Hundreds of migrants attempt to swim from Morocco to the Spanish territory of Ceuta

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Thousands of migrants have attempted to cross the border from Morocco to the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in the last few days, including hundreds of youth who tried to swim their way around controls, Spanish authorities said Monday.

Videos broadcast on Spanish media over the weekend showed Spanish police intercepting migrants in the water at night amid a thick fog but also in broad daylight, struggling to separate the new arrivals from crowds of beachgoers.

Cristina Pérez, the Spanish government's representative in Ceuta told journalists Monday that since Aug. 22 an average of 700 people had attempted to breach the border daily, with a peak of 1,500 attempts Sunday.

Pérez did not disclose how many had successfully reached Ceuta but Pérez explained that following Spanish law that allowed for “border rejections” authorities were sending back to Morocco between 150 and 200 people a day. She thanked Moroccan authorities for their “loyal cooperation."

Ceuta and Melilla — two tiny Spanish territories in North Africa bordering the Mediterranean — have long been targeted by migrants and refugees seeking better lives in Europe. Many attempt to climb over barbed wire fences encircling the autonomous cities or reaching the exclaves by sea.

Due to geography, Spain relies largely on Morocco's goodwill to control those borders and keep migrants out. In 2021, following a diplomatic spat between the two nations, thousands of people, including many unaccompanied Moroccan children poured into Ceuta in a matter of days overwhelming Spanish authorities.

While Spain and Morocco have since normalized their relations and have been working together to tackle irregular migration, authorities in Ceuta say they are again under pressure this year. There have been 1,622 migrant arrivals to Ceuta from January to mid-August compared with just 620 in the same period last year, according to statistics released by the Spanish interior ministry.

In February, residents of the nearby Moroccan town of Belyounech attempted to swim to Ceuta after the Moroccan government began demolishing unauthorized beachside homes to make way for new development.

While the number of migrants to reach Ceuta represents just a tiny fraction of the more than 31,000 irregular arrivals to Spain this year, Pérez said the 18.5 square kilometers (7.14 square miles) territory was under “extreme migratory pressure."

Follow AP’s global migration coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/migration

Migrants disembark at the port of "La Estaca" in Valverde at the Canary island of El Hierro, Spain, Monday, Aug. 26, 2024. Emergency services say migrants arrived by boat after a thirteen-day voyage from the coast of Senegal. (AP Photo/Maria Ximena)

Migrants disembark at the port of "La Estaca" in Valverde at the Canary island of El Hierro, Spain, Monday, Aug. 26, 2024, after a thirteen-day voyage by boat from the coast of Senegal. (AP Photo/Maria Ximena)

Migrants disembark at the port of on "La Estaca" in Valverde at the Canary island of El Hierro, Spain, Monday, Aug. 26, 2024. Migrants arrived by boat after a thirteen-day voyage from the coast of Senegal. (AP Photo/Maria Ximena)

Migrants disembark at the port of "La Estaca" in Valverde at the Canary island of El Hierro, Spain, Monday, Aug. 26, 2024, after they arrived by boat from a thirteen-day voyage from the coast of Senegal. (AP Photo/Maria Ximena)

Migrants disembark at the port of "La Estaca" in Valverde at the Canary island of El Hierro, Spain, Monday, Aug. 26, 2024. Migrants arrived by boat after a thirteen-day voyage from the coast of Senegal. (AP Photo/Maria Ximena)

Migrants disembark at the port of "La Estaca" in Valverde at the Canary island of El Hierro, Spain, Monday, Aug. 26, 2024. Migrants arrived by boat after a thirteen-day voyage from the coast of Senegal. (AP Photo/Maria Ximena)

Migrants disembark at the port of on "La Estaca" in Valverde at the Canary island of El Hierro, Spain, Monday, Aug. 26, 2024. Migrants arrived by boat after a thirteen-day voyage from the coast of Senegal. (AP Photo/Maria Ximena)

Migrants disembark at the port of on "La Estaca" in Valverde at the Canary island of El Hierro, Spain, Monday, Aug. 26, 2024. Emergency services on Spain's Canary Islands say migrants arrived by boat on the Canary Island of El Hierro on Monday, after a thirteen-day voyage from the coast of Senegal. (AP Photo/Maria Ximena)

NEW YORK (AP) — Major League Baseball teams will have advertising on their helmets during the postseason.

MLB said Friday it reached a deal for the postseason ads through 2027 with Strauss, a German apparel company that entered the U.S. market last year.

Ads of 5-by-0.92 inches (12.7-by-2.3 centimeters) will be on each side of every helmet featuring “STRAUSS” in capital letters in white alongside the company's ostrich logo silhouetted by a red square, with an alternate color for red helmets.

Strauss also will appear on the helmets of the 120 affiliated minor league teams from 2025-27.

MLB previously had helmet ads in select international games dating to at least 2000 and has allowed jersey ads since 2023. The general use of ads was agreed to by the players' association in the 2022 labor contract, and 23 of the 30 teams have jersey patch ads.

Engelbert Strauss GmbH & Co. KG was founded in 1948.

Major League Soccer became the first of the major North American leagues to allow jersey ads in 2007. The NBA started selling sponsorship logos for the 2017-18 season, and the NHL launched helmet ads for the 2020-21 season and began jersey advertising the following season.

AP MLB: https://www.apnews.com/hub/MLB

This image provided by Major League Baseball shows Strauss branded batting helmets taken at Major League Baseball Headquarters, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in New York. (Mary DeCicco/Major League Baseball via AP)