Rabat  - A new heatwave is expected to hit several regions of Morocco from Monday August 25 to Wednesday August 28, as hot air masses will flow up from the southeast, the national weather service announced in a special bulletin.

The regions concerned by this new heatwave are Zagora, Tata, Assa-Zag and Smara, where temperatures could vary from 44 and up to 47 degrees Celsius.

The heatwave will also affect Errachidia, Taroudante, Guelmim, Marrakech, Rehamna, Kala Seraghna, Fkih Bensaleh, Khouribga, Oued Ed-Dahab, Aousserd and Boujdour.

The mercury  in these regions could climb as high as 44 C.

Rabat - Contrary to what was published today by some Moroccan media outlets that Moroccan Sanaa Hamri has signed a petition in support of Israel in its onslaught against Gaza, the name of the Moroccan film-maker does not appear on the list of the 200 people who signed the petition.

Moroccan news websites Bladi.net, Demain Online and Alyoum24 wrote in news stories earlier today that Sanaa Hamri was among the 200 Hollywood stars who signed the petition.

After she learned of the rumor regarding her support for Israel, Hamri said in an email sent to Morocco World News that she had not signed the petition, and she was not aware of anything.

"Following the publication by Bladi Net and Demain Online, I want to put things straight. I 've not signed anything, I am not aware of anything, I am currently in Chicago filming the Empire serie,” the Moroccan famous film-maker told MWN.

“I am Moroccan, proud of being so and Morocco is the only country for which I can sign a petition. So stop the lies and slander. Do not speak for me,” she added.

The Tangier-born film-maker and music video director said that her name was put in the list without her knowledge, adding that she contacted her lawyer to learn more about what happened.

“At the same time, I have found that my name has been put without my knowledge in a petition circulating in Hollywood that promotes peace and has been signed by a list of celebrities; I have, therefore, contacted my lawyers to learn more."

It should be noted that the actual petition that was presented by the aforementioned Moroccan news outlets as including the name of Sanaa Hamri, does not include her name.

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Rabat - A Moroccan beauty queen is believed to be involved in one of the biggest child pornography and human trafficking schemes in Egypt according to Egyptian media outlets.

The unidentified Moroccan beauty queen has reportedly been accused of funding a fake association that exploits homeless children in the production of child pornography, as well as using them as human shields in several political demonstrations and conflicts with the police.

According to Egypt’s Yaoum7, the fake association that goes by the name “Biladi” or my country was co-founded by an American woman and her husband. The American couple are said to have stripped over 20 children and videotaped them naked in a minor pornographic production.

On Sunday, the Egyptian police detained the associations’ main financier for investigation. “She admitted to having received funds from a Moroccan beauty queen,” Yaoum7 reported.

The Associations’ financier said that she had received moral and financial support from the Moroccan beauty queen, without revealing her name or the details.

The Association’s co-founders, Aya Hijazi, 27, and her husband Mohamed Hassanine, 26, admitted to detaining over 20 homeless children in their Cairo-based house.

The US couple stated during the investigations that they had forced the children to have sex with each other in order to record them in a pornographic film production.

Tinjdad, Morocco - In a paper presented at the tenth forum of the Youth of Justice and Development Party held in Rabat from August 24 to 31, Muslim scholar Ahmad Raisouni  stated that it is permissible for a woman to travel alone without a "mahram" (i.e., her husband or one of her relatives whom she cannot marry).

According to the Hadith of the Prophet (PBUH), “It is not permissible for a woman who believes in Allah and the Last Day to travel one day’s distance without a mahram.”

However, the leader of the Movement of Unification and Reform, the advocacy arm of the ruling party PJD, said that once a woman is safe in her travel she does not need to be accompanied by a mahram.

In his paper entitled "Renewal of Islamic Thought: Vision and Approach,” Raisouni said, "Women today are travelling for work inside and outside the country.  If the travel is safe, then she is allowed to travel alone for education, work or to attend meetings."

Muslim scholars have different interpretations of the Hadith of the Prophet, regarding the prohibition on women travelling alone. Some adhere to the plain language of the Hadith, while others see that the reason behind the prohibition was the lack of safety and security at the time and now because travelling is safe, there is no harm if a woman travels without the company of a mahram.

Ahmad Raisouni, the Deputy Head of the International Union for Muslim Scholars, called for the renewal of Muslim thought and its approach to certain social issues.

Edited by Elisabeth Myers

New York - A Moroccan engineer was arrested last Friday at New York JFK airport after a woman accused him of sexually molesting her on a Casablanca-New York bound flight, according to the New York Daily News.

As soon as the Royal Air Maroc airplane landed in New York, the woman filed a complaint before the American authorities. The woman claims that the 45-year old man placed his hands under her blouse on her breast and attempted to place his hands inside the front of her pants, according to a complaint filed in Brooklyn Federal Court.

The engineer denied the accusation and said that he touched the woman only to move her head when she nodded off on his shoulder.

As soon as the woman filed her complaint, the judge ordered him jailed depriving him from the presumption of innocence.

The Moroccan, who is married and father of two children, is waiting for his brother to travel to the United States to pay his bail.

Rabat -Saudi Arabia has reportedly passed a new law that bans Saudi Ministers from marrying non-Saudi Arabian women.

The new law consisting of eleven articles has been issued recently by Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Interior.

Under the first article of the new law, Saudi ministers, diplomats and members of the Shura Council, as well as senior officials, including officers and officials holding sensitive posts, are banned from marrying non-Saudi Arabian women, according to Erem News.

The list of Saudi men banned from marrying non-Saudi Arabian women also includes officials from the armed forces at the Ministry of Defense and Aviation, officers from the National Security Ministry, and agents for the Secret Intelligence Services.

The new law goes as far as to ban Saudi Arabian students studying abroad from marrying foreign women.

Under the second article of the new law, the permission to marry foreign women will be granted only to those whose categories are not included in the first article.

The law goes on to state that these foreign woman sanctioned for marriage must be from Arabic or Islamic countries.

“Permissions to marry foreign women from non-Muslim or non-Arabic countries will be granted, in the necessary cases, only,” the second article says.

This new law comes few weeks after another controversial law that banned Saudi men from Marrying Bengali, Pakistani, Chadian and Burmese women, while it set new restrictive rules on marrying Moroccan women.

It obliges Saudi men who wish to marry Moroccan women to prove that their profile  are free of any crimes and serious diseases.

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Rabat - The Egyptian government is under fire for a new proposal to sell Egyptian citizenship to foreign investors at a price tag starting at $250,000.

The proposal has stirred a controversy in Egypt as activists and several politicians labeled it a “humiliation to the country.”

Amid Egypt's crisis-ridden economy, the Egyptian government has reportedly proposed a new “serious" project to raise revenue that involves selling Egyptian citizenship to foreign investors. The proposal has been touted as a solution to the deteriorating investment climate in the country, according to local media outlets.

According to Almasry Alyoum, the proposal is the brainchild of Mohammad Sameh, the head of the Arab Union for Direct Investment.

The Egyptian government has recently begun discussing ways to set up an investment fund whose capital would be raised through financial contributions by Gulf’ states as well as Arabs and foreigners keen on acquiring Egyptian nationality, the source added.

The proposal stirred controversy in Egypt as it has come under the local media’s spotlight recently. The Egyptian government has received harsh criticism from activists and politicians alike.

Several politicians and activists labeled the proposal as a political insult to Egypt.  Vice president of the Popular Alliance Party, Medhat Zahid, said the proposal “allows granting Egyptian citizenship to those who can afford its price, rather than granting it free of charge to certain people who deserve it.”

Almasry Alyoum quoted Mustafa Tawil, a member of the High Commission for the Al-Wafd Party, as saying “Mohammad Sameh's proposal is a farce.”

“The Egyptian government should neither discuss nor accept this proposal that humiliates Egypt. Under this proposal, Egyptian citizenship will become a trade commodity, which is completely unacceptable.”

Mustafa Tawil pointed out that the proposal might be used by Israeli agents to obtain Egyptian citizenship in order to enjoy the right of political participation in Egypt.

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Rabat -A Moroccan woman has been sentenced to flogging and imprisonment after she has allegedly been caught by Saudi Arabian police while offering sex services for money.

The court in the Province of Taif has reportedly sentenced the Moroccan woman, a current resident of Saudi Arabia, to four months in prison, flogging and a fine estimated at  SAR1000 ($267 U.S. ), as well as the seizure of her cell phone and deporting her to Morocco over adultery charges, according to Erem News.

According to the same source, the 40-year-old suspect was arrested after a Saudi Arabian citizen reported her to the country’s Islamic religious police for offering herself to him.

The Moroccan woman was apparently chatting with the Saudi Arabian man via Whatsapp, when she reportedly offered her services for a sum of money estimated at SAR 500 ($133 U.S.).

The man expressed his undoubted acceptance of her offer and arranged a date. Meanwhile, he secretly coordinated with the Islamic religious police in order to arrest her red-handed, offering herself against money.

After having been detained for questioning, the Moroccan woman admitted to offering sex services to Saudi Arabian men for money, stressing that the need of money pushed her to work as a prostitute.

During the inspection process, the Islamic religious police detected some pictures of her as well as a sum of money estimated at SAR 1500 ($400 U.S.) in her bag.

Taroudant, Morocco- Chinese authorities are targeting Muslim Uighurs with beards and veils in western China’s restive, Muslim-majority Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, according to Aljazeera.

In an attempt to restrict Muslims the freedom to express themselves, the local authorities in the Muslim-majority region are rewarding locals who report their neighbors for “wearing beards.” In fact, “Informants in Xinjiang can earn up to $8,000 for reporting neighbors who wear beards, seen as a sign of Islam,” according to Aljazeera.

Responding to a foreign reporter's question about “why young men of the Uighur ethnic minority do not have beards”, a young Uighur man answered angrily: "It's because the government doesn't allow beards," according to Associated Press.

The Chinese government’s restrictions may be counter-productive though, as religious oppression may lead to extremism. "It's a self-fulfilling prophecy, it's self-perpetuating.

The more they crack down on it, the more people re-Islamize. This is a pattern we see all over the world," Joanne Smith Finley, an expert on Uighurs at Britain's Newcastle University, was quoted by AP as saying.

"The Chinese state has created a growing terrorist threat where previously there was none. It has stimulated an Islamic renewal where there wouldn't necessarily have been one," she added.

In fact, the Chinese authorities in the Muslim-majority Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region did not stop at prohibiting Muslim clothes and beards in public.

Last year, the authorities hanged the Chinese flag over the Mihrab, a semicircular niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the qibla, the direction (Kaaba) that Muslims of the world face when praying, to force worshipers to bow before the flag every time they kneel down for their prayers.

Also, during the holy month of Ramadan, the Chinese authorities imposed a ban on Muslim students, teachers, and civil servants in the northwestern province of Xinjiang from fasting.

Students at Kashgar Normal College, located in the far west province of Xinjiang, were forced to eat and drink during daylight in Ramadan or face expulsion.

Experts and human rights activists around the world are concerned that the infringements on personal freedom in Xinjiang could lead to extremism.

Rabat- A French national had been reportedly arrested on August 26^th at Mohammed V international airport in Casablanca for having assaulted a police officer, according to Le360.ma news website.

The person in question, a retired French national who was on his way to Basel, Switzerland from Mohammed V airport, was arrested following his assault against a police officer in charge of the completion of border formalities.

The same source added that the French national asked for special treatment in order to avoid standing in the line, a request that was turned down by the airport officer.

To express his discontent with the officer's refusal, the French national damaged the area in which the airport officer stands, causing him injuries described as "minor" in his hand and foot.

The officer was taken to Ibn Rushd hospital in Casablanca for additional medical care while the attacker is waiting to be presented before the court.

Rabat - A British woman was viciously attacked in Marrakech by a man armed with a machete causing a gaping wound to her left thigh, according to the BBC.

The woman, 22-year-old Naomie Greenslade from Wales, was on her way home in the Rmila neighborhood in the ancient Medina of Marrakech after volunteering in a local orphanage when she was attacked.

Ms. Greenslade was heading to her accommodation with friends at around midnight when they were approached by a man carrying a bladed weapon.

He wanted to snatch the bag she was wearing across her body. But the British tourist refused which prompted the man to hurt her thigh with the "butcher-like blade."

"I looked down and saw a lot of blood, then I lifted my dress up and saw the wound," she told BBC Wales.

"I work as a first responder for the Welsh Ambulance Service back home, so I knew what to do," She added.

Friends and local people intervened to stop the victim's thigh from bleeding and she was taken later to a nearby hospital where she needed more than a dozen stitches to close the wound, the same source added.

According to police sources quoted by MAP news agency, the individual in question was arrested on Wednesday.

Photo courtesy of BBC Wales

Rabat - A village in Brazil filled with over 600 attractive young women has made an appeal for single men.  But there is one condition: men must follow their rules.

Noiva do Cordeiro, a small town located deep in the countryside of south-east Brazil, entirely  populated by attractive women, has reportedly adopted a “no men allowed” policy, since 1890s.

Under the town of beauties law, sons are sent away once they get 18, and husbands live and work elsewhere, only being allowed to return on weekends.

Today, its population consists of more than 600 exotic women, most of them aged between 20 and 35.

Now the town’s single young ladies have reportedly put out an appeal to bring more single men to the town.

The Mirrors quoted a single young girl from the town, Nelma Fernandes, 23, as saying that in the town, "the only men we single girls meet are either married or related to us, everyone is a cousin. I haven't kissed a man for a long time.”

“We all dream of falling in love and getting married. But we like living here and don't want to have to leave the town to find a husband,” Nelma explained.

Men interested in going to the town should understand first that Noiva do Cordeiro is very much a woman's world, where girl’s power rules.

One of Noiva do Cordeiro’s beauties told the Daily Mail, that they'd like “to get to know men who would leave their own lives and come to be a part of ours.“

“But first they need to agree to do what we say and live according to our rules," she said.

Noiva do Cordeiro was founded in the 1890s by Maria Senhorinha de Lima, after she fled her forced marriage. Over time, other single women and female-headed families joined the new town Mrs Maria Senhorinha de Lima founded, according to Yahoo News.

Eventually, the population of Noiva does Cordeiro increased as more women fed up with men joined the tow, and set up their own rules.

Ms. Fernandes  said that  there  are lots of things that women do better than men. “Our town is prettier, more organized, and far more harmonious than if men were in charge."

“When problems or disputes arise, we resolve them in a woman's way, trying to find consensus rather than conflict, “she added.

Taroudant, Morocco- After the name Muhammed has become most popular boys name in Britain, beating Oliver as the most popular boys name in 2013, the name of the Muslim prophet becomes the most famous name among men and boys for the first time in the history of the Norwegian capital, Oslo.

According to a recent count of the population of the capital of Norway, published Thursday, The name Muhammed and all its variations and various spellings, including Muhammad, Mohammed and Mohammad, comes out top with 4,801 counts.

The name Muhammed with its various spellings beat out other popular names like Jan (4667) and Per (4155).

The name Muhammed has been the most common name for baby boys in Oslo for four years in a row, but this year, Muhammed topped the men's list for the first time.

"It is very exciting," Jorgen Ouren of Statistics Norway tells The Local newswebsite.

According to figures published by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) Agust 15, Muhammad is also the most popular name for baby boys in England and Wales.

Rabat- One illegal immigrant from Senegal was reportedly beaten to death while 14 others were injured in a fight that broke out late Friday night in Tangier between sub-Saharan African immigrants and dozens of Moroccans.

According to a press release from the urban authority of Tangier, the confrontation began after a misunderstanding between a sub-Saharan African immigrant and a Moroccan.It turned a fierce fight, late Friday night in Hay Al Irfane district in Tangier.

Alyaou24 said that the misunderstanding escalated dramatically and turned into a bloody conflict between dozens of sub-Saharan immigrants and Moroccans who came to the defense of their fellow Moroccan, using knives, swords, and iron rods.

The Senegalese immigrant was killed after being stabbed in the neck. His death provoked the wrath of the other sub-Saharan African immigrants, and made the fighting more violent, as they determined to take revenge. The fighting continued brutally, until the local police intervened.

The urban authority of Tangier revealed that the police arrested 8 persons involved in the fighting.

This episode of bloody fighting between sub-Saharan African immigrants and Moroccans is not the first of its kind. In July, a fierce fight took place in the Maadeed neighborhood in Rabat between dozens of natives and sub-Saharan African immigrants.

That confrontation also began after a misunderstanding between a Moroccan and a Sub-Saharan African immigrant and escalated into a brawl, creating a terror in the area.

Rabat- American celebrity Joan River is life support following a throat surgery she underwent on Thursday, according to Hollywood Life news website.

The same source added that Joan River’s health condition made her dependent on machines after she stopped breathing following her surgery.

The American comedienne stirred controversy earlier this month after she made a statement in which she wished death to all Palestinians, showing her support to Israel in its military aggression against the Gaza Strip.

In a clip published on U.S. entertainment website TMZ on Tuesday, Rivers was seen apparently shouting, “You’re dead, you deserve to be dead. You started it. You started it. Don’t you dare make me feel sad about that.”

Rivers continued: “They were told to get out. They didn’t get out. You don’t get out, you are an idiot. At least the ones that were killed were the ones with very low IQs,” she added then.

After the harsh criticism her comments elicited on social media, Joan River backtracked and blamed the media of taking her statements out of context.

Taroudant - French Prime Minister, Manuel Valls, does not seem to know the name of one of his ministers, namely Myriam El Khomri, State Secretary to the Minister for Urban Affairs, Youth and Sports, Responsible for Urban Policy, who is originally from Morocco.

The name of the Moroccan minister has been mispronounced by the Prime Minister as Myriam El Kahoui, meaning brown color in Moroccan Arabic.

The mispronunciation of the name of Elkhommri occurred during an interview of the Prime Minister on August 26 on France2 TV, about the diversity of the new government he had just presented.

The appointment of El Khomri adds to the other Moroccan-born Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, who has been appointed Minister of National Education, Higher Education and Research in the newly formed French government.

During the interview, the French Prime Minister said that Myriam El Khomri and Najat Belkacem represent the diversity, the reality and the strength of France.

Rabat - Moroccan physician Rajae Ghanimi was elected on Saturday in the British capital as the best Arab medical doctor in the world.

Ghanimi is the first Arab in the world to claim such title. The Moroccan physician was nominated for the prize by the London-based Arabs Group, a private group that encourages and rewards Arab talents who stand out in the fields of science, architecture & Design, arts, tourism industry, TV, music and marketing.

Rajae Ghanimi is a physician and expert in health insurance. She holds a degree in medicine from Rabat’s Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, as well as a certificate of training from the Regional Health Insurance Fund in Lille, France.

 Ghanimi is currently doctor controller within a leading organization in insurance in Morocco, a position she holds since 2006. She is the first doctor mediator in Morocco, a diploma that was awarded to her by the American institution “The World Justice Project” in collaboration with the International Centre of Mediation and Arbitration (CIMAR) and University Hassan I of Oujda.

She is the author of the book "Le lymphoma malin non hodgkinien primitive du rectum.” She is very active at the associative level.

Marrakech - Franck Keller, a French UMP Counselor for Neuilly-sur-Seine, may regret his comments on Twitter regarding Najat Vallaud-Bellakcem, the Minister of Education, on 31 August.

"What assets [has she] used to convince Hollande to appoint her to a large department" he tweeted. He removed the post, but not before screen captures were taken and several outraged tweets reacted against his comments. In an interview, he said he condemned sexism and racism. His comments were not kind to President Hollande either. Najat Vallaud Belkacem wants to force Twitter to remove hate speech. Perhaps now she might get her chance.

Pourquoi avoir supprimé votre tweet @keller_franck ? On n'assume plus ? pic.twitter.com/zCvIiadWqY — Lucie B. (@LucieBacon) August 31, 2014

In fact, Najat Vallaud-Belkacem is a French Moroccan politician well qualified for her ministerial position. Born in Bni Chiker in Nador, Morocco, in 1982 she moved with her family to France and settled in Amiens. She completed her education at the Paris Institute of Political Studies in 2002. She married Boris Vallaud in 2005. She joined the Socialist Party in 2002, and worked for the mayor of Lyon in 2003 on social issues. Elected to the Regional Council of Rhone-Alpes in 2004, she chaired the Culture Commission, resigning in 2008. In 2005, she became an adviser for the Socialist Party.

In February 2007, she worked for Ségolène Royal’s as a spokesperson. President François Hollande appointed her as Minister of Women’s Rights and Government spokeswoman in May 2012. She was recently appointed as Minister of National Education, Higher Education, and Research in the new cabinet of Manuel Valls, who said that “Myriam El Khomri (State Secretary to the Minister for Urban Affairs, Youth and Sports, Responsible for Urban Policy) and Najat Belkacem represent the diversity, the reality, and the strength of France.”

More than that, they represent the thousands of young Moroccans who have made their lives in France, taking French citizenship. They attend major French universities, have passed the necessary French exams, and worked hard gaining the necessary experience to attain high office and being elected to top positions, as Najat Vallaud-Belokacem’s exemplary career and remarkable achievements at the age of 36 show. She is one of many who deserve better from their fellow Frenchmen. There is a clear prejudice against women and young people who are successful in France. Reactionary elements in France should stand by the Republic’s principles of "Freedom, equality, brotherhood" for a fairer society.

It is by individual enterprise, rather than State bureaucracy giving jobs to unproductive officials, that France’s wilting economy will be saved. The Socialist government may not have the answers to the economic problems, but it has adhered to the principles of promoting young people and women in their government, and this is to their credit.