Africa: Morocco

A Moroccan health ministry worker disinfects a street in the capital Rabat to combat the spread of coronavirus. By FADEL SENNA (AFP/File)

Morocco to free over 5,000 prisoners to slow virus spread

Apr 5, 2020

Morocco's King Mohammed VI on Sunday pardoned more than 5,600 prisoners and ordered their release in stages to avoid con ...

Moroccans confined at home thank the authorities from their windows as security forces and health workers instruct people to return to and remain at home as a measure against the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, in Rabat's district of Takadoum. By FADEL SENNA (AFP)

Isolation proves tall order for Morocco's poor

Apr 1, 2020

Isolation to keep coronavirus at bay is a tall order for Moroccans like Abdellah, who is supposed to spend days cooped u ...

Health ministry workers (pictured March 22, 2020) disinfect the streets of Rabat, the capital of Morocco, where the government has approved the use of hydroxychloroquine to treat the coronavirus. By FADEL SENNA (AFP/File)

Morocco to roll out antimalarials against coronavi...

Mar 24, 2020

Morocco has authorised hospitals to use antimalarial drugs in treating the new coronavirus, according to a document seen ...

Passengers queue at the Ibn Battuta Airport in Tangiers, Morocco hoping to get a flight out of the country after it suspended links with Europe and other destinations over coronavirus fears. By - (AFP)

Europeans leave Morocco on special flights as regu...

Mar 15, 2020

Several special flights departed Morocco Sunday taking thousands of stranded Europeans home as the kingdom announced it ...

Young Moroccans near the port of Tanger Med say they are determined to reach Spain despite the country being under lockdown due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. By FADEL SENNA (AFP)

Morocco migrants cling to Europe dreams despite vi...

Mar 15, 2020

Abdelwahed sat outside a vast port on the northern tip of Morocco, looking out for trucks heading towards Spain. Despite ...

Tourists flood Morocco airports as flights cut ove...

Mar 15, 2020

Thousands of tourists packed airports in Morocco Sunday hoping to board scarce flights back to Europe after regular air ...

La police marocaine bloque la frontiÃ¨re avec l'enclave espagnole de Ceuta, le 13 mars 2020 Ã Fnideq. By FADEL SENNA (AFP)

Tourists stranded as Morocco links to Europe cut o...

Mar 14, 2020

Tourists were stranded in Morocco on Saturday after the kingdom announced strict border restrictions in response to the ...

Spain's enclaves along the Moroccan coast are the only land borders between Africa and the European Union. By JORGE GUERRERO (AFP)

Morocco suspends travel links with Spain and Franc...

Mar 13, 2020

Morocco suspended air and sea links with France and Spain on Friday as well as closing land borders with two Spanish Nor ...

Morocco's Ait-Ben-Haddou is a UNESCO World Heritage site that has served as the backdrop for numerous movies. By FADEL SENNA (AFP)

Morocco fortress village hopes to draw 'Game of Th...

Feb 18, 2020

Millions worldwide may have seen the desert fortress in the hit fantasy series Game of Thrones , but fewer know they ca ...

Long a buffer against desertification, Morocco's oases have gone through cycles of drought in recent decades and according to Greenpeace are now threated with extinction. By FADEL SENNA (AFP)

Struggling Morocco oasis risks becoming mirage

Feb 14, 2020

Dead palm trees lie on dry, yellowish earth near an abandoned adobe house in Morocco's arid southeast, as drought threat ...

Tourists walk through the ruins of the ancient Roman site of Volubilis, near the Moroccan city of Meknes. By FADEL SENNA (AFP/File)

Record year for Morocco tourism with 13 million vi...

Feb 5, 2020

A record 13 million tourists visited Morocco in 2019, up 5.2 percent from the previous year, official figures showed Wed ...

African migrants Mustapha (C) and his travel companions Ahmed and Omar are hoping to enter the Spanish enclave of Ceuta from Morocco but a clampdown is making the crossing difficult. By FADEL SENNA (AFP)

Morocco border clampdown thwarts Europe-bound migr...

Feb 3, 2020

Mustapha left his home in Guinea two years ago to make the arduous journey to Morocco, hoping to cross the fence separat ...

Fatima el Hanani was a 'mule woman' who crossed every day into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta and returned laden with merchandise. By FADEL SENNA (AFP)

Morocco's long-burdened 'mule women' face new stru...

Feb 2, 2020

After years of back-breaking toil, Fatima el Hanani now fears being reduced to begging in the street because of Morocco' ...

King Mohammed V1, classified by Forbes in 2014 as one of the world's richest men, has a penchant for expensive watches, luxury cars, paintings and yachts. By ludovic MARIN (AFP/File)

Cleaner receives 15 years for stealing Morocco kin...

Jan 25, 2020

A Moroccan court has sentenced a cleaner to 15 years in prison for the theft of dozens of luxury watches belonging to Ki ...

Morocco and Spain discuss Rabat's decision to integrate waters off the disputed Western Sahara into Morocco's maritime territory. By FADEL SENNA (AFP)

Spanish FM in Morocco to discuss maritime borders

Jan 24, 2020

Spanish Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez on Friday acknowledged Morocco's right to chart its territorial waters but s ...

Moroccan King Mohammed VI looks at a painting titled

15 on trial for robbing Morocco king of luxury wat...

Jan 24, 2020

Fifteen people went on trial in the Moroccan capital on Friday over the theft of dozens of luxury watches belonging to K ...

Morocco views Western Sahara, on the Atlantic coast, as part of its territory. By FADEL SENNA (AFP/File)

Morocco adds W. Sahara waters to its maritime terr...

Jan 22, 2020

Morocco on Wednesday integrated waters off the coast of Western Sahara into its maritime territory, adopting two laws th ...