Morocco government
FILE - In this Aug. 5, 2021, file photo, an empty Swanston Street is seen at night in the Central Business District as lockdown due to the continuing spread of COVID-19 prepares to start in Melbourne. Melbourne, the city that was once Australia’s worst COVID-19 hot spot has announced a seven-day lockdown, its fourth since the pandemic began. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake, File)
The Latest: W Virginia steps up prizes for vaccination

By The Associated Press May. 27, 2021 01:43 AM EDT

Badreddine, left, 22, Salah, center, 22 and Hosam, 24, pose for a photo as they wait for a chance to cross to the Spanish enclave of Ceuta from the northern town of Fnideq, Morocco, Thursday, May 20, 2021. An extraordinary surge of migrants seeking to leave Morocco for Spain this week has left the border town suffering under the strain. “We will keep trying. We will find one way or another, even if the ocean turns into ice!” said 27-year-old Badreddine. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
Migrant surge on Spain-Morocco border brings more suffering

By Mosa'ab Elshamy May. 21, 2021 02:21 AM EDT

FILE - In this file image made from video on Feb. 27, 2021, Brahim Ghali, leader of the pro-independence Polisario Front speaks to a crowd in Tindouf, Algeria. Ghali, the leader of an Algeria-backed movement fighting for the independence of Western Sahara, was admitted to a hospital in northern Spain last month. His presence under a disguised identity didn’t go unnoticed to the government in Morocco, the country that annexed the northwestern African territory nearly half a century ago. (AP Photo, file)
An ailing Sahrawi leader shakes Spain and Morocco's alliance

By Aritz Parra May. 20, 2021 12:11 PM EDT

The body of a young man covered with an emergency blanket after being recovered by Spanish police from waters near the border between Morocco and Spain's north African enclave of Ceuta, Thursday, May 20, 2021. Thousands of migrants jumped or swam around a border fence to reach European soil this week after Morocco loosened its border patrols. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
Spain, Morocco turn focus to young migrants stuck at border

By Mosa'ab Elshamy And Renata Brito May. 20, 2021 07:00 AM EDT

A Spanish civil guard wait for migrants to arrive at the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, near the border of Morocco and Spain, Wednesday, May 19, 2021. Spanish officials are acknowledging for the first time that the unprecedented migrant crisis has been triggered by an angry Rabat at Madrid's decision to provide medical treatment to the militant boss of the Polisario Front. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
Uncertainty greets weary migrants in Spain's African enclave

By Renata Brito, Bernat Armangué, Houda Benalla And Joseph Wilson May. 19, 2021 09:54 AM EDT

Spanish Army soldiers clash with migrants near the border of Morocco and Spain, at the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, on Tuesday, May 18, 2021. Ceuta, a Spanish city of 85,000 in northern Africa, faces a humanitarian crisis after thousands of Moroccans took advantage of relaxed border control in their country to swim or paddle in inflatable boats into European soil. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
Spain, Morocco square off after 8,000 migrants arrive by sea

By Renata Brito And Aritz Parra May. 18, 2021 11:46 AM EDT

Spanish Guardia Civil officer try to stop people from Morocco entering into the Spanish territory at the border of Morocco and Spain, at the Spanish enclave of Ceuta on Monday, May 17, 2021. Authorities in Spain say that around 1,000 Moroccan migrants have crossed into Spanish territory (Antonio Sempere/Europa Press via AP)
Around 3,000 Moroccan migrants cross into Spanish territory

By Aritz Parra And Mosa'ab Elshamy May. 17, 2021 01:46 PM EDT

Morocco scolds Spain over virus help for independence leader

Apr. 25, 2021 10:09 AM EDT
RABAT, Morocco (AP) — Morocco’s Foreign Affairs Ministry summoned the Spanish ambassador Sunday to convey the government’s “regret” over Spain’s decision to...

Workmen in Casablanca, Morocco, Tuesday, April 6, 2021. Moroccan authorities have announced the discovery of a new local variant of the coronavirus and extended an overnight curfew as infections rise again. (AP Photo/Abdeljalil Bounhar)
Morocco imposes Ramadan curfew, despite vaccine success

By Tarik El Barakah Apr. 07, 2021 01:32 PM EDT

A protester helps a woman as security forces disperse a demonstration staged by teachers demanding improved job conditions, in Rabat, Morocco, Tuesday, March 16, 2021. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
Police break up Moroccan teachers' protest for fixed jobs

Mar. 16, 2021 05:31 PM EDT

Morocco approves use of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine

Jan. 06, 2021 04:40 PM EST
RABAT, Morocco (AP) — Morocco has approved the emergency use of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, jointly developed with the U.K.’s Oxford University. ...

FILE - In this Monday, March 16, 2020 file photo, a glass of Moroccan tea is left by a window of a closed down coffee shop, after the Moroccan government announced further restrictions to avoid the spread of coronavirus, including closure of cafes and mosques, in the capital Rabat, Morocco. Morocco has imposed a curfew, closed restaurants in major cities and banned public and private gatherings for three weeks — including the usually festive New Year's Eve — to curb the spread of the virus.The curfew between 9 p.m and 6 a.m went into effect Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2020 and is set to last until Jan. 13. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy, File)
Morocco acquires 65 million vaccine doses from China, UK

By Tarik El Barakah Dec. 25, 2020 12:15 PM EST

People wearing face masks to prevent the spread of coronavirus walks in downtown Rabat, Morocco, Monday, Dec. 7, 2020. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
Morocco to use Chinese vaccine to kick off mass vaccinations

By Tarik El Barakah Dec. 08, 2020 06:38 AM EST

Migrants stand at the Arguineguin port in Gran Canaria island, Spain, after being rescued in the Atlantic Ocean by emergency workers on Thursday, Oct. 12, 2020. Under increasing pressure from the steady build-up of Africans' arrivals to its southern Canary Islands, the Spanish government has launched an all-front offensive, including active diplomacy, to avoid becoming the next black spot on Europe's failing record handling migration flows. (AP Photo/Javier Bauluz)
Spain in diplomatic push over migrant flow to Canary Islands

By Aritz Parra Nov. 20, 2020 12:07 PM EST

US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, left, is received by Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita, right, in Rabat, Morocco, Friday, Oct. 2, 2020. The visit is part of U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper's North Africa tour and is his first visit to Africa as defense secretary. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
US signs 10-year military cooperation deal with Morocco

Oct. 02, 2020 12:17 PM EDT

A young girl waves a Moroccan and a Palestinian flag during a protest against normalizing relations with Israel, in Rabat, Morocco, Friday, Sept. 18, 2020. Despite a government ban on large gatherings aimed at preventing the spread of the coronavirus, scores of Moroccans staged a protest outside parliament building in the capital Rabat on Friday to denounce Arab normalization agreements with Israel. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
Moroccans protest Arab nations normalizing ties with Israel

By Tarik El Barakah Sep. 19, 2020 04:35 AM EDT

Asylum-seekers Kassim Diallo and Yamadou Konaré of Mali walk next to the beach in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain, on Thursday, Aug. 20, 2020. Kassim, 21, said “I risked my life like this because I was so sad. I have too many problems. But it’s not normal. A human being shouldn’t do this. But how else can we do it? It is tough there.” (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Migrants trying to reach Europe pushed to deadly Atlantic

Renata Brito Sep. 02, 2020 02:21 AM EDT

University of Idaho employees Bryanna Muscella, left, and Ryan Robinson wait for their orders on Tuesday, June 16, 2020, at Einstein Bros. Bagels at the Idaho Student Union Building in Moscow, Idaho . The university is starting to reopen this week after being closed because of the coronavirus. (Geoff Crimmins/Moscow-Pullman Daily News via AP)
The Latest: China reports 22 newly confirmed cases of virus

By The Associated Press Jun. 22, 2020 01:41 AM EDT

In this Saturday, May 23, 2020 photo, hundreds of race fans wait in line to purchase tickets at the Ace Speedway on in the rural Alamance County community of Altamahaw near Elon, N.C. North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper’s administration has ordered closed a small stock-car track that’s allowed large crowds to gather repeatedly for weekend races well above COVID-19 limits for mass gatherings. Cooper’s health secretary says Ace Speedway in Alamance County is an “imminent hazard” for the virus' spread and can't reopen unless it creates a safety plan to keep fans away. (Robert Willett/The News & Observer via AP)
The Latest: SKorea requires QR codes at 'high-risk' venues

By The Associated Press Jun. 09, 2020 01:37 AM EDT

'We want to go home': Moroccans stranded by virus seek help

By Amira El-Masaiti May. 11, 2020 01:29 PM EDT
RABAT, Morocco (AP) — Moroccans stranded abroad since their country abruptly grounded flights due to the coronavirus two months ago were holding protests in...