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Morocco

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Culture

Egypt, Morocco, Algeria make World Cup history in knockout stage

Morocco has already secured its place in the next round while Algeria and Egypt seek to continue North Africa's World Cup campaign.

Morocco's defender #14 Issa Diop (R) celebrates scoring his team's first goal during the 2026 World Cup round of 32 football match between the Netherlands and Morocco at the Monterrey Stadium in Guadalupe on June 29, 2026.

Culture

Morocco upsets Netherlands to reach World Cup round of 16

Morocco will face Canada in the round of 16 in Houston on July 4.

Achraf Hakimi #2 of Morocco shoots and misses a chance against Gabriel Magalhaes #3 of Brazil during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group C match between Brazil and Morocco at New York New Jersey Stadium on June 13, 2026 in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Culture

Morocco, Egypt impress with notable draws despite winless World Cup start for Mideast teams

Several teams from the Middle East and North Africa could advance to the knockout stage under the new format, and Morocco climbed in the rankings despite a tie in its opener.

Latest News

Culture

10 MENA teams at 2026 World Cup: Morocco eyes title, Iran faces visa hurdles

Morocco's midfielder Azzedine Ounahi celebrates scoring with teammates during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group E African qualification football match between Morocco and Niger at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Sports Complex in Rabat on September 5, 2025. (Photo by Abdel Majid BZIOUAT / AFP)

Analysis

MENA wheat importers face food security risks as Hormuz crisis festers

Crops of wheat and barley in Terbol village on May 10, 2022, in Bekaa Valley, Lebanon.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Culture

Fossil discovery repositions Morocco at center of human evolution 800,000 years ago

Archaeologists at the entrance of the Contrebandiers (Smugglers) Cave, some 12 miles from the Moroccan capital, Rabat, Sept. 18, 2021.

Storm Leonardo displaces 140,000 as heavy floods hit northern Morocco

An emergency vehicle drives through flood waters as residents are evacuated and relocated to other towns as preventive and emergency evacuations are carried out to move residents living near flood-prone areas following the weather alert and the rise in the water level of the Loukkos River, with flooding expected in the coming days, in Ksar El Kebir on Feb. 1, 2026.

Naima Morelli

In Rome, reporting on Middle East culture

Francisco Serrano

In Lisbon, reporting on North Africa business

Moroccan Salafist preacher Hassan al-Kettani speaks during a demonstration against an anti-Islam film made in the U.S. that mocks the Prophet Mohammad outside a mosque in the impoverished Rahma neighbourhood of Sale, September 21, 2012. The banner reads, "There is only one God and Mohammad is his prophet". REUTERS/Stringer (MOROCCO - Tags: RELIGION CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3890E

How Morocco plans to contain its Salafists

Several prominent Salafists in Morocco have surprised the nation by joining mainstream political parties.

Moroccan Amazigh Berbers march during a protest calling for the release of political prisoners and demanding more rights, in Rabat February 3, 2013. REUTERS/Stringer (MOROCCO - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST SOCIETY) - RTR3DBGE

Morocco’s Amazighs still feel marginalized

It has been four years since the Amazigh language was officially recognized by the Moroccan Constitution, but there is still no law in place to guarantee the cultural minority’s rights.

Morocco battles Islamic State cells

After attacks in neighboring Tunisia, Morocco is doing all it can to crack down on Islamic State sympathizers.

United Arab Emirates

Mohammed Maazab, a Libyan member of the General National Congress (GNC) and head of the talks with the United Nations, adresses journalists on March 12, 2015 in Skhirat, near the Moroccan capital Rabat, where a new round of UN-mediated crisis talks between representatives from Libya's rival parliaments is supposed to start. Libya's internationally recognised parliament which is based in the eastern city of Tobruk confirmed they requested to postpone the start of the talks in Morocco aimed at forming a unity

Morocco, Algeria compete over Libya

Morocco may be exploiting Algerian weaknesses to raise the stature of its foreign diplomacy by hosting the UN-sponsored dialogue between the conflicting Libyan parties.

Morocco's King Mohamed VI and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (R) speak during the presentation of a solar energy project in Ouarzazate November 2, 2009. REUTERS/Rafael Marchante (MOROCCO ROYALS POLITICS ENVIRONMENT) - RTXQ9YQ

Is Hillary Clinton taking 'blood phosphate' money from Morocco?

Critics of a $1 million Clinton Foundation gift see a ploy to build support for illegal exploitation of the "last colony in Africa."

Sahrawis shout slogans for the freedom of Western Sahara before a demonstration organised by officials from the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) to show the hazards of mined territory near Tifariti, in the Sahara desert in southwestern Algeria, February 28, 2011. Over 150,000 Sahrawis live in several refugee camps dispersed in the Algerian desert 35 years after Morocco annexed the disputed territory of Western Sahara. REUTERS/Juan Medina (ALGERIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST MILITARY) - RTR2J9HB

Russia shows interest in Western Sahara

Russia's desire to play an active role in the Middle East extends beyond Cairo and Damascus to longstanding issues further south.

10 Middle East artists to watch

Many female artists in the Middle East and North Africa are redefining their mediums.

A view of Djamaa Lafna square and its restaurants in Marrakesh's old city December 18, 2014. Picture taken December 18, 2014. REUTERS/Youssef Boudlal (MOROCCO - Tags: SOCIETY TRAVEL) - RTR4KAMQ

Why did Iran, Morocco resume relations?

Economics, Iran's desire for greater international standing, the Islamic State and Western Sahara may be factors in Iran naming an ambassador to Morocco after a nearly six-year break in ties.

People watch a television interview broadcast on CBC and ONTV with presidential candidate and Egypt's former army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, at cafe in Cairo May 6, 2014. Sisi, who is expected to win a presidential election this month, said in a television interview broadcast on Tuesday that costly energy subsidies could not be lifted quickly. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS MILITARY) - RTR3O2A9

Tensions increase between Egypt, Morocco

Cordial relations between Egypt and Morocco have been hampered by a media brawl between both countries’ official TV channels, as Egypt moves closer to Algeria.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrives at Rabat airport at the start of a tour of the Maghreb region, June 3, 2013. REUTERS/Youssef Boudlal (MOROCCO - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX10AEE

Erdogan’s heavy hand in Turkish media

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s personal call to a TV station to immediately stop a news scroll reveals the extent of the restrictions on press freedom in Turkey.

The handcuffs of inmates are seen during a play at a public theatre in Lima, June 20, 2012. About 20 young inmates of Ancon prison put on stage their own theatrical script, based on their testimonies in jail, outside prison after four months of rehearsal. The event, organized by prison authorities, aims to help them reintegrate into society when they get released in future. REUTERS/Enrique Castro-Mendivil (PERU - Tags: SOCIETY CRIME LAW) - RTR33Y1I

Israeli criminals make their way to Morocco

Lacking an extradition treaty with Israel, Morocco has become an unlikely sanctuary for Israeli mobsters looking to make money or avoid police investigations.

Diplomats from the United States and Israel are silhouetted as they join about 100 mourners at a ceremony, held on Thursday in memory of veteran Jewish leader Carmen Weinstein, at Sha'ar Hashamayim (Gate of Heaven) synagogue in downtown Cairo, April 18, 2013. Weinstein, 82, died last Saturday at her home in Cairo where she was known over the past two decades for leading efforts to preserve the overwhelmingly Muslim country's Jewish heritage. REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih (EGYPT - Tags: RELIGION POLITICS OBITUARY) -

Jews from Arab countries: the forgotten refugees

A UN conference addresses the status of Jews from Arab states who were expelled from their homeland after the creation of the state of Israel.