Moroccan king rules out reform

Morocco’s King Mohammed said he will not cede to “demagoguery” a day after thousands of Moroccans took to the street to demand he gives up some of his powers to a newly elected government.

The monarch, speaking after he chaired a ceremony for long-awaited appointments of members of a Social and Economic Council, said that building an effective democracy should go hand in hand with sustainable human development.

Meanwhile, five bodies were discovered in a bank set ablaze in in the northern town of Hoceima on the sidelines of one of many demonstrations calling for change around the country, the interior ministry said today.