Morocco

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An Israeli aircraft is making the first direct commercial flight between Israel and Morocco.

This follows the two countries' recent agreement to upgrade their diplomatic relationship.

The plane is emblazoned with the word "peace" in Arabic, Hebrew and English.

It is carrying a high-level Israeli delegation that will have further talks on the details of diplomatic accord.

The deal was brokered by Washington, and US President Donald Trump's son-in-law and Middle East envoy Jared Kushner is accompanying the Israeli team.

The agreement was part of a series of deals in which Arab countries have moved to normalise their ties with Israel.

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A Moroccan man who tried to carry out a gun attack on a high-speed train between Brussels and Paris in August 2015 has been sentenced to life in prison by a French court.

Three other men were found guilty of helping the 31-year-old plan the attack. They were given sentences of between seven and 27 years as accomplices.

Ayoub el-Khazzani was overpowered by fellow passengers on the Thalys train, including two off-duty American soldiers.

He had boarded the train with a kalashnkov and a pistol hidden in his back-pack, but when he emerged from the lavatory ready to shoot he was immediately confronted by fellow-passengers.

In the fight that followed his gun initially failed to fire, and he was overpowered and delivered to the police.

In his summing up, the judge said there was no doubt el-Khazzani had intended to carry out a mass-killing.

He’d only failed because of an unlikely combination of circumstances, and the bravery of those who intervened.

El-Khazzani had come to Europe from Syria earlier in 2015 in the company of an Islamic State agent called Abdelhamid Abaooud.

He was the man who three months later organised the Bataclan and street café massacres in Paris.

Tunisia's Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi says his country is not interested in normalising relations with Israel.

Morocco last week became the fourth member of the Arab League to announce diplomatic ties with Israel in the past few months.

While on an official visit to France, Mr Mechichi, in response to a question by journalists on whether Tunisia intended to follow in Morocco's footsteps, said that "every country is free to make the choice it makes. It is not the choice Tunisia has made."

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Mr Mechichi also denied that the Trump administration had put pressure on Tunisia.

"I have not heard anything about the Trump administration pressuring us to follow in the footsteps of Morocco and the Emirates," he added.

US President Donald Trump announced last week that Morocco would normalise relations with Israel.

In exchange, his administration recognised Morocco's sovereignty over the disputed territory of Western Sahara.

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The US decision to recognise Morocco's claim over the disputed Western Sahara region has angered the territory's Polisario Front, whose spokesman told BBC Focus on Africa it was a "dangerous setback".

"Sovereignty over Western Sahara is a decision that should be taken exclusively by the Saharawi people through a genuine expression of their will," said spokesman Oubi Bouchraya Bachi, adding "it doesn’t belong to the US" or any other power.

Western Sahara was annexed by Morocco in 1975. A 16-year-long insurgency ended with a UN-brokered truce in 1991 and the promise of a referendum on independence, which has yet to take place.

The Polisario Front is a nationalist group backed by Algeria which has been seeking to establish an independent state - a claim recognised by the African Union.

The announcement by outgoing US President Donald Trump comes weeks after hostilities between Moroccan and Polisario forces resumed, breaking almost three decades of ceasefire.

The deal is part of a wider agreement between the US and Morocco that sees it normalise relations with Israel.

"We have been warning that importing the Middle East dynamic to North Africa will engender a lot of instability," Mr Bachi said of the US-Morocco pact.

"We are very hopeful the new administration [in the US] will take a different step," he added.

Listen to full interview on the Africa Today podcast.

There has been tension recently in Western Sahara following military manoeuvres in the former demilitarised zone of Guerguerat.

The Polisario Front, which wants independence, says that a 29 year-long ceasefire agreement was broken when Moroccan forces deployed troops and tanks to the UN-patrolled border zone in the disputed territory.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, Polisario said the Moroccan operation was a premeditated attempt to prevent the latest efforts by the UN to discuss their demands.

The Saharawi people, many of whom live in refugee camps in Tindouf in Algeria as well as within Morocco, have long called for a referendum on self-determination.

Lotfi Bouchaara, Morocco's ambassador to Moscow, told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme that Morocco did not breach the ceasefire but its military was responding to a provocation by Polisario fighters who blocked a key road to Mauritania.

Morocco had reacted with "restraint", he said.

"War is always a bad solution... we are ready to engage, we are committed to the political process," he added.

Listen to the full interview:

Amira Azzouzi PhotographyCopyright: Amira Azzouzi Photography

It might be nearly two decades since Destiny’s Child sang about Independent Women but Morocco’s Manal is keeping the spirit of Beyoncé and co alive and kicking as she gets ready to release her long-awaited debut album.

After winning Best North African Female at the 2015 All Africa Music Awards, thanks to the success of her first single Denia, Manal has spent the last five years fighting to ensure the choices she makes in her musical career remain hers alone.

Quote Message: What I’m most proud of now is being independent and owning my own label. To have this, I needed to work really hard, I needed to lose a lot of people around me and meet other people as well. I’m super-proud now to be able to work with the right people and be surrounded with the right people.”

What I’m most proud of now is being independent and owning my own label. To have this, I needed to work really hard, I needed to lose a lot of people around me and meet other people as well. I’m super-proud now to be able to work with the right people and be surrounded with the right people.”

Those sacrifices included giving up the support of a major label. With Manal now taking sole responsibility, it is perhaps no surprise that elements of introspection and self-analysis have crept onto the album, which is entitled 360.

Quote Message: It’s a circle. I did a turn on myself to see who I am really, what I like to do. I really have the chance to do the true music that represents me and it’s really enjoyable for me to do it.”

It’s a circle. I did a turn on myself to see who I am really, what I like to do. I really have the chance to do the true music that represents me and it’s really enjoyable for me to do it.”

The 27-year-old’s contemporary take on Arabic music fuses pop, rap and modern beats whilst also including some more traditional styles and melodies. But it’s not for everyone.

Quote Message: When I tried to rap everybody was shocked because here rap is for men, not for women. I had a lot of reactions from my community. They were like ‘Oh, why did you rap? You could just keep singing songs with your guitar and you were cute and fun and everything’.”

When I tried to rap everybody was shocked because here rap is for men, not for women. I had a lot of reactions from my community. They were like ‘Oh, why did you rap? You could just keep singing songs with your guitar and you were cute and fun and everything’.”

Jibes about Manal’s style and image used to hit home, but not anymore.

Quote Message: I was so embarrassed and I felt so bad about it, but now I really don’t care. I don’t think I disrespect anyone by how I’m dressing, what I say in my music.”

I was so embarrassed and I felt so bad about it, but now I really don’t care. I don’t think I disrespect anyone by how I’m dressing, what I say in my music.”

New label, new music, new attitude – but while Manal continues to push boundaries, she still struggles to accept her success.

Quote Message: The fact that I get recognised on the streets, the fact that people talk about me, my music being played on the radio, is amazing. I still can’t believe this is happening to me.”

The fact that I get recognised on the streets, the fact that people talk about me, my music being played on the radio, is amazing. I still can’t believe this is happening to me.”

You can hear more from Manal on This is Africa this Saturday, on BBC World Service radio and partner stations across Africa.

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The King of Morocco has reportedly forked out $94m (£72m) for a mansion house in the French capital, Paris, bought directly from its previous owners, the Saudi royal family.

Located close to the world-famous Eiffel Tower, the property boasts 12 bedrooms, a swimming pool, a games room, a private garden and private parking.

King Mohammed VI is one of the world's richest monarchs, with an estimated personal fortune 10 times higher than that of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II.

His purchase comes a time when Morocco's economy has shrunk 6% because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The king announced in August that 120bn dirhams ($32bn; £25bn) would be injected into the economy in response.

Police in Morocco say they've broken up a network of Islamic State group militants who were planning to carry out suicide bombings.

Five arrests were made in simultaneous raids in the city of Tangiers and the Rabat region.

Explosive belts and other equipment were seized.

The suspects were said to be plotting attacks that aimed to destabilise the country.

No details were given as to what the targets might have been.

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The far right politician Geert Wilders has said he'll take his case to the Dutch Supreme court after he lost his appeal against a conviction for insulting Moroccans as a group.

Mr Wilders said the Netherlands had become a corrupt country when the leader of the biggest opposition party could be convicted in a political trial for asking widely-shared questions about Moroccans.

The court in Amsterdam quashed a second conviction for inciting discrimination and hatred.

The presiding judge said Mr Wilders had gone too far in an election campaign six years ago when he got supporters to chant that they wanted fewer Moroccans in the Netherlands.

The judge said it was done for political advantage, not to discriminate against Moroccans.

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The Moroccan authorities have imposed tight new restrictions on movement in Casablanca and Marrakesh - the country's main tourist hubs - following a spike in coronavirus infections.

Several districts of the two cities will be closed off, with restaurants, coffeehouses and businesses operating at reduced hours.

Some public parks and beaches in Casablanca have been closed.

On Tuesday, partial lockdowns were ordered in the capital, Rabat, and the port city of Tangiers, with armoured vehicles patrolling the streets and police manning checkpoints.

Morocco has recorded more than 46,000 cases of the coronavirus and over 740 deaths.

Read:

• How fast is coronavirus spreading in Africa?

ReutersCopyright: Reuters

Police in Morocco have arrested an investigative journalist on charges of rape and receiving foreign funds with the aim of harming state security.

The arrest of Omar Radi comes after he had been summoned for police questioning many times in recent weeks over allegations that he had received money linked to foreign intelligence - which he has denied.

The charge of rape against Mr Radi has only just emerged - Moroccan state news says a woman has filed a complaint of indecent assault involving violence and rape.

Human rights groups have previously accused the Moroccan authorities of intimidation against Mr Radi, who has investigated corruption among the elite.

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