Latest Morocco News

UN envoy proposes partitioning Western Sahara

Oct. 17, 2024 19:15 PM EDT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. envoy to Western Sahara suggested dividing the territory between Morocco and the pro-independence Polisario Front as a way to settle the decades-long conflict. Staffan de Mistura proposed partition as one potential way to satisfy both sides and give...

The head of Mali's military junta appoints himself to the highest rank in the army

Oct. 16, 2024 17:24 PM EDT

BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — The head of the military junta that seized power in Mali in 2020 promoted himself Wednesday to the rank of army general with special title: Colonel Assimi Goita of the land army, the highest military distinction held only by two former heads of state in the country’s...

Morocco's King lauds new allies in Western Sahara dispute after European court ruling

Oct. 11, 2024 19:43 PM EDT

RABAT, Morocco (AP) — King Mohammed VI on Friday reaffirmed that settling sovereignty disputes over the Western Sahara remains the driving force behind Morocco's foreign policy, lauding diplomatic triumphs and framing them as progress toward resolving the decades-long conflict in Morocco's favor....

Water gushes through sand dunes after a rare rainfall in the Sahara desert

Oct. 08, 2024 16:44 PM EDT

RABAT, Morocco (AP) — A rare deluge of rainfall left blue lagoons of water amid the palm trees and sand dunes of the Sahara desert, nourishing some of its driest regions with more water than they had seen in decades. Southeastern Morocco's desert is among the most arid places in...

Pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli crowds rally across the world on the eve of Oct. 7 anniversary

Oct. 06, 2024 17:24 PM EDT

PARIS (AP) — Crowds were participating in pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli protests and memorial events across Europe, North Africa and Asia on Sunday on the eve of the first anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel. Sunday’s events followed massive rallies that took place...

EU fishing and farming deals with Morocco failed to include Western Sahara's consent, top court says

Oct. 04, 2024 13:20 PM EDT

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union’s top court ruled Friday that fisheries and agriculture agreements reached between the bloc and Morocco five years ago failed to include consultations with the people of Western Sahara. Western Sahara sits on the Atlantic coast and has a desert...

Brick by brick, Morocco rebuilds 12th-century mosque destroyed by 2023 earthquake

Sep. 24, 2024 01:09 AM EDT

TINMEL, Morocco (AP) — The hand-carved domes and brick-laid arches had almost all been put back together when an earthquake shook Morocco so violently that they caved in on themselves and crashed to the earth. After nearly 900 years, the Great Mosque of Tinmel lay in pieces —...

Flooding kills more than 20 people in Morocco and Algeria

Sep. 09, 2024 21:48 PM EDT

RABAT, Morocco (AP) — Torrential downpours hit North Africa's normally arid mountains and deserts over the weekend, causing flooding that killed nearly two dozen people in Morocco and Algeria and destroyed homes and critical infrastructure. In Morocco, officials said the two days...

UN rights chief urges voters to beware 'strongman' politicians who 'throw glitter in our eyes'

Sep. 09, 2024 08:42 AM EDT

GENEVA (AP) — The U.N. human rights chief on Monday urged voters to be wary of “strongman” politicians and personalities "that throw glitter in our eyes” as more elections loom in a busy electoral calendar this year. Volker Türk didn't mention leaders or countries by name,...

Rubble and grief: Morocco’s High Atlas marks one year since record earthquake

Sep. 08, 2024 06:35 AM EDT

IMI N'TALA, Morocco (AP) — The rescue crews and bystanders are long gone but the remnants of homes still sit in piles off to the side of the jagged roads. A year after nearly 3,000 people died when a record earthquake shook communities throughout Morocco's High Atlas, it still...