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.
Ukraine has implemented restrictions on Telegram for government, military, and security personnel, citing national security threats associated with the app, founded by Russian-born Pavel Durov.
The National Security and Defence Council announced in a statement on it’s Facebook page that these limitations will affect all government agencies, military units, and critical infrastructure facilities.
The council emphasized that this measure is essential for protecting national security.
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It reads, “The National Security and Defence Council decided to restrict the use of Telegram in government agencies, military formations and critical infrastructure facilities. It is a “matter of national security.”
More to follow………….
International News
European Parliament Lifts Restrictions On Ukraine’s Use Of Western Weapons Against Russia
The European Parliament has voted decisively to remove restrictions on Ukraine’s use of Western-supplied weapons against Russian territory.
The resolution, passed by 425 votes to 131, with 63 abstentions, marks a significant escalation in European support for Ukraine’s defense efforts.
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The resolution calls on EU member states to allow Ukraine to use long-range missiles and other advanced weaponry against “legitimate military targets” in Russia.
Lawmakers argue that Ukraine needs to fully defend itself, emphasizing that without the ability to strike Russian targets, the country remains vulnerable to continued attacks on its cities and infrastructure.
Additionally, the Parliament urged EU countries to speed up arms deliveries and impose tougher sanctions on Russia, including a full embargo on Russian oil and gas.
The resolution also calls for increased funding for Ukraine’s military and further sanctions on nations assisting Russia, such as Belarus.
However, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that allowing Ukraine to strike inside Russia could be seen as NATO’s direct involvement in the war, raising fears of a broader conflict.
While the vote is non-binding, it sends a strong signal to European governments, many of which have hesitated to provide Ukraine with long-range weapons like Germany’s Taurus missiles due to concerns over escalation.
Turkey on Thursday accused Israel of seeking to expand the war in Gaza to Lebanon with the “alarming” wave of deadly explosions that swept through Hezbollah strongholds.
“The escalation in the region is alarming,” Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on state-run TRT television. “We see Israel mounting its attacks towards Lebanon step by step.”
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The blasts have killed 32 people in two days, including two children, wounding more than 3,000 others, according to Lebanese health ministry figures.
Israel has not commented on the unprecedented operation in which Hezbollah operatives’ walkie-talkies and pagers exploded in supermarkets, at funerals and on streets.
But its defence minister Yoav Gallant, referring to Israel’s border with Lebanon, said Wednesday: “The centre of gravity is moving northward.”
Turkey blamed Israel for the blasts.
“We have come to a point where these operations carried out by Israel have become increasingly provocative, and in return, Iran, Hezbollah and elements close to them have no choice but respond,” Fidan said.
Hezbollah is an ally of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which has been fighting a war in Gaza since its October 7 attack on Israel.
For nearly a year, the focus of Israel’s firepower has been on Gaza, which is ruled by Hamas.
But its troops have also been engaged in near-daily clashes with Hezbollah militants along its northern border, killing hundreds in Lebanon, most of them fighters, and dozens more in Israel.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday called Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati to offer his condolences over the wave of deadly blasts.
Erdogan is a vocal critic of Israel’s offensive in Gaza.
Courtesy – AFP
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