Ban Ki-Moon, secretary general of the United Nations, is expected to appoint seasoned U.S. diplomat and former U.S. Ambassador to Algeria and Syria Christopher Ross as his personal envoy for the Western Sahara. This appointment will hopefully continue the momentum of the current negotiations process to end the three decades old conflict between Morocco and the Polisario Front, an Algerian-backed rebel movement which has challenged Morocco's historical sovereignty over a Colorado-sized desert territory in North Africa (sometimes referred to as the Western Sahara.)

BRIGHTON, England -- The British government's recent announcement about tackling religious extremism by giving young Muslims "citizenship lessons" among other things is an interesting one. It's easy to sneer at initiatives in the face of the omnipresent threat of Muslim religious extremism worldwide, but Britain is not the only country pursuing such an approach. So too is Morocco, where I live for part of the year.

Emergency laws and the practise of torture overshadowed the political and civil rights reforms that some Arab countries made in 2003, an Egyptian non-governmental organization said recently.

LONDON – Britain has sent a 25-strong special forces team to Saudi Arabia to bolster security at the British embassy and plan a possible mass evacuation of foreigners.

NAIROBI – Sixteen aid workers abducted by rebels in Sudan’s western region of Darfur have been freed by their captors, the United Nations confirmed on Sunday.

SAUDI RULER TO REST AFTER DENTAL SURGERY RIYADH – Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Abdullah Bin Abdel Aziz is to take several days’ rest, after undergoing dental surgery on Wednesday, according to the state press agency.

Morocco promised a “World Cup without risks” in its final presentation to win the right to host the 2010 World Cup, but the pledge was not enough to win the right to host the tournament.