Latest Morocco News

The scent of orange blossoms is bringing the world to a spring tradition in Morocco

Mar. 25, 2024 19:46 PM EDT

RABAT, Morocco (AP) — Orange blossoms are among Morocco’s quintessential fragrances. Moroccan women are welcoming spring by collecting the waxy white blossoms in copper pots used to distill the scent that's folded into honey-laden pastries, sprinkled on mint tea and used in religious ceremonies...

A Moroccan town protests water management plans

Mar. 22, 2024 08:23 AM EDT

RABAT, Morocco (AP) — Regional and local leaders in eastern Morocco met this week with residents and civil society groups after months of protests over a water management plan set to take effect later this year. Thousands in the town of Figuig stopped paying water bills and have...

EU legal adviser backs cancellation of EU-Morocco fishing agreement over disputed Western Sahara

Mar. 21, 2024 17:04 PM EDT

RABAT, Morocco (AP) — A legal adviser to the European Union’s top court recommended Thursday that it annul an agreement with Morocco which would have allowed European boats to fish off the disputed Western Sahara 's coast. The adviser said the agreement didn't fully take into...

Spanish police arrest 3 people over the deaths of 5 migrants forced out of a smugglers' boat

Mar. 18, 2024 09:03 AM EDT

MADRID (AP) — Spanish police have arrested three people for the deaths last November of five migrants who were threatened with a machete and forced to jump off the boat they were traveling in with dozens of other migrants, authorities said Monday. According to a police statement,...

To save water, drought-hit Morocco is closing its famous public baths three days a week

Mar. 07, 2024 19:44 PM EST

RABAT, Morocco (AP) — For years, Fatima Mhattar has welcomed shopkeepers, students, bankers and retirees to Hammam El Majd, a public bath on the outskirts of Morocco's capital, Rabat. For a handful of change, they relax in a haze of steam then are scrubbed down and rinsed off alongside their...

The world is becoming less safe by the day, warns the UN secretary general

Feb. 26, 2024 17:53 PM EST

GENEVA (AP) — U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says combatants in places such as Congo, Gaza, Myanmar, Ukraine and Sudan are turning a “blind eye” to international law as he made a plea for greater respect for human rights and peace around the world. Speaking as the...

Spain’s prime minister meets with Morocco’s king and discusses migration and the Israel-Hamas war

Feb. 21, 2024 16:02 PM EST

RABAT, Morocco (AP) — Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez met with Moroccan King Mohammed VI on Wednesday, lauding cooperation on managing migration. Sánchez also reiterated Spain's position in support of Morocco’s autonomy plan regarding the disputed Western Sahara and called...

Morocco intercepts a boat with 141 people as African migrants increasingly attempt to reach Spain

Feb. 19, 2024 06:15 AM EST

RABAT, Morocco (AP) — The Moroccan navy said it intercepted 141 people attempting to traverse the Atlantic Ocean as migration from West Africa to Spain's Canary Islands has spiked since the beginning of the year. Morocco's Royal Armed Forces said in a statement Sunday it was able...

Spanish runner Katir provisionally suspended on allegation he failed to be available for drug test

Feb. 07, 2024 17:57 PM EST

MADRID (AP) — Spanish long-distance runner Mo Katir, a world championship silver medalist, has been provisionally suspended on accusations he failed to make himself available for out-of-competition drug testing. The Athletics Integrity Unit said Wednesday he faces an allegation of...

Moroccan authorities plan new laws to combat art forgeries in growing market

Feb. 05, 2024 17:40 PM EST

RABAT, Morocco (AP) — Morocco is planning on passing new laws and strengthening penalties to combat art forgeries in order to protect a multimillion dollar art market that officials believe will continue to grow. The North African nation's chief prosecutor on Monday kicked off a...