The Spanish government has approved an agreement, granting Morocco full ownership of Gran Teatro Cervantes, a theatre, dedicated to Miguel de Cervantes, in Tangier. According to Spanish news agency Europa Press, the theater was donated to the Spanish state in 1928 and is one of the most important cultural buildings in the city. However, since the 1970s, the restoration of the theatre has been delayed due to disputes between the city officials and the Spanish state. Based on said agreement,
Secret documents obtained by the Washington Post revealed that CIA and West German intelligence used an encryption company to spy on 120 countries, including Morocco. The program was one of the longest secret partnerships that showed secret communications to at least four countries, including Israel.
Former Moroccan international Abdeslam Ouaddou, who played for several clubs, will join the technical staff of the Algerian national football team. According to the Algerian Football Federation, the former Moroccan international will join the Greens by the start of their upcoming training camp, scheduled for March. «Abdeslam Ouaddou and Djamel Belmadi (the current manager of the Algerian team) have already played together in Valenciennes (2009-2010) and have collaborated with the Qatari
To UK-based NGO Amnesty International, Moroccan authorities «are intensifying their crackdown on peaceful voices with a new wave of arbitrary arrests and prosecutions of individuals, including a journalist, rappers and YouTubers, many of whom have been targeted simply for criticizing the King or other officials». «Morocco authorities’ concept of a ‘red line’ is essentially a ban on criticizing the monarchy or state institutions, which is being used with
Rabbi Pinhas Ha-Cohen was born in Souss and lived in Marrakech. In the city, he saved the Pasha’s life twice and brought about many miracles in his lifetime.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry has announced on its Facebook page «Israel Speaks Arabic» that a Moroccan movie will be screened at the Jerusalem Film Festival (JFF), scheduled for next week in Al-Quds. The abovementioned movie is «Sofia», a film directed by Moroccan moviemaker Meryem Benm’Barek and starred by Maha Alemi and Sarah Perles. According to the Facebook page, the Moroccan film will be screened, on Tuesday, February 18, alongside other feature films from
Morocco has rejected a proposal made by Egypt to create an African Force to fight terrorism in the continent. «A vision within which African forces operate together is preferable than forming a unified African military force», wrote Middle East Monitor, quoting Moroccan Foreign Affairs Minister Nasser Bourita. Interviewed by Russian news agency Sputnik on the sidelines of the 33rd African Union (AU) Summit in Addis Ababa, Bourita said that «Morocco is one of the oldest
Arab states, mainly from the Gulf, are said to be planning to sign a «non-belligerence agreement» with Israel. While a former Prime Minister of Qatar says that Morocco is reportedly one of the countries to sign the deal, Rabat refuses to break its silence on the matter.
The United Kingdom has appointed a new ambassador to Morocco in succession to Thomas Reilly. The announcement was published, Monday, on the United Kingdom's public sector information website. «Simon Martin CMG has been appointed Her Majesty’s Ambassador to the Kingdom of Morocco in succession to Mr Thomas Reilly», read the statement. The new ambassador, who served from 2015 to 2019 as the UK's ambassador to Manama, Bahrain, is expected to take office in September 2020. The
Moroccan UFC feather fighter Youssef Zalal, also known as the «Moroccan Devil», made, Saturday in Texas, his first Octagon win at UFC 247, MMA Fighting wrote on Monday. The Casablanca-born fighter defeated Austin Lingo with a unanimous decision to open the preliminary card at UFC 247 in Houston. After his fight, Youssef Zalal told media that «it felt amazing to make [his] UFC debut in Houston, opening up a pay-per-view event». «I started as a kick-boxing kid in