By SAM METZ and AKRAM OUBACHIR

RABAT, Morocco (AP) — King Mohammed VI on Friday urged elected officials to stop wasting time and fix social injustices, framing similar issues to those raised by Morocco’s youth-led protesters as questions of governance, rather than of the country’s broader vision.

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The king’s short but charged address mirrored some of the grievances raised by Gen Z 212 protesters about regional inequalities and uneven development but did not address the movement directly.

Morocco has been swept by demonstrations for almost two weeks, as young people have taken to the streets to demand better public services and increased spending on health and education.

The 62-year-old monarch — walking into parliament without the help of a cane he used for part of last year — implored its members to defend the country and tackle some of the grievances raised at the protests with a spirit of seriousness and responsibility.

“Social justice is not a temporary priority,” the King, Morocco’s highest authority, said in his speech before lawmakers dressed in traditional white djellaba robes.

“It’s a strategic direction to which every one must adhere, and a crucial challenge that should govern our various development policies,” he added.

He did not touch on the contrast near the heart of anger seen in the streets: stadiums related to the 2030 FIFA World Cup. Protesters have chanted slogans to decry them taking priority over investments that raise Morocco’s living standards.

The King said projects big and small were both designed to move Morocco forward.

“There should be no contradiction or competition between major national projects and social programs, as both share the same goal: developing the country and improving the living conditions of citizens wherever they may be,” Mohammed VI said.

His address was highly anticipated after Gen Z 212 — the leaderless collective that organized many of the protests online — wrote a letter to him directly, urging him to intervene against corrupt officials and push reforms.

People take part in a youth-led protest against corruption and calling for education and healthcare reforms, in Rabat, Morocco, Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa’ab Elshamy)

The speech offered no indication that protesters’ demands for Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch’s resignation and new corruption investigations would be met. After Gen Z 212 livestreamed the speech to thousands of its channel’s followers on the app Discord, many there said they were underwhelmed.

Yet others identified with the regional inequities and rural poverty given voice.

The issues have been central to some of the most heated protests in Morocco’s east and south. Demonstrators in cities like Oujda and the suburbs of Agadir have clashed violently with security forces, leading to numerous injuries and three deaths.

The King has addressed similar themes in prior speeches, both to open parliamentary proceedings and to commemorate his ascendance to Morocco’s throne. When protests convulsed northern Morocco in 2017, he similarly blasted politicians for not doing their jobs and communicating policies effectively. In July, he warned that Morocco could not become a “two speed country.”

Yet to many protesters, that’s what it has become.

People take part in a youth-led protest against corruption and calling for education and healthcare reforms, in Rabat, Morocco, Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa’ab Elshamy)

Across Morocco, joblessness for those ages 15 to 24 is stubbornly high. Classrooms are packed. And hospitals are stretched thin, including one in Agadir where a woman passed away this week, months after eight others died giving birth. The conditions at the public hospitals where they died were among the sparks to ignite protests in September.

Gen Z 212 has gradually sharpened their demands and on Thursday published their most specific to date, urging officials to move fast to hire more health workers and boost spending, citing the government’s own reports warning of severe staffing and funding shortages.

Their letter pressed for an end to the growing privatization of Morocco’s education system and for the release of who they called “opinion detainees,” arrested for taking part in the Gen Z protests.

People take part in a youth-led protest against corruption and calling for education and healthcare reforms, in Rabat, Morocco, Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa’ab Elshamy)

Local news outlets reported that more than 400 people have been arrested for vandalism linked to the protests. Some of them were held in custody. Activists have for decades criticized Morocco’s goal to have 20% of students educated in private schools for deepening inequality as wealthier families often send their children to private institutions, while public ones remain overcrowded and underfunded.

For both Mohammed VI and the protesters who convened in the parliament one night earlier, the message is clear: elected officials have no time to waste.

“We call on everyone to combat all practices that waste time, effort and resources,” the King said.

 Metz reported from Jerusalem.

The member-owners of the three St. Paul-based Mississippi Market Co-ops and Stillwater-based River Market Community Co-op have decided to merge.

The new entity, known as Rivers Cooperative Markets, will launch in January.

The three locations in St. Paul will continue to operate as Mississippi Market, and the Stillwater location will continue operations as River Market, according to a statement the organizations posted on social media.

Eighty-nine percent of the 1,187 Mississippi Market member-owners and 81 percent of the 489 River Market member-owners who voted approved the merger.

“This is an exciting moment for our co-op community and the future of sustainable cooperation,” said Catherine Downey, CEO of Mississippi Market Co-op and incoming CEO of Rivers Cooperative Markets.

Mississippi Market on Selby and Dale in St. Paul. (Jean Pieri / Pioneer Press)

Downey said the co-ops are grateful to their member-owners for their engagement and their “commitment to our collective power to shape and strengthen the future.”

“Together, we aim to expand access to healthy food, deepen our support for local producers and build a more resilient, sustainable, community-owned food system,” Downey said.

Member voting took place Sept. 12-Oct. 8 as part of each co-op’s annual election.

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The man under investigation for posing as a teen to attend White Bear Lake Area High School was assaulted in St. Paul recently, according to a police report.

Police are investigating whether the assault was related to the allegations against the 22-year-old, said Alyssa Arcand, a St. Paul police spokeswoman. He sustained minor injuries, she said.

The man allegedly received nude photos from one girl, and several parents reported possible sexual assaults, according to a recent search warrant affidavit filed by White Bear Lake police. The man has not been charged.

St. Paul police on Thursday received the report of the assault against the man, whose city of residence is listed as Lino Lakes.

It was initially reported to Cottage Grove police, who did some investigation and sent the case to St. Paul when they determined it happened on Maryland Avenue near Ruth Street in St. Paul, Arcand said.

The assault by multiple people happened between Friday and Saturday, Oct. 3-4, according to the report. The man apparently knew the people involved, Arcand said.

“Investigators are currently working to determine the circumstances of this incident and identify those involved,” Arcand said. No one was under arrest as of Friday afternoon.

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A former Minnesota state trooper has admitted in federal court to repeatedly sexually assaulting a toddler girl while recording the abuse and then sharing the videos with someone he met through the Telegram app.

Jeremy Francis Plonski (Courtesy of the Sherburne County Sheriff’s Office)

Jeremy Francis Plonski, 30, of Shakopee, pleaded guilty Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis to one count each of producing and distributing child pornography with his cellphone in April 2023. Two other counts were dismissed as part of a plea agreement.

Plonski admitted to creating and sharing 23 videos over seven months in 2023. In some, he wore his State Patrol trooper uniform and firearm.

Under the plea agreement, Plonski faces between 23 and 28 years in prison. He remains jailed ahead of sentencing, which has not been scheduled.

Plonski also faces a Scott County charge of first-degree criminal sexual conduct involving the same victim.

“In light of (Plonski’s) plea to the federal charges, we will review our case and decide how to proceed,” Debra Lund, felony and juvenile divisions head for the Scott County Attorney’s Office, said Friday.

Plonski, who became a trooper in 2022, has been fired, according to the State Patrol.

“No badge, no title and no position will ever place anyone above the law,” State Patrol Col. Christina Bogojevic said in a statement. “Protecting the vulnerable is our duty. Anyone who violates that duty has no place in this organization or in our profession.”

Telegram relationship

According to May state and federal charges, FBI special agents in Houston on April 30 began a forensic analysis in an investigation into child sexual abuse materials. Federal law enforcement identified Plonski as the suspect and found several videos of him sexually assaulting the toddler.

Plonski and the victim’s face are “fully visible in the video,” the state complaint said, adding the file name suggested that it was made in 2023.

Plonski was arrested April 30 and said in an interview with law enforcement that he began a relationship with someone he met on Telegram around 2022.

“The two engaged in a dominant/submissive relationship where (Plonski) was submissive,” the complaint read. “Eventually that user instructed (Plonski) to send videos of (Plonski) performing sexual acts on (the toddler).”

Plonski admitted to law enforcement that he sent the person “four or five” videos of him sexually assaulting the toddler. He said that after recording and sending the videos, he “ceased all sexual contact with (the) victim and has not touched her since,” the complaint said.

FBI and BCA special agents executed a search warrant on his home and seized USB drives, cellphones, sex toys, laptops, a U.S. Army uniform that bore his name and a Minnesota State Patrol uniform, among other items.

Other cases

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After Plonski’s arrest, two other Minnesota federal law enforcement officers were arrested and charged within three days for alleged sex crimes.

A special agent with Homeland Security Investigations, Timothy Ryan Gregg, 52, of Eagan, was charged June 3 with producing child sexual abuse material of a 17-year-old girl after authorities say images and videos of the two engaged in sexual activity were found on her cellphone on May 29. His case is pending.

Anthony John Crowley, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer from Minnetonka, was charged June 6 with uploading child pornography to the Kik app in 2022. Crowley, 52, pleaded guilty Sept. 26 to one count of possessing child pornography and remains ahead of sentencing, which has not been scheduled.