Morocco

Morocco earthquake toll passes 2800 as rescuers search for survivors

Villagers wept for lost relatives in the rubble of their homes on Monday as the death toll from Morocco's deadliest earthquake in more than six decades rose to more than 2800 and rescuers raced against time to find survivors.

Search teams from Spain, Britain and Qatar were joining Moroccan rescue efforts after a 6.8 magnitude quake struck late on Friday in the High Atlas Mountains, with the epicentre 72km southwest of Marrakech.

Morocco beat Portugal to go through to semi-final

Youssef En-Nesyri leapt high in the air to head home the game's only goal just before half-time at the Al-Thumama Stadium to strike a significant blow against football's established order and book a semi-final against either England or France, who meet later today.

Reuters reports the result will be widely celebrated across Africa and the Arabic-speaking Middle East, desperate to see one of their teams in contention for the biggest prize in football.

Arab world celebrates Morocco win

Arabs from Baghdad to Tunis cheered as Morocco became the first Arabic-speaking country to reach the quarter-finals of the World Cup in Qatar, the first to be held in an Arab country.

In Rabat, where fans had crowded cafes for hours beforehand to watch the game, people jammed downtown roads leading to a square where fans had partied after previous Moroccan victories, flags waving from their windows and horns furiously sounding.

"It's the first time I had this feeling!" said Fahd Belbachir, on his way to the city centre. "We're so proud."

Morocco well rescue for five-year-old grips nation

The child, who local media have identified as a five-year-old boy named Rayan, was reportedly playing near the well in the town of Tamrout, 100km (62 miles) from Chefchaouen.

Rayan is believed to have fallen about 32m (104ft) through a narrow opening.

Rescue operations, led by Morocco's Civil Protection Directorate, have been ongoing since Tuesday evening.

Despite suffering a significant fall, footage from a camera lowered into the well showed that the boy remains alive and conscious, though he appeared to be suffering from some minor head injuries.

Solomon Islands thrashed 6-0 by Morocco

The Kurukuru conceded three goals in each half against the African champions.

Soufiane El-Mesrar opened the scoring in just the second minute before Achraf Souad doubled their advantage a minutes later.

Idriss Raiss El-Fenni made it 3-0 close to half-time, while Bilal Bakkali, Otmane Boumezou and Soufiane Borite all found the back of the net in the second spell.

Solomon Islands, who are competing in their fourth consecutive World Cup, are back in action on Friday morning against Portugal, who outclassed Thailand 4-1 in the other Group C clash.

 

Spain 2 Morocco 2

The 2010 champions started Monday on top of Group B but seemed certain to slip below their Iberian rivals in the final table as both matches entered stoppage-time with Portugal and Morocco leading.

Spain went behind when Andres Iniesta and captain Sergio Ramos somehow allowed Khalid Boutaib to seize upon a loose ball and run clear to score Morocco's first goal at the finals since 1998.

Iniesta soon made amends, though, skipping through the Morocco defence to set up Isco for a quickfire leveller, with La Roja unable to break down their opponents despite dominating.

Bride of ISIS: From 'happily ever after' to hell

But instead of bringing love and contentment, their marriage left Islam trapped in a living nightmare.
Fast forward four years -- and three husbands - and she and her two small children are caught in limbo in northern Syria.
Islam Mitat is from Morocco; Ahmed Khalil was originally from Kabul in Afghanistan, but had moved to the UK and become a British citizen by the time they met on Muslima.com.
Mitat dreamed of a career as a fashion designer, and saw a British husband as a way out of her drab existence in the Moroccan town of Oujda, near the Algerian border.

Libyan government recalls its team from talks in Morocco

A statement from the parliament based in eastern Libya says Tuesday's development came after their rivals from an Islamist-backed government, based in Tripoli, insisted on re-opening and adjusting the "near-final" text of the agreement without consulting the eastern Libyan team.

U.N. officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

2 French journalists accused of blackmailing Morocco's king

The case has received blanket coverage in Morocco and been held up as a clear example of the perfidy of those who would seek to criticize the monarchy — which is considered above criticism.

The Paris prosecutor's office said the two, Eric Laurent and Catherine Graciet, remained in detention Friday. Their lawyers have not spoken publicly about the matter.