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Morocco Sees Rise in Demand over Drones to Help Tackle Coronavirus

Morocco has relied on heavy surveillance to enforce a strict lockdown, attracting criticism from the United Nations Human Rights Office - AFP
Morocco has relied on heavy surveillance to enforce a strict lockdown, attracting criticism from the United Nations Human Rights Office - AFP
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Morocco Sees Rise in Demand over Drones to Help Tackle Coronavirus

Morocco has relied on heavy surveillance to enforce a strict lockdown, attracting criticism from the United Nations Human Rights Office - AFP
Morocco has relied on heavy surveillance to enforce a strict lockdown, attracting criticism from the United Nations Human Rights Office - AFP

Morocco has seen a rapid rise in demand for drones amid it battles against the novel coronavirus pandemic, deploying them for aerial surveillance, public service announcements and sanitisation.

"This is a real craze. In just weeks, demand has tripled in Morocco and other countries in the region," said Yassine Qamous, chief of Droneway Maroc, African distributor for leading Chinese drone company DJI.

In recent weeks, authorities have employed drones to issue warnings, identify suspicious movement in the streets and disperse illegal rooftop and balcony gatherings.

Moroccan firms have been using drones for years and according to Qamous, it "is among the most advanced countries in Africa" for unmanned flight, with a dedicated industrial base, researchers and qualified pilots.

However, restrictive regulations have long limited civilian drones to specific applications such as filming, agriculture, monitoring solar panels and mapping, AFP reported.

That changed rapidly as the fatal pandemic swept across the world.

Last week local authorities in Temara, a town near the capital Rabat, launched a high-precision aerial surveillance system developed by local company Beti3D, which previously specialized in aerial mapping.

Other countries in Europe, Asia and the Middle East have also adopted technology deployed in China since the start of the pandemic, whether for tracking the movements of citizens, disinfecting public spaces or facilitating deliveries.

"Drones have quickly emerged as a vital technology for public safety agencies during this crisis as they can safely monitor public spaces," according to the website of DJI, by far the world's top drone maker.

Like most countries, Morocco primarily uses imported Chinese drones. But the emergence of new applications linked to the pandemic is also driving local production of specialized aerial vehicles.

"There is real demand," said Abderrahmane Krioual, the head of Farasha, a startup that has raised funds to produce drones for thermal surveillance and aerial disinfectant spraying.

The aeronautics department of the International University of Rabat (UIR) offered its facilities, expertise and prototypes to authorities in March, deploying drones with loudspeakers or infrared cameras able to detect movement at night or spot individuals with high temperatures.

Several projects are underway across the country ahead of the widespread deployment of various models of drones, said Mohsine Bouya, the university's director of technology development and transfer.

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Varieties

French Legend Brigitte Bardot Dead at 91

FILED - 01 April 1956, France, Cannes: Then French actress and singer Brigitte Bardot is photographed with a parrot in her hand on the beach during the Cannes Film Festival. Photo: -/AFP Intercontinentale/dpa
FILED - 01 April 1956, France, Cannes: Then French actress and singer Brigitte Bardot is photographed with a parrot in her hand on the beach during the Cannes Film Festival. Photo: -/AFP Intercontinentale/dpa
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French Legend Brigitte Bardot Dead at 91

FILED - 01 April 1956, France, Cannes: Then French actress and singer Brigitte Bardot is photographed with a parrot in her hand on the beach during the Cannes Film Festival. Photo: -/AFP Intercontinentale/dpa
FILED - 01 April 1956, France, Cannes: Then French actress and singer Brigitte Bardot is photographed with a parrot in her hand on the beach during the Cannes Film Festival. Photo: -/AFP Intercontinentale/dpa

French film legend Brigitte Bardot, a cinema icon of the 1950s and sixties who walked away from global stardom to become an animal rights protector, has died aged 91, her foundation said Sunday.

Bardot had rarely been seen in public in recent months but was hospitalized in October and in November released a statement denying rumors that she had died. The foundation did not say when or where she died.

"The Brigitte Bardot Foundation announces with immense sadness the death of its founder and president, Madame Brigitte Bardot, a world-renowned actress and singer, who chose to abandon her prestigious career to dedicate her life and energy to animal welfare and her foundation," it said in a statement sent to AFP.

Bardot became a global star after appearing in "And God created Woman" in 1956, and went on to appear in about 50 more movies before giving up acting.

She retired from film to settle permanently near the Riviera resort of Saint-Tropez where she devoted herself to fighting for animals.

Her calling apparently came when she encountered a goat on the set of her final film, "The Edifying and Joyous Story of Colinot.”

To save it from being killed, she bought the animal and kept it in her hotel room.

Varieties

Iraqis Cover Soil with Clay to Curb Sandstorms

Excavators clear sand dunes and extract clay in the desert south of Samawah on December 21, 2025. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP)
Excavators clear sand dunes and extract clay in the desert south of Samawah on December 21, 2025. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP)
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Iraqis Cover Soil with Clay to Curb Sandstorms

Excavators clear sand dunes and extract clay in the desert south of Samawah on December 21, 2025. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP)
Excavators clear sand dunes and extract clay in the desert south of Samawah on December 21, 2025. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP)

Deep in Iraq's southern desert, bulldozers and earthmovers spread layers of moist clay over sand dunes as part of a broader effort to fight increasingly frequent sandstorms.

Iraq has long suffered from sand and dust storms, but in recent years they have become more frequent and intense as the country falls prey to the effects of climate change.

Sand and dust storms -- driven by severe drought, rising temperatures and deforestation -- have cloaked cities and villages in an endless ochre haze, grounded flights and filled hospitals with patients suffering from breathing difficulties.

Iraqi authorities have warned that these suffocating storms will intensify further, adding urgency to address the root of the problem.

In a relatively small area between the cities of Nasiriyah and Samawah, not far from ancient Sumerian ruins, laborers are working hard to stabilize the soil by applying a layer of moist clay 20-25 centimeters thick.

The project also includes planting heat-tolerant seedlings like Prosopis and Conocarpus to further stabilize the soil.

"The main goal is to reduce the impact of transboundary dust storms, which may reach Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Qatar," said Udai Taha Lafta from UN-Habitat, which is leading the project to combat sandstorms with Iraqi expertise.

"It is a vital area despite its small size, and will hopefully help reduce dust storms next summer," AFP quoted Lafta as saying.

A short-term objective is to shield a southern highway where many traffic accidents have occurred due to poor visibility during dust storms.

The Ministry of Environment estimates that Iraq now faces about 243 storms per year, and the frequency is expected to increase to 300 "dust days" by 2050 unless drastic mitigation measures are adopted.

In 2023, Iraqi authorities teamed up with the UN-Habitat and the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development in areas that have been identified as major sources of sandstorms.

The project has been implementing several methods in three southern areas, including digging water canals and supplying electricity to pump water from the Euphrates river, preparing barren lands for vegetation.

One of the project's ultimate goals is to increase green spaces and for farmers to eventually sustain the lands after droughts and chronic water shortages have drastically reduced agricultural areas.

Qahtan al-Mhana, from the agriculture ministry, said that stabilizing the soil gives agricultural efforts in sandy areas a chance to endure.

He added that Iraq has extensive "successful" experience in combating desertification and dust storms by stabilizing sand dunes.

Since the 1970s, the country has implemented such projects, but after decades of turmoil, environmental challenges have largely fallen by the wayside.

With the severe recent impact of climate change, "work has resumed," said Najm Abed Taresh from Dhi Qar University.

"We are making slow but steady progress," Taresh said.

Varieties

'Acoustic Hazard': Noise Complaints Spark Vietnam Pickleball Wars

This photo taken on December 23, 2025, shows children playing pickleball in the playground of a residential area in Hanoi. (Photo by Nhac NGUYEN / AFP)
This photo taken on December 23, 2025, shows children playing pickleball in the playground of a residential area in Hanoi. (Photo by Nhac NGUYEN / AFP)
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'Acoustic Hazard': Noise Complaints Spark Vietnam Pickleball Wars

This photo taken on December 23, 2025, shows children playing pickleball in the playground of a residential area in Hanoi. (Photo by Nhac NGUYEN / AFP)
This photo taken on December 23, 2025, shows children playing pickleball in the playground of a residential area in Hanoi. (Photo by Nhac NGUYEN / AFP)

The piercing pop-pop of pickleball paddles starts before sunrise and ends after midnight at dozens of newly built courts across Hanoi, as residents relish one of Vietnam's fastest-growing sports -- or rage at the noise it makes.

The initial craze saw more people in Vietnam pick up a paddle per capita than anywhere else in Asia, according to one survey.

Now unwitting spectators are yelling fault, filing noise complaints and petitions to curb playing hours that have left authorities in a pickle.

In the country's densely packed cities, courts are wedged between tight alleyways and nestled beneath high-rises, disturbing thousands of people at once.

"It drives me nuts," said Hoa Nguyen, 44, who lives with her family behind a multicourt complex in Hanoi's northeastern outskirts.

"People are playing in the middle of the night and there's nothing we can do about it," Nguyen told AFP, adding that she had filed a complaint with local authorities.

"The noise makes it impossible for me to sleep. It just keeps going pop-pop-pop."

Most noise complaints on the capital's iHanoi app stem from pickleball, according to state media, which has dubbed the sport an "acoustic hazard".

Associated noise-related issues range from unruly crowds to honking horns in overcrowded parking lots.

Lam Thanh, 50, who manages a dormitory for workers near one of Ho Chi Minh City's estimated 1,000 courts, says the cacophony is proving to be costly.

"Many tenants couldn't stand the noise and have moved elsewhere," she said.

"There's the popping sound of paddles, cheering, shouting and joking around -- it's all extremely exhausting for us."

Vietnam's pickleball boom began around two years ago, players and coaches say, well after its popularity surged in the United States and Canada.

But the country is now the sport's second-fastest-growing market in Asia after Malaysia, according to pickleball rating company DUPR.

Regional professional circuit PPA Tour Asia says more than 16 million people in Vietnam have picked up a paddle, though that figure is extrapolated from a survey of around 1,000 respondents.

Hanoi's Long Bien district, its pickleball center, has more than 100 courts, up from 54 in less than a year, according to state media.

Pickleholic Club, Victory Pickleball and Pro Pickleball Vn are all within a five-minute walk, with dozens more a short drive away.

Coach Pham Duc Trung, 37, said the sport's accessibility was key to its popularity.

"The paddle is light and the ball is light... Children can play it, and so can adults," he said.

"The sound of the ball hitting the paddle is quite appealing," he added.

Not everyone agrees.

Around the world, the plinks and pops of pickleball have spawned outrage, provoking protests and even lawsuits.

But Vietnam's widespread embrace of the sport, and its cities' rapid growth in recent decades as the economy boomed, help explain the intense frustration.

Ho Chi Minh City already ranks among the loudest cities in Asia, according to the United Nations, with noise pollution levels high enough to damage hearing.

And experts say pickleball sounds are louder and higher-pitched than tennis or badminton.

A nationwide noise ordinance is supposed to limit the din, especially late at night, but residents say the courtside clatter often goes unmuted.

Hanoi high school student Duong, 16, cannot focus on his homework.

"The sound made by this ball is very unpleasant," he said. "My mind feels blank because I cannot concentrate."

Vietnam's sports ministry did not reply to AFP's request for comment.
But pressure is building to smash the problem, with state media carrying health warnings from doctors.

"The constant bouncing of the pickleball is not only annoying but also subtly triggers stress, disrupts sleep, and increases the risk of cardiovascular disease," according to state-run VTC News website.

Ball strikes register "like the ticking of a clock against the temples", it said this month, adding many people are "haunted by the sound of popping".