This year’s second and third place winners of the Boston Marathon were both Moroccan!  Although Kenyan Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot won first place, Abderrahime Bouramdane of Fez came in second, with Khalid El Boumlili finishing in third place.  Both men are Olympic hopefuls.

Unfortunately,  no Moroccan women placed in the top group this year.

• Driss Benzekri, a former political prisoner under the Hassan II regime and later, the head of Morocco’s Truth and Reconciliation commission, died on May 21 of stomach cancer at age 57.

• 26 people were arrested at a Morocco-Netherlands youth soccer match after Dutch Moroccan fans threw objects from the stands and rushed the field. There has been a 5-year ban placed on youth matches between the two countries.

• The UN has shut its refugee office in Rabat after sub-Saharan African migrants stormed the building to demand more aid. The UNHCR says there are 600 registered refugees in Morocco, plus nearly 10,000 illegal migrants (BBC News).

• The 11th Arab congress for disaster services opened on Wednesday in Morocco.

• Morocco lengthened prison terms for two activists in Laayoune, Western Sahara. Brahim Sabbar and Ahmed Sbai have already served one year and are being sentenced to another six months.

• Morocco and Saudi Arabia announced the launching of strategic ties which could facilitate major arms purchases in Morocco. Other agreements were made, including one in which Rabat would become a major ally of Riyadh.