Morocco: Parliament to Inaugurate Legislative Cycle to Meet Social Demands

File photo of a police officer standing near a Moroccan national flag near the main stadium during preparations for the FIFA Club World Cup in Agadir, December 10, 2013. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
File photo of a police officer standing near a Moroccan national flag near the main stadium during preparations for the FIFA Club World Cup in Agadir, December 10, 2013. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
TT

Morocco: Parliament to Inaugurate Legislative Cycle to Meet Social Demands

File photo of a police officer standing near a Moroccan national flag near the main stadium during preparations for the FIFA Club World Cup in Agadir, December 10, 2013. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
File photo of a police officer standing near a Moroccan national flag near the main stadium during preparations for the FIFA Club World Cup in Agadir, December 10, 2013. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

The Moroccan parliament will inaugurate on Friday its new legislative cycle to meet social demands that have started to pressure the government of Dr. Saadeddine Othmani.

The premier is expected to translate these demands into practical steps in the coming budget, which will be presented to the parliament.

Previously, the two major allies in the government, the Justice and Development Party and the National Rally of Independents, announced that they had set aside their disputes or at least suspended them.

Two weeks ago, the political scene was dominated by both parties launching accusations against each other.

Minister of Youth and Sports Rachid Talbi Alami accused the Justice and Development Party of leading an agenda to sabotage the country so that it could take control of it. These accusations led to divisions and tension among the government.

Meanwhile, the government promised to give the priority to the social policies in the budget 2019 bill through restructuring the social programs and supporting the purchasing power of citizens.

The government is willing to launch a comprehensive restructuring process of programs and national policies in the field of social support and protection.



Hezbollah Chief Pledges to Coordinate with Lebanese Army to Implement Truce

A view of the destruction in the southern Lebanese village of Mais al-Jabal, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 29 November 2024. (EPA)
A view of the destruction in the southern Lebanese village of Mais al-Jabal, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 29 November 2024. (EPA)
TT

Hezbollah Chief Pledges to Coordinate with Lebanese Army to Implement Truce

A view of the destruction in the southern Lebanese village of Mais al-Jabal, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 29 November 2024. (EPA)
A view of the destruction in the southern Lebanese village of Mais al-Jabal, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 29 November 2024. (EPA)

The head of Hezbollah, Sheikh Naim Qassem, pledged on Friday to coordinate closely with the Lebanese army to implement a ceasefire deal with Israel, which he said his group had agreed to "with heads held high".

It was his first address since a ceasefire came into effect on Wednesday after more than a year of hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel that decimated swathes of Lebanon and killed 4,000 people including hundreds of women and children.

Qassem said Hezbollah had "approved the deal, with the resistance strong in the battlefield, and our heads held high with our right to defend (ourselves)."

The ceasefire stipulates that Hezbollah will withdraw from areas south of the Litani river, which runs some 30 km (20 miles) north of the border with Israel, and that the Lebanese army will deploy troops there as Israeli ground troops withdraw.

"There will be high-level coordination between the Resistance (Hezbollah) and the Lebanese army to implement the commitments of the deal," Qassem said.

The Lebanese army has already sent additional troops to the south but is preparing a detailed deployment plan to share with Lebanon's cabinet, security sources and officials have said.

That effort has been complicated by the continuing presence of Israeli troops on Lebanese territory. The deal grants them a full 60 days to complete their withdrawal.

The Israeli military has issued restrictions on people returning to villages along Lebanon's border with Israel and has fired at people in those villages in recent days, calling those movements a violation of the truce.

Both the Lebanese army and Hezbollah have accused Israel of breaching the ceasefire in those instances, and by launching an airstrike above the Litani River on Thursday.

Qassem said the group had scored a "divine victory" against Israel even greater than that declared after the two foes last fought in 2006.

"To those that were betting that Hezbollah would be weakened, we are sorry, their bets have failed," he said.