First Independent Mena Newspaper
Morocco’s Minister of Islamic Affairs Ahmed Toufiq has instructed imams, prayer leaders and muezzins to abstain from political activity ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for Sept. 23, 2026, according to a ministry circular reported by local media. The directive was sent to staff at the ministry’s central, regional and provincial offices and serves as a […]
Morocco’s central bank and competition regulator said reforms have ended the long-standing dominance of the Centre Monétique Interbancaire (CMI) in the country’s bank-card payment market, opening the sector to new operators and lowering costs for merchants. Morocco has completed the transition from a market where CMI was the sole provider of merchant card-acquiring services to […]
The Moroccan national football team landed Sunday at the Rabat-Salé Airport, coming from Boston, where their 2026 World Cup journey ended in the quarter-finals in 2-0 defeat to France. The Atlas Lions departed the United States with their heads held high, as they have once again carried the hopes of the Moroccan nation and sympathizers […]
Police at Mohammed V International Airport in Casablanca arrested Saturday a 35-year-old German national of Kosovar origin wanted internationally by German authorities for arson and international drug trafficking. The suspect was intercepted immediately after landing when an Interpol database check revealed an active international arrest warrant issued by the NCB in Wiesbaden, Germany. German authorities […]
Moroccan drugmaker Galenica has shipped its first pharmaceutical export to Russia in partnership with Asia Pharm Group, a milestone the company describes as a historic first for a Moroccan, Arab and African pharmaceutical laboratory entering the Eurasian Economic Union market. The shipment follows Galenica becoming the first Moroccan, Arab and African drugmaker to obtain GMP […]
Morocco is taking a new step in modernizing its travel documents. The Council of Government adopted, at its weekly meeting Thursday, a draft decree, amending the 2008 decree governing the biometric passport, opening the way for a new generation of passports designed to enhance document security and align it with the latest standards. Presenting the […]
User experience, innovation and trust dominated discussions at the second panel of the 7th Moroccan Consumer Day, held Thursday in Casablanca, as industry figures examined the levers most likely to accelerate the adoption of electronic payments across Morocco. The gathering brought together representatives of payment institutions, card infrastructure providers, digital players and academia to assess […]
Morocco’s World Cup journey ended with a 2-0 quarter-final defeat to France, but the Atlas Lions departed the United States with their heads held high, having once again carried the hopes of the Moroccan nation and sympathizers from across the world into football’s biggest tournament. For the second consecutive World Cup, Morocco were the last […]
Morocco and the United Kingdom have formalized a significant update to the commercial framework governing their bilateral trade, with the signing of Decision No. 01/2026 of the Association Council on 16 March 2026. The decision amends Protocol 4 of the Association Agreement between the two countries, which covers the definition of originating products and the […]
Falcon Energy Materials Company opened on Thursday its pilot plant near Casablanca, a significant operational milestone in the production of high-purity coated spheronized purified graphite (CSPG) for the global battery industry. CSPG is a battery-grade carbon material used as the primary anode active material in lithium-ion batteries. It is engineered from natural flake graphite to […]