Free Republic

A mainly desert territory in north-west Africa, Western Sahara is the subject of a decades-long dispute between Morocco and the Algerian-backed Polisario Front. The territory is phosphate-rich and believed to have offshore oil deposits. Most of it has been under Moroccan control since 1976. Western Sahara fell under Spanish rule in 1884, becoming a Spanish province in 1934. Nationalism emerged in the 1960s, as nomadic Saharans, or Saharawis, settled in the region. Polisario was set up on 10 May 1973 and established itself as the sole representative of the Saharan people. Some 100,000 refugees still live in Polisario's camps in...

Two men from East Elmhurst, Queens have been arrested and charged with plotting to blow up a Manhattan synagogue. Mayor Michael Bloomberg was joined by top city law enforcement officials at City Hall earlier today in announcing the arrests of Ahmed Ferhani, 26, and Mohamed Mamdouh, 20. Ferhani, who is from Algeria, and Mamdouh, was is from Morocco, are both charged with engaging in terrorism, weapons possession and hate crimes. An arraignment is expected later today. Police Commissioner Ray Kelly says the men told undercover officers that they hated Jews and wanted to kill them. He also says they had...

We Islamaphobes are truly a loathsome lot – sowing dissention and hatred wherever we go. But Peter Burr, M.D., recently elected chair of the Williamson County, TN. Democratic Party, is on our case. Last week, Geert Wilders, a member of the Dutch parliament and a trenchant critic of Islam, spoke at two events in Nashville. In a commentary in the Tennessean (“Outside Agitators Should Not Define American Values”) Burr excoriated Wilders in language Democrats usually reserve for the Tea Parties and the Boy Scouts of America. Anyway, I thought “outside agitators” became passé with Spiro Agnew’s departure from the national...

Two Americans have been arrested by New York City police for allegedly plotting to attack a synagogue in the New York area, Fox News has learned. One source described the case as the latest example of “homegrown” radicalization. The two men were identified as Mohammad Mamdouh, of Moroccan descent, and Ahmed Serhani, of Algerian descent. Serhani allegedly made a general statement about wanting to attack a synagogue –- though no specific synagogue was mentioned, according to initial information obtained by Fox News. With a history of drug dealing, Serhani was hoping to make enough money to purchase weapons and possibly...

Washington, April 29, 2011 – World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick is visiting Tunisia and Morocco from May 2 – 6 with a special focus on how to support Tunisia during its political transition and to find out how economic and governance reforms can create jobs and opportunity in both countries. Zoellick will meet civil society representatives in both countries to learn about the new importance of social accountability and how civil society can play a role in helping citizens influence what they can get from economic development and gain better access to opportunities. Zoellick’s visit to Tunisia follows...

MARRAKESH – A bomb killed 14 people including foreigners in Morocco's bustling tourist destination of Marrakesh, officials said on Thursday, in an attack that bore the hallmark of Islamist militants. The blast ripped through a cafe overlooking Marrakesh's Jamaa el-Fnaa square, a spot that is often packed with foreign tourists. A Reuters photographer said he saw rescuers pulling dismembered bodies from the wreckage. If the bombing is the work of Islamist militants, it will be the first time they have carried out a major attack in Morocco since 2003, when a series of suicide bombings in the commercial capital, Casablanca,...

What struck me most about this contract is that we are going to teach the Moroccans "critical thinking skills."

In an excellent documentary called Stolen, which sets out to document a family reunion in the sole region in Africa where Spanish is spoken, filmmakers Ayala and Fallshaw uncover a bigger story than they had originally planned. What they find is a pocket of slavery still practiced in Western Sahara, Morocco, Mauritania, and elsewhere in Arab-African societies. The initial impetus for the film is the re-union of a generational family under UN auspices, a service the UN provides if the correct paperwork is filled out; family members long separated are brought together for a joyous 5-day reunion. What the documentarians...

06 April 2010 "WHAT'S GOOD ABOUT THERE BEING A GENUINE AMERICAN AL-QAIDA MOVEMENT?[1]" SNIPPET: "They write in English and their websites have RSS feeds, that's what. Reduces our overhead, improves our cash flow - thanks guys!"

RABAT, Morocco – King Mohammed VI said Wednesday that Morocco will revise its constitution for the first time in 15 years, aiming to strengthen democracy in the face of a push across the Arab world. In a rare TV and radio speech to the nation, the popular monarch said a new commission would suggest constitutional revisions to him by June, and the overall project would be put to Moroccan voters in a referendum. "By launching today the work of constitutional reform, we embark on a major phase in the process of consolidation of our model of democracy and development," said...

ROME (AP) - Italian police on Friday arrested six Moroccan men suspected of inciting hatred against Pope Benedict XVI for converting a Muslim journalist in Italy to Catholicism.Stefano Fonsi, head of Brescia police's anti-terrorism squad in northern Italy, said the suspects allegedly banded together and met privately with the goal of stirring up religious hatred against non-Muslims, including the pope.Investigators say they found literature exhorting Muslim immigrants against integrating into Italian society and saying the pope should be punished for having baptized the journalist during an Easter vigil ceremony in St. Peter's Basilica.The investigation grew out of security checks ahead...

Morocco's King Mohammed said on Monday he would not cede to "demagoguery" a day after thousands of Moroccans took to the street to demand he give up some of his powers to a newly elected government. The monarch, addressing a ceremony for long-awaited appointments of members of the advisory Social and Economic Council, said he wanted "irreversible" reforms, but they must be formulated in accordance with the "Moroccan model." Morocco is a constitutional monarchy with an elected parliament, but the king is empowered to dissolve the legislature, impose a state of emergency and have a key say in government appointments...

Successful Launch of Second Multi Mission Frigate for the Royal Moroccan Navy (Source: Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding; issued Feb. 4, 2011) At Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding in Vlissingen, on February 2, the second Multi-Mission Frigate under construction for the Royal Moroccan Navy, was rolled out of the assembly hall. The 98 metre-long ship has been constructed entirely on land at the DSNS yard at Vlissingen-East and is now ready, on schedule, to be completed at the Vlissingen-City shipyard. Heavy Lifting and Transport company Mammoet Europe B.V., moved the 1700 ton vessel from the assembly hall to the pontoon after which...

In Morocco, not far from the Atlantic coast and away from major tourist attractions, lies a remarkable and enigmatic megalithic site. The Mzora stone ring (also spelled variously as Msoura/Mezorah) is situated roughly 11km from the nearest town of Asilah and about 27km from the ruins of ancient Lixus. It is not easy to reach and a small display in the archaeological museum at Tetouan is the most the majority of visitors see or hear of this very interesting site. Plutarch, in the first century CE, may have referred to Mzora in his Life of Sertorius. He describes the Roman...

Decades of autocratic government and a lack of free elections are, of course, the main drivers of the political upheaval in Egypt. But did the sinking dollar and skyrocketing food prices trigger the massive unrest now occurring in Egypt — or the greater Arab world for that matter? In addition to Egypt, the people have taken to the streets to varying degrees in Algeria, Jordan, Libya, Morocco and Yemen. Local food riots have even broken out in rural China and other Asian locales. While the mainstream media focus on the political aspects of this turmoil, they are overlooking the impact...

Discontent is ample in Morocco, the poorest, least developed North African nation, and many are inspired by developments in Egypt. Meanwhile, Morocco's King Mohammed VI rests in his French luxury chalet. Morocco so far has been spared from larger protesting groups as those in Tunisia and Egypt, much thanks to the King's quick reversal of boosting prices for basic foods. The same move proved a good assurance for authorities in neighbouring Algeria. But discontent is very widespread in Morocco. Despite an economic boom over the last years and some careful reforms ordered by King Mohammed VI - most prominently regarding...

“An earthquake has shaken the region.” The above headline from an Israeli newspaper describes with unfailing accuracy the pivotal events now taking place in the Middle East. In Egypt, the Arab world’s largest and most populous country of more than 80 million, massive demonstrations involving tens of thousands of people began on Tuesday in what was billed as a “Day of Anger” and are continuing despite a ban by a very rattled government. Smaller protests are likewise occurring in Jordan, Libya, Morocco and Algeria. The domino effect so feared by Middle Eastern strongmen after Tunisian protesters chased their president from...

Meeting with violent Salvadoran gangs in Honduras. Seeking radioactive material at a university in Hamilton, Ontario. Running an import-export business and teaching English — wife and child in tow — in Morocco. Hiding out in Suriname. *snip* — or, to be more precise, the rumored trail — of an American citizen who spent part of his youth in Brooklyn, went to college in Florida and has long been on the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s most-wanted list, a senior Qaeda operative who over the last seven years has been portrayed as part wraith, part James Bond, and large-scale bogeyman. On Wednesday,...

CASABLANCA, Morocco (AP) -- A man with explosives hidden on his body blew himself up in an Internet cafe after the owners prevented him from looking at terror Web sites, the Interior Ministry said Monday. The man was killed and four people were injured in the Sunday night blast in a Casablanca slum, said ministry spokesman Abderrahman Achour. One of the wounded was the dead man's companion, who was hospitalized with burns and a throat injury. Both men were carrying explosives. But officials believe the cybercafe may not have been their target and that the explosion was an accident, Mokhtar...

Recent events in Tunisia, Lebanon and Egypt spell a dangerous new trend in the region. There have been major developments in Tunisia, Lebanon and Egypt, each of which is of tremendous importance. In Tunisia, a popular uprising fueled by unemployment, economic suffering and long-term discontent has overthrown the dictator, but not necessarily the dictatorship. In 55 years of independence, the country has been governed by two dictators, the current one being Zine al-Abedin Ben Ali, who has been president for 23 years and was a key power in the regime even before that. Is this going to spread? Does it...