International News
Morocco Earthquake Victims Passes 2,000
Over 2,000 people were murdered in a devastating earthquake that struck Morocco on Sunday. Rescue workers scrambled to discover survivors hidden in the wreckage of the destroyed towns as Moroccans lamented the loss of life.
According to the most recent official statistics, the biggest earthquake to ever strike the country has left at least 2,012 people dead and over 2,059 injured, many of them seriously.
The 6.8-magnitude earthquake that occurred on Friday destroyed entire communities in rural areas 72 kilometres (45 miles) southwest of Marrakesh, a popular tourist destination.
“I’ve lost everything”, said Lahcen, a resident of the mountain village of Moulay Brahim, whose wife and four children were killed.
Rescue workers recovered the bodies of Lahcen’s three daughters from the rubble of what was once their home, but have not yet found the bodies of his wife and son.
“I can’t do anything about it now, I just want to get away from the world and mourn.”
Troops and emergency services have scrambled to reach remote mountain villages where victims are still feared trapped.
Al-Haouz province, where the epicentre of the earthquake was located, suffered the most deaths with 1,293, followed by the province of Taroudant with 452.
Bouchra, another resident of Moulay Brahim, dried her tears with her scarf as she watched men digging graves to bury the victims.
“My cousin’s grandchildren are dead”, she said in a knotted voice.
“I saw the devastation of the earthquake live, and I’m still shaking. It’s like a ball of fire that has swallowed up everything in its path,” she said.
“Everyone here has lost family, whether in our village or elsewhere in the region”, she added.
Fatema Satir, a resident in Marrakesh, told AFP many were sleeping in the street for fear of their houses collapsing.
“Look where all these people are sleeping. There is no help for us, our houses have been cracked, others destroyed like my daughter’s house, which was wiped out. We are in a chaotic state.”
Authorities declared three days of national mourning, while several countries, including Israel, France, Spain, Italy and the United States, have offered aid.
Neighbouring Algeria, which has had rocky relations with Morocco, opened its airspace, which had been closed for two years, to flights carrying humanitarian aid and the injured.
The Red Cross warned that it could take years to repair the damage.
“It won’t be a matter of a week or two… We are counting on a response that will take months, if not years,” Hossam Elsharkawi, the organisation’s Middle East and North Africa director, said in a statement.
The village of Tafeghaghte, 60 kilometres southwest of Marrakesh, was almost entirely destroyed by the quake, the epicentre of which was only about 50 kilometres away, an AFP team reported, with very few buildings still standing.
“Three of my grandchildren and their mother are dead,” said 72-year-old Omar Benhanna. “They’re still under the debris. It wasn’t so long ago that we were playing together.”
Residents buried around 70 victims in the nearby cemetary on Saturday, as the funeral rites were punctuated by cries and screams.
In the evening, television channels broadcast aerial images showing entire villages of clay houses in the Al-Haouz region completely destroyed.
“The public authorities are still mobilised to speed up rescue operations and evacuate the injured,” the interior ministry said Saturday evening.
Since the 1960 earthquake that wrecked Agadir and killed more than 12,000 people—roughly a third of the city’s population at the time—this earthquake has killed the most people in Morocco.
NATO air defence systems have intercepted a third ballistic missile believed to have been launched from Iran after it entered Turkish airspace, Turkey’s Defence Ministry confirmed on Friday, raising fresh concerns about the growing tensions in the Middle East.
In a statement, the ministry said the missile was neutralised by NATO air and missile defence assets deployed in the eastern Mediterranean after it crossed into Turkish territory.
SEE MORE: WHO Releases Alarming Casualty Figures From US‑Israel‑Iran Conflict
The latest interception triggered security alerts across parts of southern Turkey.
Air raid sirens reportedly sounded at the strategic Incirlik Air Base, a key NATO military facility that hosts United States troops and other allied personnel.
Residents in the nearby city of Adana were awakened around 3:25 a.m. by the warning alarms. Some locals reportedly captured footage showing what appeared to be a fast-moving object on fire streaking across the sky.
Similar sirens were also heard in the eastern Turkish city of Batman around 4:00 a.m., with reports indicating the alarm may have been linked to a nearby military drone base located close to the city’s airport.
The incident marks the third time NATO defence systems have intercepted missiles linked to Iran in recent weeks. The first missile was shot down on March 4, while a second was intercepted earlier this week.
Following Monday’s incident, the United States temporarily shut down its consulate in Adana and urged American citizens to leave southeastern Turkey due to security concerns.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, however, reportedly denied that the missile had been launched from Iran during a telephone conversation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The rising tensions come amid the ongoing conflict that erupted on February 28 involving the United States, Israel and Iran. Since the outbreak of hostilities, Tehran has reportedly carried out retaliatory strikes across several locations in the Middle East.
Incirlik Air Base remains one of NATO’s most important strategic military facilities in the region. The base has hosted US troops for decades and also accommodates military personnel from other NATO member states including Spain and Poland.
Another key NATO installation is located in Kurecik, in Turkey’s Malatya province, where US troops operate an early-warning radar system capable of detecting missile launches from Iran. The radar facility forms part of NATO’s broader ballistic missile defence shield.
Although Turkish authorities have consistently denied that radar data from the base has been shared with Israel, its presence has reportedly raised concerns in Tehran.
Earlier this week, Turkey also confirmed the deployment of a Patriot missile defence system in Malatya as NATO strengthens its regional missile defence posture amid the escalating conflict.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has released a disturbing update on the escalating conflict involving the United States, Israel, and Iran, revealing that thousands of people have been killed or injured in just under two weeks.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that health systems across the Middle East are under “immense strain” and are at risk of complete collapse if the crisis continues.
SEE MORE: US-Israel-Iran War: Day Four Updates from the Middle East
According to WHO reports, Iran has suffered over 1,300 deaths and around 9,000 injuries, while Lebanon has recorded at least 570 deaths and approximately 1,400 injuries.
In Israel, at least 15 people have died and more than 2,100 have been injured since hostilities escalated.
The conflict began on February 28, following a massive joint strike by US and Israeli forces that targeted top Iranian officials, including the country’s Supreme Leader.
The violence has since spread across the region, with retaliatory attacks targeting Israeli sites and US military bases in neighboring countries.
The humanitarian impact is severe. Over 100,000 Iranians and up to 700,000 Lebanese citizens have been displaced, many living in overcrowded conditions with limited access to clean water, sanitation, and medical care.
The WHO warns that these conditions put women and children at particular risk of disease outbreaks.
The organization also highlighted a growing trend of attacks on healthcare infrastructure, reporting dozens of strikes on hospitals and medical facilities across Iran and Lebanon.
Such attacks have not only resulted in deaths but also deprived entire communities of critical medical care when they need it most.
Tedros emphasized the urgent need for all parties to respect international law and protect civilians, calling for unimpeded humanitarian access and immediate measures to prevent the collapse of fragile health systems.
With the conflict continuing to escalate, the WHO has stressed that immediate action is required to protect lives, ensure medical support reaches affected populations, and prevent the humanitarian crisis from worsening.
Portugal officially inaugurated its new president, Antonio Jose Seguro, on Monday, pledging to bring stability to a nation shaken by political uncertainty and natural disasters.
Seguro, the centre-left candidate, won last month’s presidential run-off against far-right rival Andre Ventura, following weeks of catastrophic storms that killed at least seven people and caused approximately €4 billion ($4.6 billion) in damage.
Speaking at his swearing-in ceremony in Lisbon’s parliament, Seguro emphasized cooperation with the minority right-wing government and vowed to end the country’s “electoral frenzy.”
SEE MORE: Spain, Portugal Plunge Into Darkness Amid Widespread Power Outage
“I will do everything I can to put an end to this electoral frenzy,” he said, pointing to the inability of previous governments to complete their terms.
Amid global crises, including conflicts in the Middle East and a more isolationist US approach under President Donald Trump, Seguro stressed the importance of multilateralism.
“The force of law has been replaced by the power of the strongest,” he remarked.
Seguro succeeds Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, a conservative who leaves office at 77 after serving two five-year terms.
While the Portuguese presidency is largely ceremonial, Seguro’s leadership signals a commitment to political stability and international engagement.
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