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

The Spanish Interior and Foreign Ministers to visit Rabat Thursday

Two Spanish Ministers will visit Morocco on Thursday 28th of June. Foreign minister Josep Borrel is expected to meet his Moroccan counterpart Nasser Bourita on the same day while Fernando Grande-Marlaska, Spain’s Interior minister, is set to meet Abdelouafi Laftit. The two men will discuss matters related to migration and the fight against terrorism.   Spain’s former Interior Minister Juan Ignacio Zoido had announced at the end of April, during a meeting he held with

After visiting Algeria, Mauritania and the Tindouf camps Horst Köhler arrives in Morocco

Horst Köhler is paying a visit to Morocco as part of his 2nd regional tour that took him to Algeria and Mauritania. During his visit in Rabat, the personal envoy will meet with head of Government Saad Eddine El Othmani and foreign minister Nasser Bourita. This regional tour comes following the adoption of resolution 2414 dated April 27, 2018. For the record, the German diplomat has toured the region, visiting Mauritania and the Tindouf camps. Before arriving in Mauritania,

Hirak figure Nasser Zafzafi sentenced to 20 years in prison

More than one year after his arrest, the Casablanca Appeal Court sentenced Hirak figure Nasser Zafzafi to 20 years in prison on Tuesday, 26th of June, reports Medias 24. 52 other Hirak detainees have received heavy sentences today in Casablanca for participating to demonstrations in the Rif region earlier last year. Just like Zafzafi, Nabil Ahamjik, Ouassim Boustati and Samir Ighid received 20-year sentence. The same court sentenced Mohamed Jelloul, Karim Amghar, Salah Lachkham, Achraf

Italian police arrest a Moroccan man for a 2002 murder

A 45-year-old Moroccan national was arrested, Monday, in Italy. He was driving a car with a Lithuanian license plate before being stopped by the police in Naples, reports Italian media Napoli Today. According to the same source, the Moroccan national’s fingerprints revealed that he was the subject of an arrest warrant issued by the Moroccan authorities in 2002. «Although he carried a fake ID, the police have discovered that he is the subject of an international arrest warrant

VAR, a technology that created more confusion than clarity

Video Assistant Referee, known to football lovers as VAR, has made headlines during the 2018 World Cup, held currently in Russia, raising questions about the technology's efficiency. However, way before the start of FIFA's international tournament, the football assistant referee adopted to review decisions made by the head referee through video footage, has faced a wave of criticism. When asked about the technology in a press conference, former Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said in May

The Polisario mobilizes Sahrawis in Morocco days before Horst Köhler’s visit

While the UN Secretary-General's Personal Envoy for Western Sahara Horst Köhler is currently touring the region, the Polisario Front is taking advantage of this trip, relying on separatists in the Sahara. In a message made public by Futuro Sahara, a pro-Polisario online newspaper, the separatist movement urged Sahrawis in «M'Hamid El Ghizlane, Lagouira» on Tuesday to participate in «peaceful demonstrations». These protests will take place

Moroccan Twitter users launch a boycott campaign against Radio Mars

On Twitter, Moroccan social media users have launched a campaign, boycotting sports radio station Radio Mars. #مقاطعون_لراديو_المرقة https://t.co/c0oyz3TX4l — العقيد يونس الكتباني (@ToToPoStOoOo) 25 juin 2018 Blocking the station’s official account on Twitter, internet users are accusing the media of spreading fake news related to the Morocco national football team and the French coach Hervé Renard, who currently manages the Atlas

After visiting Algiers, Horst Köhler arrived Monday in Mauritania

UN Secretary-General's Personal Envoy for Western Sahara Horst Köhler arrived Monday, 25th of June, in Mauritania. He met first with President Mohamed Ould Albdelaziz and then with Mauritanian Foreign Minister Ismail Ould Cheikh. The diplomat is expected to head later to the Tindouf camps for another round of negotiations with the Polisario leadership. Before visiting Mauritania, Köhler was in Algiers on the 23rd and 24th of June, where he met with Algerian Foreign

Coach Hervé Renard says he is proud of the Atlas Lions’ performance

After a tough game against the Spanish team, French coach Hervé Renard, who manages currently the Atlas Lions, said he was proud of his squad’s performance at the 2018 World Cup, held in Russia, reported MAP. «The team is leaving the competition with pride and we will be remembered for a long time especially because we have not lost to one of the world's best teams», he said, adding that the Atlas Lions «looked less experienced in the first

A Moroccan national arrested in Kaliningrad for wearing a «Shame on you FIFA» t-shirt

In Kaliningrad to cheer for the Atlas Lions, Moroccan-American national Yassine Omairy was arrested, Monday, in Russia for wearing a t-shirt with the caption «Shame on you FIFA». Through a series of posts, Omairy who was in the city to watch Morocco's last World Cup game this year against Spain, explained that he was asked by a FIFA representative to remove his t-shirt. In a video posted on his Facebook account and shared on social media, Yassine Omairy was trying to explain to

The body of missing German student found in Spain and the suspect is Moroccan

Sophia Loesch, a 28-year-old German student, who went missing for more than a week, was found dead in Spain, reports TPI News. Investigators believe that a 41-year-old Moroccan suspect raped her and killed her. Identified on Saturday, June the 23rd, the body of the missing woman was discovered Friday in Asparrena, a municipality located in the province of Álava, in the Basque Country, northern Spain. She had to go to Bavaria where her friends were waiting for her. The suspect, who was

Mauritania’s foreign minister receives Morocco's ambassador to Nouakchott

Morocco’s ambassador to Nouakchott Hamid Chabar was received Monday, 25th of June, by Mauritania’s Foreign Minister, Ismail Ould Cheikh, says the Mauritanian press agency (AMI). The meeting comes just a few days after the Moroccan diplomat was granted an audience with President Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz. Appointed on June the 11th, Ould Cheikh has been meeting with representatives of foreign countries in Mauritania. Before receiving the Moroccan ambassador, he held talks with his

A Moroccan national arrested in the Canary Islands for alleged anti-Semitism

A Moroccan national, who entered the Canary Islands illegally, was arrested on the 19th of June for allegedly inciting hatred against Jews on social media, reports Europa Press. The 32-year-old man is accused of spreading hate speech mainly on Facebook and Youtube targeting the Jewish community in Spain through messages and posts. According to the same source, the suspect, who has not been tried yet, had been under investigation since 2017.

Moroccan midfielder Youssef Ait Bennasser leaves Russia because of an injury

Moroccan international player Youssef Ait Bennasser had to leave his teammates in Russia, heading to France because of a knee injury, announced Sunday French coach Hervé Renard. Wounded while training the day before the team’s last World Cup match, the Moroccan midfielder has undergone a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and can no longer play. He left the Atlas Lions at the request of his club, AS Monaco, «for further examinations», said Hervé Renard during a

Spain is not taking the Atlas Lions for granted, says Coach Fernando Hierro

According to retired footballer Fernando Hierro, who currently manages Spain football national team, the Atlas Lions shouldn’t be taken for granted, says Belfast Telegraph on Sunday. «We know it is going to be a tough match, always when you play against teams who are eliminated you don’t know what they are going to do – it could be a big surprise», said Hierro in a pre-match press conference. Spain is to face the Moroccan team Monday after a 3-3 draw with

Rabat to host a meeting of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS 

On Tuesday, June 26th, Rabat will host a political directors’ level meeting with key members of the Defeat ISIS Coalition, focusing on the terrorist organization’s threats in Africa. «This meeting will be an opportunity for Coalition partners to discuss next steps to ensure ISIS is dealt an enduring defeat in Iraq and Syria and ways to accelerate our collective approach to defeat ISIS’s global ambitions», said the U.S. State

Boxing : Morocco's Ahmed El Mousaoui beats Russia's Alexey Evchenko

French-Moroccan boxer Ahmed El Mousaoui won Saturday night in Paris, at the Palais des Sports, his fight against Russia's Alexey Evchenko, says a communiqué sent Sunday to Yabiladi. El Mousaoui managed to maintain his position as a super-welterweight, ranking 18th in the world. The fight was Evchenko's first defeat since 2015, after scoring seven consecutive victories. «Ahmed El Mousaoui was facing a physically tough and more experienced fighter. The two boxers had a fierce

OCP Kenya responds to accusations made against it

OCP Kenya expressed its surprise at the accusations made against it and its directors concerning the importation into Kenya of fertilizers that were allegedly non-compliant with Kenyan regulatory standards. A statement by OCP Group received Saturday by MAP says that OCP Kenya «rejects these claims in their entirety as they reflect neither the commercial practices nor the rigorous quality-assurance processes to which OCP Kenya adheres», adding that «indeed, OCP Kenya complied