At Least 17 Killed in Morocco Flooding

Moroccan rescuers search for bodies after at least 17 people were killed when flood waters overturned their bus in the country's southeast. (AFP)
Moroccan rescuers search for bodies after at least 17 people were killed when flood waters overturned their bus in the country's southeast. (AFP)
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At Least 17 Killed in Morocco Flooding

Moroccan rescuers search for bodies after at least 17 people were killed when flood waters overturned their bus in the country's southeast. (AFP)
Moroccan rescuers search for bodies after at least 17 people were killed when flood waters overturned their bus in the country's southeast. (AFP)

At least 17 people were killed in Morocco when flood waters overturned their bus in the kingdom's southeast, authorities said Monday.

Rescuers have been searching for bodies since the accident Sunday, when the bus flipped on a bridge in a valley near the city of Errachidia, authorities said.

They said a further 29 passengers, with various injuries but in "stable" condition, had been transferred to a hospital in Errachidia.

Rescue workers were continuing their search, after six dead passengers were initially found at the site and another 11 in the relief operation.

The bus driver, who had at first had been counted among the missing, turned up Monday at the hospital and was being treated under police guard ahead of questioning, local officials said.

Wounded passengers, interviewed by Medi1TV from their hospital beds, told of their ordeal.

"We were on the road when, all of a sudden, we were surrounded by water," a woman said, while another said: "The bus couldn't go forwards or backwards anymore, it just toppled over."

Morocco has been hit by violent storms this summer, sparking flash flooding in its mountainous interior.

At the end of August, a flood hit a football pitch killing eight people in the southern region of Taroudant.

And in July, 15 people were killed in a landslide caused by flash floods on a road south of Marrakesh.

Floods are common in the North African country. In 2014, they killed around 50 people and caused considerable damage.



First Wheat Shipment Since Assad’s Ouster Arrives in Syria’s Latakia

A farmer shows wheat plants at a field in Giza, Egypt April 18, 2025. (Reuters)
A farmer shows wheat plants at a field in Giza, Egypt April 18, 2025. (Reuters)
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First Wheat Shipment Since Assad’s Ouster Arrives in Syria’s Latakia

A farmer shows wheat plants at a field in Giza, Egypt April 18, 2025. (Reuters)
A farmer shows wheat plants at a field in Giza, Egypt April 18, 2025. (Reuters)

A ship carrying wheat has arrived in Syria's Latakia port, the first delivery of its kind since former President Bashar al-Assad was ousted by rebels in December, the government said on Sunday.

Officials of the new government say that while imports of wheat and other basics are not subject to US and UN sanctions, challenges in securing financing for trade deals have deterred global suppliers from selling to Syria.

The Syrian General Authority for Land and Sea Borders said in a statement that the ship carried 6,600 tons of wheat. It did not identify the nationality or destination of the boat, but one regional commodity trader told Reuters it was from Russia.

"A step that is considered a clear indication of the start of a new phase of economic recovery in the country," the borders authority said of the shipment, adding that it should pave the way for more arrivals of vital supplies.

Traders say Syria has this year been largely relying on overland imports from neighbors.

Russia and Iran, both major backers of the Assad government, previously provided most of Syria's wheat and oil products but stopped after the opposition triumphed and he fled to Moscow.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa's government is focused on economic recovery after 14 years of conflict.