well as producers, processors or exporters and local marketing», explains the GCAM. This system is characterized by

Avi Gabbay, a Moroccan-Israeli politician elected head of Israel’s opposition party

Avi Gabbay, an Israeli politician and son of Moroccan jews, was elected on Monday head of the opposition Party succeeding his Israeli-Moroccan counterpart Amir Peretz, the Guardian reports. Competeing for the leadership of the political party, the two Israeli-Moroccan nationals managed to defeat Isaak Herzog, former leader of the party. The same source indicates that «Gabbay will serve as the party’s head and candidate for prime minister but cannot be leader of the opposition as he