Venezuelan economist and musician Jose Antonio Abreu received the Seoul Peace Prize on Wednesday for his achievements in bringing music to young people.

Judges praised Abreu for devoting himself through his "El Sistema" music education programme to saving youngsters exposed to drugs, crime and violence.

Morocco will shut more than 1,000 unsafe mosques in a bid to avoid a repeat of a minaret collapse in February that killed 41 people, the ministry of religious affairs said Tuesday.

"The regional commissions (of the ministry) have inspected 19,205 mosques and decided to completely close 1,256 mosques and partially close 416 mosques," the ministry said in a statement.