SAM METZ

Posters or actors at the venue where the Marrakech International Film Festival is being held, ahead of the opening ceremony in Marrakech, Morocco, Friday, Nov. 24, 2023. International movie stars arrive in Morocco on Friday to kick off one of the Arab world's largest film festivals amid a shadow cast by Israel's latest war with Hamas and protests that have swept the region for almost two months. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Marrakech kicks off film festival in the shadow of war in the Middle East

The Marrakech International Film Festival began on Friday, bringing American and international movie stars to the Arab world as war in the Middle East has led to the cancellation of other film festivals.

A Moroccan cobalt mine denies claims of arsenic-contaminated local water. Automakers are concerned

A German newspaper investigation is raising questions about the future of a Moroccan mine that was meant to supply carmakers a mineral critical for electric vehicle batteries.

A woman walks past rubble that was caused the September earthquake in Amizmiz, outside Marrakech, Morocco, Friday, Oct. 6, 2023. Morocco has pledged to rebuild from a September earthquake in line with its architectural heritage. Villagers and architects agree that earthquake-safe construction is a top priority. That’s created a push for modern building materials. But the government says it wants to rebuild in line with Morocco’s cultural and architectural heritage. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Morocco debates how to rebuild from September quake that killed thousands

The country plans to spend $11.7 billion on post-earthquake reconstruction over the next five years — equivalent to roughly 8.5% of its annual GDP.

The site of recently unearthed archaeological ruins, in Chellah necropolis, Rabat, Morocco, Friday, Nov. 3, 2023. Archaeologists have unearthed more ruins of what they believe was once a bustling port city near the capital of modern-day Morocco, digging out thermal baths and working class neighborhoods that the country hopes will lure tourists and scholars in the years ahead. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Moroccan archaeologists unearth new ruins at Chellah, a tourism-friendly ancient port near Rabat

Archaeologists have unearthed more ancient ruins of what they believe was once a bustling port city near the capital of modern-day Morocco.

FILE - Thousands of Moroccans take part in a protest in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza and against normalisation with Israel, in Casablanca, Morocco, Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023. Countries in the Middle East that have normalized or are considering normalizing relations with Israel are coming under growing public pressure to cut those ties because of Israel's war with Hamas. The protesters' demands present an uncomfortable dilemma for governments that have enjoyed the benefits of closer military and economic ties with Israel in recent years. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy, File)

Opposition mounts in Arab countries that normalized relations with Israel

Countries in the Middle East that have normalized or are considering normalizing relations with Israel are coming under growing public pressure to cut those ties because of Israel’s war with Hamas.

A participant walks past flags outside a convention center hosting the IMF and World Bank annual meetings, in Marrakech, Morocco, Sunday, Oct. 8, 2023. The International Monetary Fund and World Bank kick off their annual meeting in Marrakech on Monday, one month after a deadly earthquake struck Morocco and killed nearly 3,000 people. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

IMF and World Bank pledge Africa focus at first meetings on the continent in 50 years

The International Monetary Fund and World Bank are holding their annual meetings in Morocco, one month after an earthquake killed nearly 3,000 people in the North African country.

People displaced by the earthquake gather at a coffee shop and drink tea, in Amizmiz, outside Marrakech, Friday, Oct. 6, 2023. Villagers in hard-hit regions are weighing how to best rebuild as Moroccan authorities begin to providing rehousing funds to those whose homes were destroyed by last month's earthquake. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Morocco begins providing cash to families whose homes were destroyed by earthquake

Moroccan authorities will start providing money to families whose homes were destroyed in an earthquake last month that took nearly 3,000 lives.

FILE - Islamist party leader and parliament speaker Rached Ghannouchi speaks during a meeting in Tunis, Tunisia, on Oct. 3, 2019. Family members of jailed lawyers and politicians, including Ghannouchi, in Tunisia want the International Criminal Court to investigate claims of political persecution and human rights violations as an increasing number of President Kais Saied's opponents are arrested and several in prison stage hunger strikes. Jailed dissidents' sons and daughters in The Hague, Netherlands, on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023, will announce plans to pursue action at the court. (AP Photo/Hassene Dridi, File)

Families of imprisoned Tunisian dissidents turn to the International Criminal Court seeking justice

Family members of imprisoned dissidents in Tunisia want the International Criminal Court to investigate claims of political persecution and human rights violations in their country.

FILE - Tunisia's President Kais Saied speaks during a media conference at an EU Africa summit in Brussels, Feb. 18, 2022. Saied on Monday Oct. 2, 2023 accused the European Union of not following through on agreements made earlier this year to help Tunisia patrol its border, curb smuggling and balance its federal budget. (Johanna Geron, Pool Photo via AP, File)

Tunisia rejects European funds and says they fall short of a deal for migration and financial aid

Tunisia has announced it would reject an installment of funds sent by Europe to help the debt-ridden country patrol the Mediterranean Sea as migrant boat crossings spike to levels not seen in several years.

Children walk through the rubble of their town of Amizmiz which was damaged by the earthquake, outside Marrakech, Morocco, Thursday, Sept. 14, 2023. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

AP PHOTOS: Moroccan earthquake shattered thousands of lives

AMIZMIZ, Morocco (AP) — With their arms around each other, three boys walked through the streets of their town at the foot of Morocco’s Atlas Mountains.

A volunteer helps salvage furniture from homes which were damaged by the earthquake, in the town of Imi N'tala, outside Marrakech, Morocco, Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023. An aftershock rattled central Morocco on Wednesday, striking fear into rescue crews at work in High Atlas villages, digging people out from rubble that could slide. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Moroccans whose homes were destroyed by last week’s earthquake face daunting rebuilding decisions

Moroccan families whose homes were destroyed by last week’s earthquake face difficult decisions about whether to relocate.

Responders dig for bodies in Moroccan mountain villages devastated by last week’s earthquake

Moroccan rescuers have been joined by crews from Spain, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar as they dig through rubble for bodies still buried in devastated communities in the Atlas Mountains.

Moussa Bouissirfane, a man who lost his parents and daughter in the earthquake, looks after their graves, in the village of Tafeghaghte, near Marrakech, Morocco, Monday, Sept. 11, 2023. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Earthquake robbed Moroccan villagers of almost everything — loved ones, homes and possessions

The toll of the earthquake that devastated Morocco is on stark display in dozens of remote villages across the North African county’s disaster zone.

Residents flee their homes after an earthquake in Moulay Brahim village, near the epicenter of the earthquake, outside Marrakech, Morocco, Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023. A rare, powerful earthquake struck Morocco late Friday night, killing more than 800 people and damaging buildings from villages in the Atlas Mountains to the historic city of Marrakech. But the full toll was not known as rescuers struggled to get through boulder-strewn roads to the remote mountain villages hit hardest. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

What to know about the Morocco earthquake and the efforts to help

An earthquake has sown destruction and devastation in Morocco. The death and injury counts continue to rise as rescue crews dig out people both alive and dead in villages that were reduced to rubble.

A colony of sabethes cyaneus, also known as the paddle-legged beauty for its feathery appendages and iridescent coloring, blood feed on Ella Branham, a seasonal vector control technician at the Salt Lake City Mosquito Abatement District on Monday, Aug. 28, 2023, in Salt Lake City. Branham had volunteered to let the South American mosquitoes feed on her blood so they can produce eggs and maintain the colony for education and research at the lab in the Salt Lake City district. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Let skeeters feed on you for science? Welcome to front lines of mosquito control

At the Salt Lake City Mosquito Abatement District, working on the front lines of mosquito control can be a prickly job.

Families sit outside their destroyed homes after an earthquake in Moulay Brahim village, near Marrakech, Morocco, Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023. A rare, powerful earthquake struck Morocco late Friday night, killing more than 800 people and damaging buildings from villages in the Atlas Mountains to the historic city of Marrakech. But the full toll was not known as rescuers struggled to get through boulder-strewn roads to the remote mountain villages hit hardest. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Moroccans sleep in the streets for 3rd night following an earthquake that took more than 2,100 lives

The disaster killed more than 2,100 people — a number that is expected to rise — and the United Nations estimated that 300,000 people were affected by Friday night’s magnitude 6.8 quake.

Moroccan villagers mourn after earthquake brings destruction to their rural mountain home

Moroccans living in the village of Moulay Brahim are mourning neighbors who perished after a 6.8 earthquake destroyed buildings and lives.

Moroccan boys, Rayan and Ali walk amidst the rubble of their home which was damaged by the earthquake, in Ijjoukak village, near Marrakech, Morocco, Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023. A rare, powerful earthquake struck Morocco, sending people racing from their beds into the streets and toppling buildings in mountainous villages and ancient cities not built to withstand such force. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Powerful quake in Morocco kills more than 2,000 people and damages historic buildings in Marrakech

A rare, powerful earthquake struck Morocco killing more than 1,000 people and damaging buildings from villages in the Atlas Mountains to the historic city of Marrakech.

FILE - A pumpjack dips its head to extract oil in a basin north of Helper, Utah, July 13, 2023. A U.S. Appeals Court on Friday, Aug. 18, struck down a critical approval for a railroad project that would have allowed oil businesses in eastern Utah to significantly expand fossil fuel production and exports. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)

Appeals court strikes down Utah oil railroad approval, siding with environmentalists

A U.S. Appeals Court has struck down a critical approval for a railroad project that would have allowed oil businesses in eastern Utah to significantly expand fossil fuel production and exports.

FILE - Law enforcement investigate the scene of a shooting involving the FBI, Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023, in Provo, Utah. Craig Robertson, the 75-year-old man shot by officers trying to arrest him for social media threats he made against officials including President Joe Biden had a history of "exercising his 2nd Amendment rights, albeit a little recklessly,” according to Utah police records. (Laura Seitz/The Deseret News via AP, File)

Armed Utah man shot by FBI last week carried AR-15 in 2018 police encounter, records show

Police records show a Utah man killed by officers last week as they tried to arrest him for social media threats he made against President Joe Biden and others had a history of frightening people with firearms.

FILE - Law enforcement investigate the scene of a shooting involving the FBI on Aug. 9, 2023, in Provo, Utah. The Utah man accused of making violent threats against President Joe Biden before a western states trip last week pointed a handgun at FBI agents attempting to arrest him, the agency said on Monday, Aug. 14, 2023. (Laura Seitz/The Deseret News via AP, File)

Utah man accused of threatening president pointed gun at agents, FBI says

The Utah man accused of making violent threats against President Joe Biden before a western states trip last week pointed a handgun at FBI agents attempting to arrest him, the agency said on Monday.

Destroyed homes and cars are shown, Sunday, Aug. 13, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. Hawaii officials urge tourists to avoid traveling to Maui as many hotels prepare to house evacuees and first responders on the island where a wildfire demolished a historic town and killed dozens. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Maui officials and scientists warn that after the flames flicker out, toxic particles will remain

Officials in Maui are warning residents that it remains too early to return to some parts of the island where firefighters have extinguished flames.

Flowers laid by firefighters are seen in front of the home of Craig Robertson, Thursday, Aug 10, 2023, in Provo, Utah. Robertson was killed by FBI agents Wednesday during a confrontation after making violent threats against President Joseph Biden and other public officials. (AP Photo/Sam Metz)

Utah man killed after threats against Biden believed government was corrupt and overreaching

Family members of an armed Utah man who was killed by FBI agents after making threats against President Joe Biden are describing him as a gun enthusiast who was worried about “a corrupt and overreaching government.”

A train transports freight on a common carrier line near Price, Utah on Thursday, July 13, 2023. Uinta Basin Railway, which would connect to common carrier lines, could be an 88-mile line in Utah that would run through tribal lands and national forest to move oil and gas to the national rail network. Critics question investing billions in oil and gas infrastructure as the country seeks to use less of the fossil fuels that worsen climate change. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Utah’s multibillion dollar oil train proposal chugs along amid environment and derailment concerns

One of the United States’ biggest rail investments in more than a century could be an 88-mile line in Utah that would run through tribal lands and national forest to move oil and gas to the national rail network.

FILE - Brittany Tichenor-Cox holds a photo of her daughter, Isabella "Izzy" Tichenor, during an interview on Nov. 29, 2021, in Draper, Utah. The family of the Black fifth grader, Izzy, who died by suicide after being bullied by her classmates, will be paid $2 million by the Davis School District in a settlement announced on Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)

A Utah district will pay $2 million to the family of a bullied Black girl who died by suicide

A school district in Utah will pay $2 million to the family of a Black, autistic 10-year-old girl who killed herself after being harassed by her classmates.

Law enforcement investigate the scene of a shooting involving the FBI Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023 in Provo, Utah. A man accused of making threats against President Joe Biden was shot and killed by FBI agents hours before the president was expected to land in the state Wednesday, authorities said. (Laura Seitz/The Deseret News via AP)

Utah man suspected of threatening President Joe Biden shot and killed as FBI served warrant

An armed Utah man accused of making violent threats against President Joe Biden was shot and killed by FBI agents hours before the president landed in the state Wednesday, authorities say.

Alice Wang, a Center for Reproductive Rights attorney who is helping Kansas abortion providers challenge a new state law over how providers dispense abortion medications, talks to reporters following a hearing in Johnson County District Court, Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023, outside the county courthouse in Olathe, Kan. (AP Photo/John Hanna)

In Utah and Kansas, state courts flex power over new laws regulating abortion post-Roe

Abortion providers faced off against attorneys for Utah and Kansas in state courts Tuesday, part of the ongoing fight after last year’s Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v.

Bruce Hough and Celeste Maloy speak after the 2nd Congressional District Republican primary debate for outgoing Rep. Chris Stewart's seat Friday, Aug. 4, 2023, in Farmington, Utah. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer) Republican

Trump indictment emerges as central GOP concern at Utah special election debate

Republican anger over the U.S. Justice Department’s indictment of former President Donald Trump was on stark display at a special election debate on Friday in suburban Salt Lake City.

FILE - Republican state Sen. Todd Weiler looks on as he sits on the Senate floor on March 2, 2023, at the Utah State Capitol in Salt Lake City. A judge dismissed a lawsuit Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023, that was brought by adult entertainers, erotica authors and sex educators challenging Utah's law requiring porn and other adult websites verify user ages. Sen. Weiler, the age verification law's Republican sponsor, said after the dismissal that he was unsurprised that the lawsuit was dismissed. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)

Utah law requiring age verification for porn sites remains in effect after judge tosses lawsuit

A Utah law requiring adult websites to verify the age of their users will remain in effect after a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit challenging its constitutionality.

This undated image provided by the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, pinyon pine and juniper trees grow on a mountain range north of Sevier Lake in Millard County, Utah. Environmentalists filed a lawsuit on Monday, July 31, 2023, to prevent the construction of a new potash mine that they say would devastate a lake ecosystem in the drought-stricken western Utah desert. (Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance via AP)

Environmentalists sue to stop Utah potash mine that produces sought-after crop fertilizer

Environmentalists have filed a lawsuit to prevent the construction of a new potash mine they say would devastate a lake ecosystem in the drought-stricken western Utah desert.