Morocco Bans All Inbound Flights for 2 Weeks

In this file photo taken on March 15, 2020 passengers wait for their flights at the Marrakesh Airport in Morocco. (Photo by AFP)
In this file photo taken on March 15, 2020 passengers wait for their flights at the Marrakesh Airport in Morocco. (Photo by AFP)
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Morocco Bans All Inbound Flights for 2 Weeks

In this file photo taken on March 15, 2020 passengers wait for their flights at the Marrakesh Airport in Morocco. (Photo by AFP)
In this file photo taken on March 15, 2020 passengers wait for their flights at the Marrakesh Airport in Morocco. (Photo by AFP)

Morocco will ban all inbound international passenger flights for two weeks starting Nov. 29 due to concerns over the Omicron COVID-19 variant, the Moroccan government said in a statement on Sunday.

The Omicron coronavirus variant kept spreading around the world on Sunday.

The discovery of Omicron, dubbed a "variant of concern" last week by the World Health Organization, has caused worry around the world that it could resist vaccinations and prolong the nearly two-year COVID-19 pandemic.

First discovered in South Africa, it has now been detected in Britain, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, Botswana, Israel, Australia and Hong Kong.



Israeli Security Service Says 60 Hamas Members Arrested in West Bank

An Israeli military vehicle uses a laser, on the day of an Israeli raid in Jenin, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, January 21, 2025. (Reuters)
An Israeli military vehicle uses a laser, on the day of an Israeli raid in Jenin, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, January 21, 2025. (Reuters)
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Israeli Security Service Says 60 Hamas Members Arrested in West Bank

An Israeli military vehicle uses a laser, on the day of an Israeli raid in Jenin, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, January 21, 2025. (Reuters)
An Israeli military vehicle uses a laser, on the day of an Israeli raid in Jenin, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, January 21, 2025. (Reuters)

Israel's security service said Sunday it had broken up a network of Hamas militants in the occupied West Bank suspected of planning attacks, arresting 60 of the group's members.

The Shin Bet internal security agency said in a statement that "a significant, complex, and large-scale Hamas infrastructure was exposed" in the West Bank town of Hebron, AFP reported.

It said it broke up 10 militant cells that "operated to carry out attacks in various formats in the immediate time frame".

Hamas leaders "worked to recruit, arm, and train additional Hamas operatives from the area to carry out shooting and bombing attacks against Israeli targets", according to the statement.

Shin Bet said the three-month joint operation with the military and police was its biggest investigation in the West Bank "in the past decade".

It said terrorism charges were being filed against the suspects.