Morocco

The singing competition The Voice is coming to the Arab world, with scouts scouring the region for talent.

The fifth episode of Arabs Got Talent (AGT) was the penultimate of the recorded auditions to qualify for the live semi finals. It was marked by a good deal of talent and was not short on comedic elements to lighten the intensity of the competition either.

The Arab variety show that is Arabs Got Talent is finding its stride by the 4th episode, gearing up for the 5th which promises yet more surprise factor if the second season's drama is anything to go by.

Reports are rife of Lebanese singer Elissa rudely kicking the fans and entourage of Iraqi singer Shatha Hassoun out of the Amman hotel in which both stars stayed in Jordan. Shatha protests Elissa's innocence.

From Jordan, through Morocco, Sudan and Saudi Arabia, here are some of the highlights of last week's 3rd episode of Arabs Got Talent. From the judges side though, while mildly entertaining, it's more a case of "Still haven't found what I'm looking for."

The final show-down for Arab Idol was not without all the drama and Arab sentiment that such a show fittingly warrants. Egypt's deserving winner was Carmen Suleiman. Here is a round-up of the best bits in pictures.

Here are some reminders of the talking points, ahead of today's final showing of Arab Idol.

Morocco's sleepy awakening could be about to get its caffeine fix and join in the revolution of its North African brothers and Levant rebels.

At the end of 2011, the number of credit cards in circulation in Morocco rose by 13.6 percent compared to 2010, reaching 8 million cards issued,

The Moroccan tourism sector remained stable in 2011 in spite of the Arab Spring and the instability it has created.

Firmly into 2012, how are the Arab revolutions developing? We check in with some of the Arab protest pictures to gauge to what extent they have reached revolution saturation, or on the contrary are just getting started.

The latest happenings from the celebrity circles of the Middle East in pictures and words!

Here's a look back at some of the year's bizarre and controversial fatwas. Weird is the word! Some are a source for debate, others an invitation for mockery or bashing, and still others, fit into a class of their own as 'bogus' fatwas. Like the Saudi Muslim Sheikh who tried to ban an airport on account of its phallic design...

A run-down of the top predictions from the prominent men and women in their field of regional 'predicting' and fore-casting. These Arabian 'predictors', primarily for the Arab world but also for the global future, share some of their ominous foresights for the year ahead.

As expected, the King of Morocco appointed on Tuesday the members of the new government following the win of Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD) in elections held late November.

As the year comes to close, many are relieved that a year of stormy clouds and unabated anger is behind us. Things can only get better or is there still worse to come? In 2011, it turned out that we could not forecast the range of violent weather, nor could we predict the rage of people. From the Gulf to the Caucuses, and from the USA to Japan the world felt pain in 2011.

The Central Bank of Morocco expects an economic growth of 4% to 5% next year.

Since the outset of this year, small French and Spanish firms have raided the Moroccan market.

The turnout at the first parliamentary elections in Morocco following the approval of a new constitution in July reached 45%

The 2012 fiscal law may be ready before the early legislative elections which are expected to take place on 25 November.

Morocco's interior minister declared early legislative elections have been scheduled for Nov. 25.

As the Muslim world welcomes Ramadan 2011, set to start early next week, we wait with baited breath to see if the world will witness a time of peace and thanksgiving in the Middle East or an escalation in the unrest.

A Moroccan military transport plane crashed Tuesday in a mountainous southern region, the information ministry said.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the American foundation founded by billionaire Bill Gates, launched an initiative to reinvent toilets.

Morocco's holiday home market was decimated by regional events, leaving several large-scale developments stalled.

This summer, thousands of Moroccan families are visiting loan companies and specialized financing institutions to take loans for travel and vacations.

A new constitution which was introduced last month by Morocco’s King Mohammed VI was approved by 98 percent of voters in a referendum Friday.

Morocco's King Mohammed VI declared a series of Constitutional reforms in a speech on Friday night .

Shakira seduced by Arab Spring, goes back to Arab roots to sing: Shakira seeks to celebrate her 'Lebo-Syrian' roots - recently feeling inspired while performing in Morocco after her tour through the Emirates and Lebanon, Shakira expressed her keen desire to fast-track her Arabic learning in order to sing some Arabic singles, if not albums.

Word on the Arab street, when not debating the latest on the Arab revolutions, and the state of catastrophe in Yemen or Libya or Syria, has turned to the new bid to expand the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Scrutiny lies with the two potential new candidates for entry into this Gulf state league, namely Jordan and Morocco. The twitter-sphere is buzzing (or tweeting) with humorous remarks, as well as more grave concerns around the implications of such a shift, for both sides of the equation: the new members and the former block.