Bronzetti won the final in three sets, 6-4, 5-7, 7-5.

In the semi-finals, the Italian, ranked 102nd in the world, beat American Sloane Stephens, seeded No.1, 6-1, 6-1. For her part, Grabher, ranked 74th in the world, eliminated Argentina's Julia Riera (6-1, 3-6, 7-6).

Morocco, which has deep-rooted fraternal ties with the Republic of Sudan, is confident in the ability and wisdom of the Sudanese people and their various components to reach the necessary compromises to strengthen the foundations of a political process that preserves the security and stability of their country and meets their development needs, stressed the Minister, who was speaking at a meeting of the African Union Peace and Security Council, held by video conference at the level of Heads of State and Government, on the situation in Sudan.

For Morocco, the first key to a political solution lies in building mutual trust between the brothers and initiating a fruitful dialogue to achieve a lasting peace that guarantees the brotherly Sudanese people security, stability and prosperity, insisted Bourita.

In this context, the Kingdom of Morocco expresses its satisfaction with the fruitful steps taken by the conflicting parties at the Jeddah meetings with Saudi and American mediation to facilitate the delivery of relief aid to the Sudanese people, and with the ceasefire agreement of May 20, 2023, with the establishment of an international mechanism to monitor its observance, and "which we hope will enable the movement of civilians and the arrival of aid", noted the Minister.

The ceasefire agreement is a good, positive step that needs to be consolidated as a basis, the Minister added, stressing the need for intensified and coordinated diplomatic efforts by brotherly and friendly countries and international and regional organizations involved in supporting stability in Sudan to strengthen confidence-building measures and protect the potential of the Sudanese people.

On this basis, it would be appropriate to examine the possibility of dispatching a mission from the Peace and Security Council to Sudan as soon as possible for discussions with the Sudanese parties on how to resolve this crisis, the Minister stressed.

Today's meeting of the African Union's Peace and Security Council is a message of hope to the Sudanese people, showing that the African Union, which has been involved in the tripartite mechanism (the United Nations, the African Union and IGAD) to find a comprehensive and accepted solution to the Sudanese crisis since its inception, is continuing its good offices with the same determination to make peace in Sudan a living reality, said Bourita.

Regarding the emergency de-escalation plan for the current crisis in Sudan, which is in line with paragraph 10 of the declaration of the extraordinary ministerial meeting on Sudan (April 20), the Kingdom of Morocco considers that this plan constitutes a platform for resolving the crisis, while taking into account the added value of the initiative of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United States of America and the positive results of the Jeddah process, as well as the efforts of the tripartite mechanism, while welcoming the desired complementarity between these initiatives, the Minister affirmed.

Morocco calls for this crisis to be confined to the national Sudanese context, and for foreign intervention in the internal affairs of the united country to be prohibited, thus avoiding an escalation of the conflict and a threat to regional peace and security, reiterated the Minister, adding that the current stage calls for joint efforts to support brotherly Sudan and help it reach the expected political solution, which will enable the country to emerge from its current crisis and regain its role as a regional and continental player.

In the beginning of his speech, the Minister deplored the loss of life and material damage caused by the clashes, calling for intensified good offices and efforts to support the peace process in Sudan and preserve its territorial integrity and national sovereignty in order to strengthen peace and stability in the region.

In a statement to the press at the end of the ministerial meeting of the African Union's (AU) Specialized Technical Committee (STC) on Youth, Culture and Sports, Bensaid stressed that the Sovereign has consistently urged the Moroccan government and AU bodies to give greater prominence to youth issues.

The ministerial meeting provided an opportunity to exchange views on the issue of youth in Africa, as well as on the role of culture and the cultural industry in particular, said the Minister.

The meeting congratulated Morocco on the fact of hosting the headquarters of the Pan-African Youth Union, he said, noting that the Kingdom is playing a pioneering role in bringing together this union made up of the presidents of Youth Advisory Councils, which are constitutional institutions in African states.

During the meeting, the African Union Ministers of Youth, Culture and Sport also recommended the renewal of relations between the Pan-African Youth Union and the African Union Commission, through a memorandum of understanding.

Speaking at the meeting, Bensaid stressed that this recommendation would consolidate the Kingdom's vision of youth issues under the enlightened leadership of HM King Mohammed VI, strengthen the presence of African youth at international level and develop their expertise.

The awards were handed to the winners at a ceremony on Friday. Thomas Cailley's "Le Règne animal" opened this year's section, which ended on a high note with a screening of Alex Lutz's "Une nuit".

Chaired by American actor John C. Reilly, the Jury included French director and screenwriter Alice Winocour, German actress Paula Beer, French-Cambodian director and producer Davy Chou, and Belgian actress Émilie Dequenne.

The meeting was organized by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Morocco and Mauritania, on the sidelines of the 32nd Session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice.

Speaking at this side-event, the ambassador, permanent representative of the Kingdom of Morocco in Vienna, Azzeddine Farhane, emphasized the context and relevance of this successful meeting.

"The experiences of female religious advisors, particularly in Mauritania and Morocco, two neighboring countries and partners in North Africa that promote the Maliki Islamic school of moderation and tolerance, deserve to be highlighted and encouraged," he said, detailing the significant contribution of mourchidates to efforts to combat violent extremism, radicalization and hate speech.

The Sahel region has seen a dramatic upsurge in terrorism and violent extremism in recent years, noted Farhane, adding that Morocco and Mauritania have an important role to play in the fight against terrorism and violent extremism in this region, given the "religious influence" that the two partner countries continue to exert in the Sahel.

Morocco's commitment to combating violent extremism, radicalization and hate speech is strongly supported by His Majesty King Mohammed VI, Commander of the Faithful.

The Ministers of Youth, Culture and Sports of the African Union also recommended the renewal of relations between the Pan-African Youth Union and the African Union Commission, through a memorandum of understanding.

Morocco was represented at this session by a delegation led by the Minister of Youth, Culture and Communication, Mohammed Mehdi Bensaid, in the presence of the Kingdom's ambassador and permanent representative to the African Union and UNECA, Mohamed Arrouchi.
 

Addressing the ministerial session, Mr. Miraoui emphasized the importance Morocco attaches to the fields of science and technology under the enlightened leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI.

In this regard, he recalled the High Royal Orientations regarding stronger cooperation between member countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in these fields to turn them into key vectors for sustainable and sustained development.

Mr. Miraoui also stressed the importance of promoting scientific research and innovation in several key areas, including artificial intelligence, industry 4.0, sustainable agriculture, health, and water security.

These areas are at the core of the National Plan to Accelerate the Transformation of the Higher Education, Scientific Research, and Innovation Ecosystem.

During the official session, the Ministerial Commission approved the agenda of the OIC-15 dialogue platform, which was drawn up by a committee of experts from member countries, including Morocco.

The ministerial session also featured the presentation of the "Cooperation Program of OIC Member States in the Field of Artificial Intelligence" and the adoption of the official document of the OIC-15 Dialogue Platform.

At the end of this session, a bilateral meeting was held between Mr. Miraoui and his Kazakh counterpart, Sayasat Nurbek, focusing on cooperation opportunities between the two parties in areas of common interest and on the levers required to bring them to fruition.

The event was attended by several ministers, ambassadors, and experts from OIC member countries.

The Moroccan delegation to the event included Morocco's ambassador to Kazakhstan, Mohammed Rachid Maaninou, the president of the Ibn Zohr University in Agadir, Abdelaziz Bendou, and Meriem Khalil, chargé de mission in the office of the Minister of Higher Education, Scientific Research, and Innovation.

Speaking at the World Health Assembly, the Secretary General of the Ministry of Health and Social Protection Abdelkrim Meziane Belfkih stressed that Morocco, under the leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, continues to meet the challenges and exploit the opportunities offered by migration and asylum, through its national strategy initiated since 2013.

This strategy constitutes a unique migration management model, backed by the principles of the Constitution and a holistic, multi-sectoral, interdisciplinary and humanist migration policy, which addresses the complexity of the migration issue in a coordinated, convergent and integrated manner, involving all the sectors concerned, and capitalizing on past experience and lessons learned, said Belfkih.

Morocco has had a national agreement since 2015 to ensure medical coverage for migrants and refugees, he recalled, adding that a joint interministerial circular was drawn up in 2017 to strengthen this coverage.

In addition, a National Health and Immigration Strategic Plan 2021-2025 has been drawn up to improve access to preventive services, health promotion and medical care for vulnerable migrants and refugees, while respecting human rights and the principles of equity and solidarity, the Moroccan official added.

Addressing the seminar, held this week in Bali, Indonesia, Hilale expressed the Kingdom's gratitude and appreciation to the overwhelming majority of the members of the Committee of 24 for their support for the Moroccanness of the Sahara and the Autonomy Initiative.

"To those who support the UN political process and the SG's Personal Envoy, Mr. Staffan de Mistura, I reaffirm Morocco's resolute commitment to this process in order to achieve a realistic, pragmatic, lasting and compromise solution to this regional dispute, in accordance with Security Council resolutions, including resolution 2654," he added.

"To those who still talk about decolonization, we tell them that the decolonization of the Moroccan Sahara is over. It was completed in 1975 with the Madrid Agreement, which was deposited with the UN Secretary-General and endorsed by the General Assembly the same year", said Hilale, noting that the Sahara issue is a question of the Kingdom's territorial integrity and not of decolonization.

Addressing those who advocate self-determination and exploit resolution 1514, he called them to account for their culpable silence on other UN resolutions, particularly resolutions 1541 and 2625, which preserve the territorial integrity of States. He denounced a "biased and ideological" reading of the principle of self-determination and of resolution 1514.

The ambassador, Morocco's permanent representative to the UN, also stressed that "territorial integrity takes precedence over the right to self-determination," asserting that "the principle of self-determination is a positive right, which only came into being in 1960, thanks to resolution 1514", whereas the principle of territorial integrity has existed for as long as mankind has existed, since states were founded. "It is therefore a right that has existed for centuries", insisted the ambassador.

Noting that self-determination is not an "à la carte principle”, the diplomat pointed out that “we cannot claim” to apply this principle to one so-called people and deny it to others. International law is universal and must apply to all, he insisted.

Responding to the Algerian diplomat's insidious question about the "obstacles" to a political settlement of the Moroccan Sahara issue, Hilale noted that Morocco has always supported the political process and the UN SG's Personal Envoy, and accepted the Security Council's resolutions.

In his reply, the Moroccan ambassador confronted his Algerian counterpart: "Who officially rejects the Security Council resolutions? Who refuses to return to the round-table process? Who objects to the census of the Tindouf camps' populations? Who shelters on its territory a separatist group armed against its neighboring country? Who denies the principle of good neighborliness? Who refuses the peaceful settlement of disputes through dialogue advocated by the United Nations Charter?".

Hilale also expressed his fervent hope that this bilateral dispute could be settled within the framework of the UN political process supported by the international community, stressing that the Moroccan autonomy initiative is the only solution to this artificial conflict, which "will enable our brothers and sisters in the Tindouf camps to return to their motherland, Morocco.”

Agreeing with one speaker that the question of the Moroccan Sahara should no longer be discussed within the framework of the C24, the ambassador pointed out that the Security Council does not consider it a question of decolonization, but of peace and security, within the framework of Chapter VI of the United Nations Charter.

He recalled that Article 12 of this Charter requires the General Assembly and its subsidiary bodies, including the 4th Committee and C24, to refrain from intervening on any subject when it is under consideration by the Security Council. This is currently the case for the Moroccan Sahara.

The diplomat also recalled that the question of the Moroccan Sahara is a political dispute to which Algeria is a party, which is why Algeria is mentioned five times in the latest Security Council resolutions.

This dispute will be settled when Algeria returns to the round table, in accordance with resolution 2654, and with full respect for the Kingdom's territorial integrity.

Reacting to the Algerian ambassador's truncated remarks on Morocco's compliance with its commitments to resolve the dispute, Hilale pointed out that the Kingdom had always honored its commitments to settle the dispute within the framework of dialogue between Morocco and Algeria.

In this context, he recalled that His Majesty King Mohammed VI had, on several occasions, extended his hand to His brother the Algerian President to discuss, without conditions, all bilateral issues, from the Moroccan Sahara to the opening of borders that have been closed for more than three decades, as well as sectoral meetings and bilateral cooperation.

"Morocco is always animated by good will, peace, good neighborliness and fraternity", he stressed, expressing the hope that this would soon be possible.

The ambassador concluded by expressing the hope that a virtuous dynamic would be set in motion between the two countries, "because there will be no solution to this dispute without a commitment on the part of the neighboring country, Algeria, to find a solution within the framework of respect for Morocco's territorial integrity and good neighborliness, and ultimately the realization of the dream of the great Arab Maghreb."

In its weekly bulletin on the epidemiological situation covering the period from May 20 to 26, the Ministry reports that the number of people vaccinated for the first time reached 24,922,710, those who received two doses 23,424,524, while 6,884,906 people received three injections of the vaccine and 60,846 received the booster dose.

The new weekly tally of infections brings the total number of contaminations since the first case was reported in Morocco on March 2, 2020 to 1,274,733, with a weekly positivity rate of 11.5%.

New infections were reported in the regions of Rabat-Salé-Kenitra (94), Casablanca-Settat (31), Fez-Meknes (28), Beni Mellal-Khenifra (6), Laayoune-Sakia El Hamra (6), Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima (4), the Oriental (4), Guelmim-Oued Noun (3), Marrakech-Safi (3) and Dakhla-Oued Eddahab (1).

The total number of deaths remains at 16,297 (overall case-fatality 1.3%), with zero cases recorded in the last week.

Active cases numbered 318, with three severe or critical cases in all.