Asni: MoIn the earthquake-hit mountains of Morocco, 13-year-old Abdessamad El Berd gets up before dawn to make the long trek to the tent city that is his new school, walking by torchlight and careful to avoid roaming dogs.
His father accompanies him on the 14-kilometer (nine-mile) walk from their remote village of Tinghar to the makeshift school set up in the small town of Asni, in the disaster-hit area south of Marrakech.
“I don’t want him to drop out of school, but it’s tough,” said the 45-year-old father, Brahim El Berd.
“I don’t know if he can keep up this pace,” the man said, voicing hope that school buses will soon be organized.
“Otherwise, we won’t make it.”
Morocco’s education ministry has set up 32 traditional tents at Asni that serve as a school for 2,800 middle and high school students.
Classes have not yet officially resumed since the 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck the region on September 8, killing nearly 3,000 people.
But many children are already flocking to the tent school, where teachers provide a distraction and badly-needed psychological support to the children, many of whom have lost family members.
“I don’t feel very well,” said one pupil, Khadija Ait Ali, 17.
“But the fact that I’m back at school, even if in a tent, surrounded by my friends, is a relief.
“I don’t like being alone anymore because all I think about is the earthquake.”
The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization has said the quake impacted around one million school children.
It damaged or destroyed 530 schools and 55 boarding facilities, and classes were suspended in about 40 municipalities in the Al-Haouz, Chichaoua and Taroudant provinces.
At the makeshift school, French language teacher Abdellah Zahid, 32, said that, until classes resume, the main goal is to support the children.
“We are focusing on listening to our students and providing them with psychological support,” Zahid told AFP.
Despite the shared trauma, he voiced hope of “making this challenging school year a success.”
Another pupil, 15-year-old Samira Ait Achichaou, had also set off at dawn with her father, hitchhiking more than 40 kilometers from her village of Ousserterk.
“It’s tough, but I’m glad to be back on track with school,” she said.
Others pupils said they are struggling with emotional scars that run deep.
Amina Ait Abdellah, 16, said she “doesn’t feel ready to resume classes” yet.
“I still haven’t come to terms with the tragedy we experienced,” said Amina, from the village of Ouirgane, 14 kilometers southwest of Asni.
“I can’t stop thinking about the house we lost. I can’t stand the tents either,” she said, surrounded by friends who agreed with her.
“They remind me of the earthquake and its miseries.”
One mother, Hasna Lahdadi, said her 11-year-old son Yahia was among the children still tormented by acute distress.
“I try to do my best to help him express his anxieties,” she said. “He’s very afraid of aftershocks. Our house suffered serious damage.”
She tried to persuade him to switch to a school in Marrakech, but he refused.
“I want to stay with my friends,” said Yahia. “I’m happy to see them again.”
Some of the children have lost almost everything, and school has become their refuge.
Jamal Ait Hmane, 43, was taking his 13-year-old daughter to school, all the way from the town of Tamgounsi, about 100 kilometers away.
“I want them to continue their education,” he said. “It will help them forget the tragedy of the earthquake.”
Children trek to tent school in quake-hit Morocco
https://arab.news/n5efd
Children trek to tent school in quake-hit Morocco
- Morocco’s education ministry has set up 32 traditional tents at Asni that serve as a school for 2,800 middle and high school students
- Children are already flocking to the tent school, where teachers provide a distraction and badly-needed psychological support to the children
Kuwaiti emir to attend Bastille Day, meet Macron during first official visit to France
- Kuwaiti-French relations commited to improving cooperation and supporting regional and global stability
- France was one of the first countries to support Kuwait’s independence in 1961
LONDON: Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah made his first official visit to France on Sunday since assuming power in December 2023.
The visit reflects the historical partnership between Paris and Kuwait, the Presidential Palace, the Elysee, said in a statement.
Sheikh Meshal will attend the official military parade to celebrate France’s national Bastille Day on July 14, alongside a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron.
The two parties aim to strengthen ties by enhancing partnerships in sectors such as diplomacy, defense, economy, education, health, culture, and scientific research, the Kuwait Agency reported.
France was one of the first countries to support Kuwait’s independence in 1961 and played a significant role in 1991 in its liberation from Iraqi forces led by Saddam Hussein, the Elysee said.
Trade between Kuwait and France was worth €2.8 billion ($3.27 billion) in 2023, with French infrastructure, energy, and construction companies leading projects in Kuwait. More than 1,000 students benefited from the educational programs offered by the French Institute, while French healthcare institutions, such as the Gustave Roussy Institute, contributed to supporting the Kuwaiti healthcare sector through consultations and projects.
Kuwaiti-French relations display a strong partnership, with a commitment to improving cooperation and supporting regional and global stability, the Elysee added.
Minister of Defense Sheikh Abdullah Ali Al-Sabah, Foreign Minister Abdullah Al-Yahya, the chief of the Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Authority and other high officials are accompanying the emir of Kuwait.
Syria wildfires contained after 10 days
- The blazes in the coastal province of Latakia broke out amid an intense heatwave across the region
- UN humanitarian agency says fires destroyed about 100 square kilometers of forest and farmland
DAMASCUS: Syria’s civil defense agency on Sunday said wildfires in the country’s west, which have burned vast tracts of forest and farmland and forced evacuations, had been brought under control after 10 days.
In a statement on Facebook, the agency said that “with the spread of the fires halted and the fire hotspots brought under control on all fronts” on Saturday, teams on the ground were working to cool down the affected areas while monitoring any signs of reignition.
The blazes in the coastal province of Latakia broke out amid an intense heatwave across the region.
The UN humanitarian agency OCHA said they destroyed about 100 square kilometers of forest and farmland.
As the fires raged, Syrian emergency workers faced tough conditions including high temperatures, strong winds, rugged mountainous terrain and the danger of explosive war remnants.
This all comes in a country worn down by years of conflict and economic crisis.
In a post on X, the Syrian minister for emergencies and disaster management, Raed Al-Saleh, said that with help from Turkish, Jordanian, Lebanese, Qatari and Iraqi teams, firefighters had “managed to halt the spread of the fire on all fronts, which is the most important step toward containing the wildfires.”
The “situation is the best it has been in the past 10 days,” Saleh said late Saturday.
“There are still threats due to wind activity, but we are working to prevent any renewed expansion of the fires,” the minister added.
The civil defense agency said rescue teams were carrying out “operations to open pathways and firebreaks within the forests... in order to reduce the chances of fire spreading in case of reignition.”
Authorities have not reported any casualties, but several towns in Latakia province have been evacuated as a precaution.
Nearly seven months after the ousting of longtime ruler Bashar Assad, Syria is still reeling from more than a decade of civil war that ravaged the country’s economy, infrastructure and public services.
With man-made climate change increasing the likelihood and intensity of droughts and wildfires worldwide, Syria has also been battered by heatwaves and low rainfall.
In June, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization said that Syria had “not seen such bad climate conditions in 60 years.”
Apartment fire in Turkiye’s Ankara kills 3, including a baby
- The blaze started late Saturday night on the fourth floor and spread rapidly, according to local media
- Firefighters took four hours to extinguish the flames. The state-run Anadolu Agency reported that 39 suffered light smoke inhalation, including seven firefighters
Istanbul: A fire at a 26-story apartment building in the Turkish capital, Ankara, killed three people, including a three-and-a-half-month-old baby, local media said.
The blaze broke out at around 10:00 p.m. local time Saturday night on the fourth floor and quickly spread through the structure, according to the state-run Anadolu Agency. It took firefighters four hours to put out the fire.
The agency also reported that 39 suffered light smoke inhalation, including seven firefighters. Paramedics attended to 26 people on site, while 20 others have been hospitalized, one in critical condition.
59 Palestinians in Gaza killed by Israeli airstrikes or shot dead while seeking aid
- The Red Cross said its field hospital saw its largest influx of dead in more than a year of operation after the shootings
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip: At least 31 Palestinians were fatally shot on their way to an aid distribution site in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, while Israeli airstrikes killed at least 28 Palestinians including four children, Palestinian hospital officials and witnesses said.
There were no signs of a breakthrough in ceasefire talks following two days of meetings between US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Trump had said he was nearing an agreement between Israel and Hamas that would potentially wind down the war.
The 31 Palestinians shot dead were on their way to a distribution site run by the Israeli-backed American organization Gaza Humanitarian Foundation near Rafah in southern Gaza, hospital officials and witnesses said.
The Red Cross said its field hospital saw its largest influx of dead in more than a year of operation after the shootings, and that the overwhelming majority of the more than 100 people hurt had gunshot wounds.
Airstrikes in central Gaza’s Deir Al-Balah killed 13 including the four children, officials at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital said. Fifteen others were killed in Khan Younis in the south, according to Nasser Hospital. Israel’s military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Intense airstrikes continued Saturday evening in the area of Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza.
Israelis rallied yet again for a ceasefire deal. “Arrogance is what brought the disaster upon us,” former hostage Eli Sharabi said of Israeli leaders.
Teen’s first attempt to pick up food ends in death
The 21-month war has left much of Gaza’s population of over 2 million reliant on outside aid while food security experts warn of famine. Israel blocked and then restricted aid entry after ending the latest ceasefire in March.
“All responsive individuals reported they were attempting to access food distribution sites,” the Red Cross said after the shootings near Rafah, noting the “alarming frequency and scale” of such mass casualty incidents.
Israel’s military said it fired warning shots toward people it said were behaving suspiciously to prevent them from approaching. It said it was not aware of any casualties. The GHF said no incident occurred near its sites.
Abdullah Al-Haddad said he was 200 meters from the aid distribution site run by the GHF close to the Shakoush area when an Israeli tank started firing at crowds of Palestinians.
“We were together, and they shot us at once,” he said, writhing in pain from a leg wound at Nasser Hospital.
Mohammed Jamal Al-Sahloo, another witness, said Israel’s military had ordered them to proceed to the site when the shooting started.
Sumaya Al-Sha’er’s 17-year-old son, Nasir, was killed, hospital officials said.
“He said to me, ‘Mom, you don’t have flour and today I’ll go and bring you flour, even if I die, I’ll go and get it,’” she said. “But he never came back home.”
Until then, she said, she had prevented the teenager from going to GHF sites because she thought it was too dangerous.
Witnesses, health officials and UN officials say hundreds have been killed by Israeli fire while heading toward GHF distribution points through military zones off limits to independent media. The military has acknowledged firing warning shots at Palestinians who it says approached its forces in a suspicious manner.
The GHF denies there has been violence in or around its sites. But two of its contractors told The Associated Press that their colleagues have fired live ammunition and stun grenades as Palestinians scramble for food, allegations the foundation denied.
In a separate effort, the UN and aid groups say they struggle to distribute humanitarian aid because of Israeli military restrictions and a breakdown of law and order that has led to widespread looting.
The first fuel – 150,000 liters – entered Gaza this week after 130 days, a joint statement by UN aid bodies said, calling it a small amount for the “the backbone of survival in Gaza.” Fuel runs hospitals, water systems, transport and more, the statement said.
Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people in their Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel that sparked the war and abducted 251. Hamas still holds some 50 hostages, with at least 20 believed to remain alive.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed over 57,800 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The ministry, under Gaza’s Hamas-run government, doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count. The UN and other international organizations see its figures as the most reliable statistics on war casualties.
Iran says it would resume nuclear talks with US if guaranteed no further attacks
- Following the US strikes, Iran suspended cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog, which led to the departure of inspectors
- Top Iran envoy says that under Iranian law, the country will answer the agency’s request for cooperation ‘case by case’
Iran’s foreign minister said Saturday that his country would accept a resumption of nuclear talks with the US if there were assurances of no more attacks against it, state media reported.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a speech to Tehran-based foreign diplomats that Iran has always been ready and will be ready in the future for talks about its nuclear program, but, “assurance should be provided that in case of a resumption of talks, the trend will not lead to war.”
Referring to the 12-day Israeli bombardment of Iran’s nuclear and military sites, and the US strike on June 22, Araghchi said that if the US and others wish to resume talks with Iran, “first of all, there should be a firm guarantee that such actions will not be repeated. The attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities has made it more difficult and complicated to achieve a solution based on negotiations.”
Following the strikes, Iran suspended cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog, which led to the departure of inspectors.
Araghchi said that under Iranian law, the country will answer the agency’s request for cooperation “case by case,” based on Iran’s interests. He also said any inspection by the agency should be done based on Iran’s “security” concerns as well as the safety of the inspectors. “The risk of proliferation of radioactive ingredients and an explosion of ammunition that remains from the war in the attacked nuclear sites is serious,” he said.
He also reiterated Iran’s position on the need to continue enriching uranium on its soil. US President Donald Trump has insisted that cannot happen.
Israel claims it acted because Tehran was within reach of a nuclear weapon. US intelligence agencies and the International Atomic Energy Agency had assessed Iran last had an organized nuclear weapons program in 2003, though Tehran had been enriching uranium up to 60 percent – a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90 percent.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in an interview published Monday said the US airstrikes so badly damaged his country’s nuclear facilities that Iranian authorities still have not been able to access them to survey the destruction.
