Low turnout for Morocco anniversary protests

A few thousand people gathered Sunday in Morocco's cities to mark the one year anniversary of the North African kingdom's local version of the Arab Spring uprisings. The low turnout was in sharp contrast to the tens of thousands that once flocked to the February 20th movement's banner early last year. About 1,000 people turned out for a sit-in at Casablanca's main square. In the capital Rabat, at least 1,500 marched through the center of town chanting slogans and singing songs. The demonstrations...

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Morocco bans Spanish paper

Morocco has banned the distribution of Thursday's edition of Spain's influential El Pais, as a cartoon published by the newspaper allegedly tarnished King Mohammed VI's name, an official said. “The decision to ban (the paper) was made on the basis of article 29 of the press code” that protects the monarch, the senior communication ministry official told AFP on Saturday. “The caricature contains a deliberate intention to smear the (king's) image to harm the king personally,” he added. The cartoon,...

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Moroccan Protests One Year On

Protesters are set to mark the first anniversary of Morocco’s February 20 pro-democracy movement with demonstrations and strikes across the country starting Sunday. But activists say that, rather than a celebration, the protests will be a reminder to the regime that they will not give up before their calls for reform are answered. “We are advocating for a democratic constitution that will give real power to a government that currently still doesn’t have enough weight to respond to our demands,”...

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The European Parliament has given its approval to the EU-Morocco trade deal

MEPs have given its green light to liberalise EU-Morocco trade in agricultural and fisheries products, while adopting a resolution highlighting a number of concerns. A majority of MEPs say the agreement will help alleviate economic, migratory and security problems following the Arab Spring. The trade deal EU-Morocco was approved in the plenary session by MEPs in order to allow an increase in certain quotas for zero or low duty imports and represents a step towards a more extensive free trade...

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A Moroccan circus is offering some of the country's poorest children a brighter future

A Moroccan circus is offering some of the country's poorest children a brighter future. Cirque Shems'y, the circus of my sun, sits on the edge of one of Morocco's poorest slums in Salé, on the northwest coast. Each year, hundreds of children and teenagers come to the circus to try out as performers, desperate to find a new future for themselves.  Only a handful of the young hopefuls can be taken on: those who make the grade are pushed to their...

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Moroccan authorities deployed a Spanish filming porn movies in Morocco

On 8th February, the owner of a Spanish porn website and porn film photographer, arrived in Tangier, coming from Madrid, before he makes a visit to Tetouan, Martyl and Madyak, last Friday 10th February, to practice his better job, according to him. He is a person named “Ignacio Allende Fernández” known by his nickname “Torbe” and “Nacho”, and he films sex relations with hidden camera, and publishes them later on his porn website, where the visitors pay to watch them. The visit of Spanish porn...

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Adele's '21' wins album of the year at Grammys: Singer's 'Rolling in the Deep' nabs record of the year

The Vegas oddsmakers were right: Adele was a sure thing at this year's Grammy Awards. Further cementing her nascent superstardom, the English singer swept all six of the categories she was nominated in at Sunday's Grammy Awards ceremonies, collecting album of the year honors for "21" and record and song of the year trophies for "Rolling in the Deep. " Adele, who was named best new artist in 2009, is only the second artist in history to take all four major Grammy categories. Christopher Cross...

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Moroccan gets 3 years for anti-king video

A Moroccan court has convicted a student of "violating the sacred values" of the kingdom and sentenced him to three years in prison after a video posted online showed him criticizing the king, the state news agency reported Tuesday. Abdelsamad Haydour, from Taza, a mountain town 187 miles (300 kilometers) east of the capital that has been a hot spot for violent protests, accused King Mohammed VI of oppressing his people in the 4-minute clip, and also called the monarch a dog, a dictator and a...

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Whitney Houston Dead at 48

Singer Whitney Houston has died at the age of 48. Her publicist confirmed the news on Saturday, Feb. 11. Houston's drug problems were well-known and several sources indicate that she was found submerged in a bathtub at the Beverly Hilton hotel where she was a guest and that several sedatives and substances were found in her room. Houston was married to Bobby Brown from 1992, divorcing him in 2007. They have a daughter, Bobbi Kristina, 18. She was rushed to the hospital twice in the wake of her...

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Morocco's trailblazing female golfer is going for Olympic gold

Morocco's trailblazing female golfer is going for Olympic gold In many ways, Maha Haddioui is the archetypal young professional women's golfer, desperate to make a breakthrough on one of the major tours in Europe or the United States. Educated at an American university, the 22-year-old speaks four languages. Her Facebook page lists has hundreds of friends from all over the world.  A stylist on the course, she sports an elegant line in clothing -- more often than not wearing a polo shirt...

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Sofia Coppola chose Morocco for Marni

Sofia Coppola chose to film her first fashion advert for Marni for H&M in Morocco because the country's colours match the brand's bold prints.  Sofia Coppola filmed her Marni for H&M advert in Morocco because the country's colours match the brand's bold prints. The director made her first ever fashion advert in the country and even chose the location herself to reflect the "unusual" nature of the prints she was promoting.  Sofia told vogue.co.uk: "I was happy to first talk...

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1st "National Tibu School Tour" in 11 Moroccan Cities

Organised by the Association Tibu Morocco, the first edition of the Basketball tournament "National Tibu School Tour" will be held from February 19 to March 1, in 11 cities of the Kingdom. This tournament will be attended by 2000 participants, including 1,500 high school students, 20 physical education teachers, facility managers and players of the Moroccan basketball league. The "National Tibu School Tour" will travel to El Jadida (February 20), Safi (21), Essaouira (22), Agadir (23) Marrakech...

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Who's giving anonymous calls to Saif from Morocco?

Morocco has never seen Bollywood stars visiting it in all these years. So, when Saif Ali Khan along with the team of Agent Vinod landed here for the shoot, the happiness among the locals knew no bounds, to the extent that, Saif and Kareena have been getting anonymous calls from some Moroccan people now. According to the sources, as soon as Saifeena arrived in Morocco; the people started visiting the couple. Overwhelmed by the gesture, latter received them with much love and affection. But, now...

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Sara Moatamad crowned as Miss Morocco 2012

Sara Moatamad, 19, has been named on Sunday as Morocco’s 2012 beauty queen in a competition that was held in the kingdom for the first time ever. Fifteen contenders took part in the Miss Morocco 2012 competition, held in the luxury Mazagan beach resort on the Atlantic coast. Five of them were then selected for the final round of the competition and Moatamad, from the city of Casablanca, was named as Mss Morocco 2012. She was quoted by Moroccan media as saying that she followed a balanced diet...

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Morocco Fisheries Agreement to be Closed Soon

The Minister of Agriculture, Food and Environment, Miguel Arias Cañete, has announced that Coreper (Committee of Permanent Representatives of the EU) has approved the negotiating mandate of the fishing agreement with Morocco. "I want to thank the work of Commissioner Damanaki and all the collaboration from Member States which has helped negotiate the mandate to allow for a definate close of a fisheries agreement with Morocco. This will enable the fishing fleets of Andalusia, Galicia and the Canary...

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Morocco arrests 3 including a Danish national suspected of plotting attacks

Moroccan police have arrested three suspects accused of planning to carry out attacks on the security of the state. The MAP news agency, citing a statement from the interior ministry, says one of the suspects is a Moroccan with Danish nationality who traveled to Morocco from Europe. The suspects are accused of belonging to an unauthorized organization, the Party for Moroccan Islamic Liberation. Authorities believe the group receives financial support from activists resident in Europe. |was...

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M.I.A. Heads To Morocco For 'Bad Girls' Video

There’s plenty of M.I.A. to go around this week. On Friday the outspoken rapper made her debut in the visuals for Madonna’s “Give Me All Your Luvin” single alongside Nicki Minaj, but she’s also got some work of her own to show off. The Romain Gavras-directed video for “Bad Girls,” premiered today. Gavras is the director responsible for M.I.A.’s controversial “Born Free” video, and the two still seem to retain their chemistry. This latest clip finds her in the Moroccan desert amongst some pretty...

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Morocco king pardons jailed Islamist leaders

Morocco's King Mohammed issued pardons to several leading Islamists who rights groups say were unfairly jailed, signaling a less hardline approach after moderate Islamists came to power in an election last year. Royal pardons are customary each year to coincide with the Muslim holiday of Mawlid, the birthday of the Prophet Mohammad which fell this weekend, but it is unusual for the monarch to pardon such high-profile detainees. The prisoners covered by the pardon included leading figures in...

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