Morocco: News Briefs- #1.

Moroccan News Briefs published in The View From Fez draw on open source material, contributions from readers, as well as material from Maghreb Arabe Presse (MAP), Morocco Times and official Moroccan Government press releases.

CAVE-IN AT 2M

The second Moroccan national channel 2M has produced ‘one thousand and one cave' documentary serial, to inform viewers about caves in Morocco.

The Moroccan extraordinary landscapes attracted the attention of journalists to shoot and broadcast a scientific documentary serial, bringing the viewers closer to the secrets of Cavernology.

The documentary also tends to inform viewers about the causes and circumstances of the formation of caves in many areas in Morocco.


DUTCH KASBAH

Princess Lalla Meryem, sister of king Mohammed VI, presided over the opening ceremony of the Maroc-Plus International Fair in the southwestern Dutch city of Rotterdam.

Organised as part of the celebration of the four hundredth anniversary of Moroccan-Dutch relations, the five-day fair includes diversified exhibitions meant to better communicate with the Dutch people.

Over 200 exhibitors are scheduled to take part in the fair, at the centre of which a “Kasbah-Market” has been erected in the form of a Moroccan traditional market.

The program of the fair also includes a seminar on promoting tourism, a symposium on women heads of businesses, as well as debates on Morocco's new Family Code.


RISE IN MOROCCAN AIDS CASES

As the globe marks the World AIDS Day on Dec. 1, new HIV infections have surged in Morocco making the number of full-blown AIDS cases reach 1839. The Moroccan Ministry of Health said the number of HIV positive in the country ranges between 16,000 and 25,000.

Today, in Morocco and worldwide, women are at the highest risk for contracting HIV/AIDS. In 1988 the percentage of Moroccan women living with AIDS was 8 %; in 2005 the number has increased to 38 %.

Among the HIV-positive Moroccan women, 65 % have been infected by their husbands. The majority of these women were virgins at the time of their marriage and, on average, ten years younger than their husbands. They are primarily illiterate and unskilled workers or housewives.

Aware of the danger of AIDS, Morocco has declared the fight against it a national cause. 2M channel along with the ALCS (Association Marocaine Contre le SIDA) joined in forces to organize the biggest ever communication campaign against AIDS, called Sidaction Maroc 2005 from Dec. 2 to 15.

Tags: Morocco, Fès, travel, AIDS