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Reading tea leaves, even great Moroccan mint tea, is always challenging, especially with data that doesn’t always seem to match up. So, depending on what you’re measuring and where you gather your statistics, the message can vary from so bad to almost great, when it comes to economic...
The United Nations was not even three years old when it launched its first peacekeeping mission in 1948. For the last 70 years, it has been continuously involved in such operations, often with mixed results. Over this time, peacekeeping and the wars to which it has been applied have changed. The...
In an article published last month with the title, “Could Morocco see the next uprising, after Sudan and Algeria?” the BBC demonstrated a misunderstanding of Moroccan society by conflating civil unrest and public dissatisfaction over the kingdom’s leadership with the overall stability of the...
For many people, July 6 marked the passing of just another Saturday. But to over 1 billion people, it was of tremendous significance as it was the 25th UN International Day of Cooperatives. Over 12% of humanity contribute to one of the 3 million cooperatives on the planet. Cooperatives not only...
In this edition of the Interview, Fair Observer talks to Gilbert Achcar, professor of international relations at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. The Middle East and North Africa continues to reverberate from the 2011 Arab Spring protests that rocked the region...
In this edition of The Interview, Fair Observer talks to Sana Afouaiz, an award-winning women’s rights advocate. Invisible Women of the Middle East: True Stories is a 2018 book by Moroccan author Sana Afouaiz, exploring the deepest layers of women’s lives across the Middle East and North...
Through the long summer days, fasting and embracing spirituality in Ramadan is becoming more difficult. It is now the half-way point in Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar. The festival commemorates the moment that the Quran was first revealed to Prophet Muhammad. For either 29...
Morocco has undergone an incredible transformation to support its intentions of becoming a commercial crossroads between Africa and the West, says former US Ambassador to Morocco Edward M. Gabriel. In January 1998, I arrived in Morocco as the new US ambassador. Arriving at the end of Ramadan, I...
What made 15 African Union members vote against Morocco’s admission? Nearing the one-year anniversary of Morocco’s admission into the African Union (AU), further interpretations can be made concerning the implications of the AU’s majority 39-15 vote. Following Morocco’s historic...
The stray cats of Rabat are alone and hungry. This young woman is doing something about it. Hajar Benallal is a modern-day hero. This young Moroccan woman takes care of some of the many street cats of Rabat. Each week, she feeds hundreds of cats. Stray cats in the Moroccan capital usually...
In Morocco, an annual music festival brings with it a cultural experience that lifts people’s spirits. At the end of June, the winds of the old port city of Essaouira move to the rhythm of Gnaoua music when the annual festival takes place. At this time, the small Moroccan city on the Atlantic...
