Educational reforms, women empowerment: Morocco's weapons against terrorism
New Delhi: Reforms in the traditional education system and empowering women are the two major agendas Morocco is following in its efforts to counter terrorism and radicalisation, a top diplomat of the North African nation has said.
"We still have the problem of dealing with the traditional education system," Assia Ben Salah Alaoui, Ambassador at large for Moroccan King Mohammed VI said in a speech on "Morocco's Security Strategy: Preventing Terrorism and Countering Extremism" organised by the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) think tank here on Wednesday.
She said that families were being engaged to ensure that children were not radicalised at a young age.
Alaoui said that the idea that women and Islam are incompatible, just as democracy and Islam are incompatible, should be revoked. "Women business organisations are being helped in our country," she stated.
According to Aaloui, religion today has become a very minor factor in the radicalisation of people for terrorism. She said that those being targeted were from poor and malnourished backgrounds and were being paid on a monthly basis by the terrorist organisations like the Islamic State.
She said that religion still retains a role in this global menace because of people in Europe.
"These people have lost touch with their culture. They do not know religion, they don't know the origin of their culture," the Ambassador stated. "The terrorists are promising them dreams of going to paradise."
Aaloui said that in her country imams are being trained to propagate moderate Islam. "In Morocco, we have created the Foundation of African Ulema that is working hard to spread moderate Islam."
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Air India, Air India Express to levy fuel surcharge on tickets; airfares to rise
New Delhi (PTI): Airfares are set to rise with Air India and Air India Express deciding to levy a fuel surcharge of Rs 399 on each domestic flight ticket from March 12 and also hike the charge for international bookings due to a steep rise in jet fuel prices amid the Middle East conflict.
The new fuel surcharges will be implemented in a phased manner.
Regretting the need for fuel surcharges, Air India on Tuesday said that without such surcharges, "it is likely that some flights would be unable to cover operating costs and would have to be cancelled".
In the first phase, a fuel surcharge of Rs 399 per domestic flight ticket would be imposed from March 12, and the same will also be applicable for SAARC flights, a statement said on Tuesday.
For West Asia flights, the fuel surcharge will be USD 10 and hiked by USD 30 to USD 90 for Africa flights and by USD 20 to USD 60 for Southeast Asia services.
All these changes will be effective from March 12, including for flights to and from Singapore. Currently, there is no fuel surcharge for Singapore services.
In the second phase, Air India will increase the fuel surcharge by USD 25 to USD 50 for flights to Europe, North America and Australia starting from March 18.
Fuel surcharge for Europe flights will rise to USD 125 from USD 100, and for North America flights, the same will increase from USD 150 to USD 200.
As per the statement, the fuel surcharge for Australia flights will increase from USD 150 to USD 200.
Currently, Air India Express does not levy fuel surcharges on any of its flights.
"Air India group today announced a phased expansion of a fuel surcharge on its domestic and international routes, necessitated by the steep rise in jet fuel prices arising from the geopolitical situation in the Gulf region," the statement said.
Since early March 2026, the statement that Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF), which accounts for nearly 40 per cent of an airline's operating costs, has seen significant price escalation due to supply interruptions.
"In India, this pressure is amplified by high Excise Duty and VAT on ATF in major metro cities such as Delhi and Mumbai, magnifying the cost impact and placing substantial strain on airline operating economics," it said.
For the avoidance of doubt, the statement said that tickets that have already been issued prior to the above times will not attract the new surcharge unless customers seek date or itinerary changes that require a recalculation of the fare.
There was no announcement regarding fuel surcharges from IndiGo, SpiceJet and Akasa Air.
