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.
Federal agents raided the Washington, D.C., home of Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar early Monday morning as part of an ongoing federal criminal investigation, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) has confirmed.
Homeland Security Investigations agents arrived at the Minnesota congresswoman’s residence at about 6:00 a.m. Eastern Time, according to a report by Fox News.
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The report said both the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the DOJ are involved in the investigation.
A DOJ spokesperson confirmed the operation, stating: “Today in the Washington, D.C. area, Homeland Security Investigations executed a judicially authorized search warrant secured by the Department of Justice.”
The spokesperson added: “This enforcement action is part of an ongoing federal criminal investigation.”
Details later……….
Heavy rains have triggered severe flooding across parts of Bangkok, Thailand, forcing nearly 4,900 residents to evacuate to shelters as floodwaters swept through roads and residential areas.
The flooding has disrupted movement across parts of the Thai capital, with motorists and pedestrians forced to navigate submerged roads and seek alternative routes.
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According to the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, about 52,000 households have been affected by the flooding, prompting authorities to declare a flood disaster and intensify emergency response efforts.
Emergency teams have been deployed to assist affected communities and move residents from vulnerable areas to safer locations as water levels rise.
Bangkok is accustomed to seasonal heavy rainfall, but intense downpours can overwhelm drainage systems, particularly in low-lying areas, resulting in widespread flooding and disruption.
Authorities are continuing to monitor affected locations while coordinating evacuations and other emergency measures.
For thousands of residents, the immediate priority remains securing safe shelter and protecting homes and livelihoods as authorities work to manage the situation and restore normal activities once the floodwaters recede.
US President Donald Trump has explained his decision to reject Iran’s latest proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, saying Tehran was seeking an agreement because it was losing revenue.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said Iran wanted to immediately reopen the strategically important waterway but argued that the proposal was not acceptable to his administration.
“They want to make a deal, and I think that’s fine. I like making a deal, too, but that deal would not be acceptable,” Trump said.
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According to the US president, Iran’s push to reopen the strait was driven by the economic pressure it was facing.
“What they want to do is immediately open the Hormuz Strait. Do you know why? Because they are dying,” Trump said.
“You know why they’re dying? Because they have no money coming in, because they get their money from the Hormuz Strait.”
Trump also claimed that the US had established an unprecedented naval blockade against Iran, describing it as “a wall of steel.”
“So they outsmarted themselves. We put up the greatest blockade ever in military history. It’s a wall of steel,” he said.
“And guess what? They don’t have any money now because they wanted to close the strait.”
The Strait of Hormuz is a major global energy shipping route, and disruption to traffic through the waterway has significant implications for international oil markets and countries that depend on energy imports.
Trump’s remarks came amid continued tensions between Washington and Tehran over the reopening of the strategic waterway and negotiations involving Iran.
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