Morocco

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%

At the end of their meeting in Jeddah on Sunday's evening, the foreign ministers of the GCC announced their aid programme for the two countries aspiring to join the Gulf bloc. However, the amount of aid has not been decided and left for the GCC summit in December.

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.

Self-defeating strategies and stunts by Arab nations that cost the Arab world more in damages as well as negative PR than the satellite causes that in themselves probably do not serve the interests of the people, nor for that matter any arguably wider Arab Cause such as Palestine.

Morocco's Minister of Communications Khalid Naciri on Friday hinted to the possibility that al Qaeda is linked to the bombing.

At least 14 people died on Thursday by an explosion in a cafe in the Moroccan city of Marrakesh.

Abdul Ben Amour, President of the Competition Council, confirmed that an amendment to the statute that establishes the Council will give it strength to fight the economic rent.

Arab First Ladies: A Blessing or a Curse for falling leaders: While Arab leaders fall, will their wives be there to catch them? As protests spread like wildfire in the Middle East, the often opulent lives of Arab stately or royal wives are in the spotlight. Who’s footing the bill for the First Ladies expenses? Do they provide a false idealized image of their country, with their good works and initiatives in the arena of development and human rights, when on the ground their husband-led regimes are shunning their so-called progressive values?

Scores of protesters were hurt, some seriously, Sunday during a clash with Moroccan security forces.

Several thousand people rallied peacefully in several Moroccan cities on Sunday demanding political reforms.