Rabat - This Week in Morocco is a weekly round-up of stories that made headlines in publications across the country. Find below this week’s biggest developments in the realms of business, politics, culture and beyond.
Rabat – This Week in Morocco is a weekly round-up of stories that made headlines in publications across the country. Find below this week’s biggest developments in the realms of business, politics, culture and beyond.
According to Moroccan newspaper Al Massae, the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs Alfonso Dastis has reaffirmed his support for Morocco’s oil exploration projects conducted in its territorial waters. According to the Spanish minister, “development and prosperity in Morocco are legitimate objectives that Spain should respect and encourage.”
Al Massae reported on Thursday that suicide game “The Blue Whale” has caused a 12-year old boy in a city near Marrakech to fall into a severe depression. The boy’s psyche forced his parents to take him in to a psychiatric hospital in Marrakech for a medical examination. Al Massae added that local authorities conducted an investigation that uncovered the child had tried to share the game with his friends.
El Massae reported on Thursday that several unidentified suspects were spying on military barracks of the Moroccan Royal Gendarmerie, and trying to take pictures from inside. According to El Massae, the Royal Armed Forces in Errachidia arrested a suspect in possession of telescopes. The newspaper added that the motives of the spies remain unknown.
Moroccan newspaper Akhbar Al Yaoum reported on Thursday that Morocco’s Minister of Sports and Youth Rachid Talbi Alami has lambasted certain religious practices during children’s holiday camps, especially the performance of Al-Fajr and Friday prayers.
The same newspaper reported on Friday that Al Hoceima’s Court of Appeal has announced sentences ranging from 5 to 20 years imprisonment for seven Hirak Rif activists. The court has also sentenced Abdelhak El Bouchtaoui, a member of the detainees’ defense committee to 20 months in prison. According to the newspaper, the court charged the lawyer for “inciting activists to commit crimes” and for “participating in unauthorized protests.”
According to Assabah newspaper, the residents of the southern city of Zagoura have issues strong condemnations against the country’s social disparities. Zagoura’s inhabitants are decrying the isolation of their city and calling on the government to launch development projects that would benefit the city, where a series of protests took place in the past months due to a lack of drinking water.
Al Ahdath Al Maghribia reported on Thursday that the Moroccan Ministry of Labour announced that Moroccan agricultural workers authorized by Spain to participate in the next season’s harvest will begin departing to Spain in April.
Moroccan newspaper Assabah reported on Friday that Spanish football team Atletico Madrid has been expressing in signing Moroccan star Ayoub El Kaabi. The newspaper added that the footballer’s performances in the African Nations Championship drawing the attention of many football teams internationally who hope to sign him from his local team, Renaissance Sportive de Berkane.
Al Massae reported on Monday that the majority of Moroccan drivers are facing the risk of arrest due to irregular violations recorded by fixed radar in streets across Morocco.
Assabah on Monday reported that the Ministry of Tourism has banned 11 agencies from organizing pilgrimage trips. Five agencies, according to Assabah are located in Casablanca, while two agencies are operating in Agadir. The ministry has also called on the citizens intending to participate in the 2018 pilgrimage season to check the agencies licensed by the ministry on its official website before making final arrangements.
As the cold wave continues in Morocco, King Mohammed VI has instructed the government to redouble their efforts to help people in need in Morocco’s isolated areas, reported national newspapers recently. The monarch called on all governmental agencies to remain ready to alleviate the negative impact of heavy rains and a sharp drop in temperatures in some prefectures and provinces of Morocco.
