Rabat // The co-founder of Morocco’s oldest political party Al Istiqlal, which played a key role in the country’s independence from France and Spain, has died at the age of 92.
M’hamed Boucetta, a three-time minister and chief of Istiqlal for more than two decades, passed away at his home in Rabat on Friday evening after a long illness, the party said on Saturday.
He will be buried on Sunday in his birthplace, the southern city of Marrakesh, it said.
Born in 1925, Boucetta became involved in politics as a student, when Morocco was still under French and Spanish rule.
He studied law at France’s Sorbonne University and set up his own law firm in Casablanca at the age of 25 before going into politics full time.
Istiqlal, which means independence, played a major role in Morocco’s independence from colonial rule.
Boucetta was involved in the party since its formation in the 1940s, and elected secretary general in 1974.
He also served as foreign minister in the early 1980s before quitting Istiqlal’s top post in 1998, and held two other cabinet portfolios.
Nationalist and conservative, Istiqlal dominated Morocco’s political life until 2011, when the Islamist Justice and Development Party won general elections following Arab Spring-inspired demonstrations.
Istiqlal came third in legislative elections last year.
* Agence France-Presse
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ESSENTIALS
The flights
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What is Diwali?
The Hindu festival is at once a celebration of the autumn harvest and the triumph of good over evil, as outlined in the Ramayana.
According to the Sanskrit epic, penned by the sage Valmiki, Diwali marks the time that the exiled king Rama – a mortal with superhuman powers – returned home to the city of Ayodhya with his wife Sita and brother Lakshman, after vanquishing the 10-headed demon Ravana and conquering his kingdom of Lanka. The people of Ayodhya are believed to have lit thousands of earthen lamps to illuminate the city and to guide the royal family home.
In its current iteration, Diwali is celebrated with a puja to welcome the goodness of prosperity Lakshmi (an incarnation of Sita) into the home, which is decorated with diyas (oil lamps) or fairy lights and rangoli designs with coloured powder. Fireworks light up the sky in some parts of the word, and sweetmeats are made (or bought) by most households. It is customary to get new clothes stitched, and visit friends and family to exchange gifts and greetings.
Mina Cup winners
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Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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Boost Defenders 205-5 in 20 overs
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Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
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Favourite book: Science and geology
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Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
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Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
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Wednesday April 24: Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship, 11am-6pm
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Friday April 26: Finals, 3-6pm
Saturday April 27: Awards ceremony, 4pm and 8pm
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