Magharebia

Washington hopes to boost security co-operation with Algeria in view of Algeria's lead role in fighting terrorism, according to US Africa Command head General William Ward.

Moroccans had the chance last week to contribute to a charity drive to build more professional training centres for the underprivileged.

Access to the arts should be a "basic right" for all Moroccans, not a luxury, according to Morocco's minister of culture, Bensalem Himmich.

Government officials and labour leaders have signed an agreement to restart negotiations over teachers' salaries and benefits.

Journalists and security experts are lauding government moves to stop terrorists from dominating Mauritania's troubled northern deserts.

After crashing out of the 2010 World Cup qualifiers, the Carthage Eagles have sacked Humberto Coelho and hired veteran coach Faouzi Benzarti.

Facing tough competition for places in university programmes, Moroccans are looking to foreign institutions to pursue their higher education.

Each year in Rabat, the diplomatic community hosts a bazaar to raise money for projects throughout Morocco.

"It's not fair to deny any young Maghreb man or woman the chance to participate in the contest," a Nessma TV executive said of plans to delay Star Academy Maghreb.

Coping with high unemployment rates will require more jobs and simpler migration controls, say experts who met in Tunis last week to discuss employment issues in the Mediterranean basin.

Fan violence and rumours from the crucial World Cup match in Sudan are causing diplomatic stress between Algeria and Egypt.

The Arab world should unite around a strategy to create jobs for young people, said participants at a recent Algiers conference.

Own goals and draws marked the 9th round of GNF1 play, as El Jadida held onto its championship dreams despite an unimpressive showing against MAT.

Journalist Taoufik Ben Brik, facing what his defenders claim are politically motivated charges stemming from his criticism of Tunisian government, will learn his fate this week.

Independence celebrations took on a muted tone as football and approaching holidays pre-occupy many Moroccans.

Algerian militants who fought in Iraq are joining AQIM upon their return, warn Algerian security experts.

Algeria's directors, who have earned honours at this year's Cairo International Film Festival, are drawing both fire and praise for tolerating dialogue with a local flavour.

Fennecs fans rejoiced after Antar Yahia slotted the only goal in the World Cup qualifier playoff between Algeria and Egypt.

The Opus Foundation recently honoured grass-roots activist Aicha Ech-Chenna for her work to help Moroccan single mothers achieve dignity and self-sufficiency.

Writing his own songs has brought Studio 2M judge Karim Tadlawi a new appreciation for Morocco's home-grown musical masterpieces.

New projects to promote leadership roles for women will strengthen democracy, according to ministers from Mediterranean countries who met recently in Marrakech.

Professionals in the cinematic arts met in Rabat to explore the ways film contributes to human rights awareness.

"Dawaha" ("The Secrets"), the latest film from Tunisian film-maker Raja Ammari, gripped the 33rd Cairo International Film Festival with a tale of friendship, family and violence.

This year's Carthage Theatre Days are in full swing, with performances from across the Arab world and Africa.

Tunisia's Carthage Eagles found themselves in a swan dive on Saturday when Mozambique's Dario netted a goal that cost them their World Cup hopes.

A dreary performance against Cameroon on Saturday dashed Morocco's hopes for a shot at the World Cup.

The only way Algeria could have failed to clinch their World Cup slot in Cairo on Saturday was if Egypt won by a 2-goal margin. The Pharaohs' surprise shutout forces the Greens into a playoff next week.

The Moroccan government says a draft law is in the works to extend insurance payments to the unemployed.

Amid signs that some fans are out of hand, diplomats and sport officials are urging Algerians and Egyptians alike to be civil and peaceful as the Cairo World Cup qualifier approaches.

Returning from a year's play in the UAE, Raja Casablanca striker Soufiane Alloudi vows to raise the level of play in the Moroccan Premier League.

Cairo's streets are flooded with Greens supporters and Pharaohs fans, all of them eager to see the outcome of the critical November 14th World Cup qualifier.

While Morocco's human development projects have gained ground, a recent study found that local efforts could benefit from more participation by women and young people.

Algerian teams are on the alert for locust infiltration in the country's southern areas, and other personnel will collaborate with colleagues in Mauritania to stamp out the destructive insects.

A new governmental body must be created to negotiate the price of medicines, according to a recent report by a committee of the Moroccan Parliament.

New distribution rules prompted three Tunisian opposition parties cease circulation for a week, to protest what they perceive as media repression by authorities.

Officials urge parents not to worry as incidents of flu rise throughout schools.

With deaths from car accidents soaring in Algeria, authorities are looking to curb the crashes caused by faulty spare parts by banning imports from anywhere but the most reliable sources.

Dozens of trade unionists imprisoned for protesting working conditions in Tunisia's Gafsa mining basin have been released following a pardon from President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

Algeria will take its fight against paying ransoms to terrorists to the global level by introducing a UN resolution.

The impending Algeria vs. Egypt match has galvanised entrepreneurs in Algeria, who are making a quick sell of souvenirs and regalia of the national team.

Tapping sunlight for power may allow Morocco to spark economic development, cut its reliance on foreign energy sources, and safeguard the environment.

Top government officials from G-8 and MENA states met with other international delegates in Morocco to discuss pressing regional and global issues.

As radical groups in Somalia grow in power, new concerns are mounting in the Maghreb about how to keep young people from adopting extremist ideologies.

Morocco has earned the recognition of the Union of Arab Women Investors for its support for businesswomen.

The Ministry of Health has unveiled a project to build 14 cancer treatment centres to help treat the staggering number of Algerians diagnosed with the disease each year.

Tunisian authorities are charging Taoufik Ben Brik, a journalist and critic of the government, with committing crimes ranging from defamation to assault.

Unions representing Algeria's educators and public health workers will hit the streets starting November 8th to voice demands for a better and retroactively-applied pay scale.

Fed up with overcrowded classrooms and other problems in public schools, several Moroccan teachers' unions held a strike on October 29th.

Prison terms and hefty fines loom over two journalists after judges decided their cartoon was insulting to the Moroccan flag and a member of the royal family.

Jeunesse Massira's Amine Trafah stunned the crowd with a hat trick, as Difaa El Jadida snatched a victory from Wydad Fes to maintain its hold on the Moroccan Premier League's top spot.