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Morocco Tightens COVID-19 Restrictions

A man waits to receive the vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at a vaccination center in Sale, Morocco October 26, 2021. REUTERS/Shereen Talaat
A man waits to receive the vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at a vaccination center in Sale, Morocco October 26, 2021. REUTERS/Shereen Talaat
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Morocco Tightens COVID-19 Restrictions

A man waits to receive the vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at a vaccination center in Sale, Morocco October 26, 2021. REUTERS/Shereen Talaat
A man waits to receive the vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at a vaccination center in Sale, Morocco October 26, 2021. REUTERS/Shereen Talaat

Morocco on Monday announced a ban on New Year's Eve celebrations as part of stepped-up measures against rising coronavirus cases.

The government ordered a ban on all forms of celebration on the evening of New Year's eve, including parties in hotels and tourist sites.

It ordered restaurants and cafes to close at 11.30 pm and said a curfew would be in place from midnight until 6:00 AM on January 1.

Morocco on December 15 detected its first case of the Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus.

After a partial reopening of borders, it is to close them again from Thursday to rein in the spread of the highly infectious variant.

Authorities will, however, organize special repatriation flights for expatriates stranded in the country.

Morocco recorded during the past 24 hours 102 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus, bringing the tally in Morocco to 952,916 infections since the first case was detected on March 2, 2020.

The total number of recoveries reached 936,597, and the total deaths 14,810.

Regarding inoculation, 24,501,405 people have been vaccinated since the launch of the campaign, including 22,843,009 who received the 2nd dose, and 2,390,120 the 3rd dose, said the Ministry of Health and Social Protection.

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US to Eventually Reduce Military Bases in Syria to One, Says US Envoy

A US patrol in Qamishli’s countryside in Hasakah on April 20, 2022. (AFP)
A US patrol in Qamishli’s countryside in Hasakah on April 20, 2022. (AFP)
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US to Eventually Reduce Military Bases in Syria to One, Says US Envoy

A US patrol in Qamishli’s countryside in Hasakah on April 20, 2022. (AFP)
A US patrol in Qamishli’s countryside in Hasakah on April 20, 2022. (AFP)

The United States has begun reducing its military presence in Syria with a view to eventually closing all but one of its bases there, the US envoy for the country has said in an interview.

Six months after the ouster of longtime Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad, the United States is steadily drawing down its presence as part of Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR), a military task force launched in 2014 to fight the ISIS.

"The reduction of our OIR engagement on a military basis is happening," the US envoy for Syria, Tom Barrack, said in an interview with Türkiye's NTV late on Monday.

"We've gone from eight bases to five to three. We'll eventually go to one."

But he admitted Syria still faced major security challenges under interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, whose coalition toppled Assad in December.

Assad's ouster brought an end to Syria's bloody 14-year civil war, but the new authorities have struggled to contain recent bouts of sectarian violence.

Barrack, who is also the US ambassador to Turkey, called for the "integration" of the country's ethnic and religious groups.

"It's very tribal still. It's very difficult to bring it together," he said.

But "I think that will happen," he added.

The Pentagon announced in April that the United States would halve its troops in Syria to less than 1,000 in the coming months, saying the ISIS presence had been reduced to "remnants".