Dutch-Moroccan ex-anti-terrorism official denies «spying for Morocco», seeks PM's testimony  (Read more...)

After repressing a sit-in in Rabat, PJD questions Abdelouafi Laftit

The parliamentary group of the Justice and Development Party (PJD) wants to summon Abdelouafi Laftit to the House of Representatives. On Sunday night, after the heavy-handed police intervention to disperse demonstrators in front of the Parliament building in Rabat, backed by photos, videos and testimonies, Abdelali Hamieddine and Nabil Chikhi said they addressed an oral question to the Interior Minister. The question to be answered by Abdelouafi Laftit focuses mainly on the police intervention

Morocco, the first non EU country visited by Spanish tourists

Morocco is the first country visited by Spanish nationals outside the European Union, according to a report released by Eurostat, and reported by the Spanish newspaper El Economista. In 2015, tourists from the Iberian neighbor made 14.2% of their stays in the kingdom. After Morocco, comes the United States, which hosted  7.5% of Spanish tourists, while Andorra, which is geographically under the sovereignty of the Eeuropean Union welcomed  5% of them. Like Spain, Belgian

Rugby : National team defeats Ivorians and wins Silver Cup

The national rugby team won Saturday's Casablanca Silver Cup, defeating Côte d'Ivoire in the finals (8-3), Le Matin said. At the end of a tight game, the national XV rises to the Gold Cup, hoping to qualify for the World Cup in Japan in 2019. «The first half was very disputed and neither side was able to take the advantage, although the Ivoirians were clearly superior physically, as evidenced by the many melees won by the front line», reports the daily. «The

Canada : The first Muslim cemetery inaugurated in Quebec

A cemetery for Muslims in the region of Quebec has been inaugurated on Sunday 9th of July, six months after the deadly shooting that targeted a mosque in the city. A funeral business in Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures, city located in central Quebec Canada, offered a portion of the existing cemetery for Muslims, Global news reports. Yvan Rodrigue announced on Wednesday 26th April that it will open a section for Muslims in Les Jardins Quebec cemetery. The town is going to provide 500 plots for the

Rabat : Brutal repression of the demonstration of the women in solidarity with the Hirak

The demonstration that took place in Rabat yesterday in front of the Parliament and in solidarity with the Hirak detainees has been met with a brutal response from the authorities. Several pictures and videos currently trending on social networks display women being hit and knocked down. Répression brutale du sit in des femmes solidaires de #hirak #rif à Rabat ce soir. Plusieurs blessées. — AMDH Rabat (@AMDHRabat) July 8, 2017 «While having come to disperse

Morocco : 4.6-magnitude earthquake hits Nador

A 4.6 magnitude earthquake shook on Saturday night the region of Nador in eastern Morocco, the government-run National Institute of Geophysics announced in a statement. The earthquake epicenter is located 117 Kilometers north-east of Nador (offshore). The quake was reportedly felt around 11.42 am (GMT + 1) according to the National Network of Seismic Monitoring and Warning ING in a seismic warning bulletin.

The Moroccan Jewish community in England celebrates the Mimouna

The Jewish Moroccan community in England celebrated on Thursday night the Mimouna, a three-century-old North African Jewish celebration held the day after Passover. In an environment of coexistance and harmony, Jews and Muslims gathered in a large hall in London to recall the splendid years of communication in various cities in the Kingdom where Muslims and Jews lived together tolerating and respecting one another. This event, which was attended by Mattew Offord, was an opportunity to

Morocco : Nine people sentenced to prison for terrorism

The Criminal Chamber in charge of terrorism cases near the appendix of the Court of Appeals in Salé delivered on Thursday evening sentences ranging from one year of suspended prison to three years of imprisonment against nine people, including a woman, prosecuted for acts related to terrorism. The Chamber thus sentenced to three years two accused prosecuted for «terrorism» and two years in prison for four others.  A seventh suspect was sentenced to one year in prison,

17 agreements signed to boost the automotive and aeronautical sectors

Seventeen agreements on investment projects totaling DH 2.4 billion (MMDH), and which create 14,230 jobs, were signed in Rabat on Thursday as part of the of industrial ecosystem program launched to boost the automotive and aeronautical sector. These investment agreements, which are expected to generate a turnover of 7.62 MMDH, were signed by the Minister of Industry, Investment, Trade and the Digital Economy, Moulay Hafid Elalamy, and by the managers of the companies involved in these

Spain : A Moroccan national arrested after escaping Belgian justice

The Spanish police arrested a Moroccan national at the border post in Almeria (extreme south), wanted by the Belgian authorities for drug trafficking. The suspect was trying to escape justice traveling to Morocco, EFE reports.   The arrest took place on Monday 3rd of July at 9:20 am when a 34-year-old E.M.E.J. appeared at the maritime border with the intention of circumventing the exit of the national territory to go to Nador. The man was sentenced on March 30th, 2016 to five years in

FIFA World Ranking : Morocco 60th in the list

Morocco has lost 4 places globally and is now in 60th position, according to the FIFA monthly ranking published yesterday by the international football organization. Regionally, the list was topped by Egypt (24th in the world), Senegal (27th), DRC (28th), Tunisia (34th) and Cameroon (36th), Morocco ranks 12th with a total score of 604 points. Globally, Germany, winner of the 2017 Confederations Cup an international association football tournament for national teams, currently held every four

Mustapha El Khalfi : 176 people in total detained following Hirak protests

176 people have been detained following the events of Al Hoceima, The Minister in Charge of Relations with the Parliament and Civil Society and Government Spokesman, Mustapha El Khalfi announced on Thursday during a press conference held after the weekly cabinet meeting. These detainees, against whom no definitive final judgment has been pronounced, are distributed as follows : 56 are under investigation (48 before the court of appeal of Casablanca and 8 in Al Hoceima), 120 are set to face

RAM to launch two flights from Al Hoceima to Brussels and Amsterdam

The airline Royal Air Maroc (RAM) has set up, as part of its summer program, new direct international flights linking Al Hoceima to Brussels and Amsterdam, the company said in a statement. These two new services are operated at the rate of three flights a week. Flights to Amsterdam are scheduled every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. The Al Hoceima-Brussels line is operational Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. From Al Hoceima to Amsterdam, flights on Monday and Thursday will fly at 4 pm and land

Polisario : Two Moroccan soldiers sentenced to life

The military tribunal in Rabat on Monday (July 3rd) sentenced two Moroccan soldiers to life imprisonment for inciting civilians and soldiers to «join the rebel groups» of the Polisario Front, as indicated by  Assabah, and reported by the Spanish news agency EFE. The two soldiers will be incarcerated in the prison of Salé in the military pavilion. They were operating in the region of Bir Gandouz (province Aousserd) near the Moroccan sand wall. The two arrests were made

Fire at a Slum in Ain Aouda under control, no casualties reported

Firefighters in the region of Skhirat-Temara managed to control a fire that destroyed, on Wednesday nearly 300 houses in «Tazrout 1» slum in Ail Aouda. The fire, which broke out Wednesday at around 3 pm before was brought under control at 6 pm, and did not cause any casualties, local authorities said. The efforts of firefighters, who were able with the help of equipments, and local authorities and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, to put an end to the flames. This fire is the

Badou Ezzaki urges the Algerian Prime Minister to «open the borders»

Badou Ezzaki, a Moroccan retired footballer and the current manager of the Algerian club CRB, urged the Algerian Prime Minister to «open the border» speaking to media after a game that he won on Wednesday. Interviewed by the press, Ezzaki declared that he told Prime Minister Abdelmajid Tabboune that the land borders between Morocco and Algeria should be opened. «I said to him : Mr Tabboune, I am not a man of politics and I am not into it but I am asking for one thing :

RAM expects the USA to end the laptop ban by July 19

Royal Air Maroc expects the USA authorities to stop the laptop ban by July the 19th, Reuters reports. Speaking to the English news agency, a senior official from the Moroccan airline company announced that banning passengers from carrying laptops and electronic devices is supposed to end by the end of the current month. «Negotiations with the U.S. authorities are underway and we expect the ban to end by July 19 at the latest», said the RAM official who refused to be named. The USA

UNCTAD: Morocco, the only African country with more than 10 million international tourists in 2015

Morocco was the only African country to receive more than 10 million international tourists in 2015, according to the 2017 report issued by the United Nations Conference of Trade and Development (UNCTAD) on the Tourism Sector in Africa, Wednesday in Addis Ababa. Moroccan kingdom is the leading African tourist destination with 10,177 million tourists, followed by Egypt (9,139 million), South Africa (8,904 million) and Tunisia (5,359 million), according to the report of UNCTAD entitled "Tourism