Protests broke out in several Moroccan cities on Sunday as people rallied against rising prices and to commemorate the 11th anniversary of demonstrations that called for reform.
The North African kingdom is the latest of several countries where public anger has erupted over high global energy prices, which are driving inflation to decade-high levels around the world.
The Moroccan demonstrations coincided with the anniversary of the wave of protests known as the February 20 movement, inspired by the Arab uprisings that took place around the region in 2011.
In the capital of Rabat, a protest took place outside the parliament building. Holding placards, protesters chanted slogans against the government for its failure to keep spiralling prices under control, leading more people to fall into poverty.
Police were stationed in large numbers around the protest site.
Smaller demonstrations broke out in other cities where protesters called on the government to immediately intervene to protect the people’s purchasing power.
The minister delegate in charge of the budget, Fouzi Lekjaa, said the government has adopted various measures to ease the strain on Moroccan households, but acknowledged they remained “insufficient”.
The government blamed the surge in prices of basic goods on a combination of the global post-pandemic economic recovery and the increase in prices of grains and oil products on international markets.
The country is also reeling from the effects of its worst drought in decades.
The national average rainfall for this rainy season so far is just 7.5 centimetres, which is 64 per cent lower than a normal year, the royal palace said. It said 10 billion Moroccan dirhams ($1 billion) had been allocated to mitigate the drought’s impact on the agricultural sector and the economy as a whole.
Kanye%20West
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The full list of 2020 Brit Award nominees (winners in bold):
British group
Coldplay
Foals
Bring me the Horizon
D-Block Europe
Bastille
British Female
Mabel
Freya Ridings
FKA Twigs
Charli xcx
Mahalia
British male
Harry Styles
Lewis Capaldi
Dave
Michael Kiwanuka
Stormzy
Best new artist
Aitch
Lewis Capaldi
Dave
Mabel
Sam Fender
Best song
Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber - I Don’t Care
Mabel - Don’t Call Me Up
Calvin Harrison and Rag’n’Bone Man - Giant
Dave - Location
Mark Ronson feat. Miley Cyrus - Nothing Breaks Like A Heart
AJ Tracey - Ladbroke Grove
Lewis Capaldi - Someone you Loved
Tom Walker - Just You and I
Sam Smith and Normani - Dancing with a Stranger
Stormzy - Vossi Bop
International female
Ariana Grande
Billie Eilish
Camila Cabello
Lana Del Rey
Lizzo
International male
Bruce Springsteen
Burna Boy
Tyler, The Creator
Dermot Kennedy
Post Malone
Best album
Stormzy - Heavy is the Head
Michael Kiwanuka - Kiwanuka
Lewis Capaldi - Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent
Dave - Psychodrama
Harry Styles - Fine Line
Rising star
Celeste
Joy Crookes
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Some of French groups are threatening Friday to continue their journey to Brussels, the capital of Belgium and the European Union, and to meet up with drivers from other countries on Monday.
Belgian authorities joined French police in banning the threatened blockade. A similar lorry cavalcade was planned for Friday in Vienna but cancelled after authorities prohibited it.
Persuasion
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5pm: Al Maha Stables – Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,600m
5.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,600m
6pm: Emirates Fillies Classic – Prestige (PA) Dh100,000 (T) 1,600m
6.30pm: Emirates Colts Classic – Prestige (PA) Dh100,000 (T) 1,600m
7pm: The President’s Cup – Group 1 (PA) Dh2,500,000 (T) 2,200m
7.30pm: The President’s Cup – Listed (TB) Dh380,000 (T) 1,400m
Evacuations to France hit by controversy
- Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
- Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
- The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
- Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
- It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
- Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
- Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
