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Syrian Actor Mohammed Al Shammat Dies at 85

Late Syrian actor Mohammad El Shammat
Late Syrian actor Mohammad El Shammat
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Syrian Actor Mohammed Al Shammat Dies at 85

Late Syrian actor Mohammad El Shammat
Late Syrian actor Mohammad El Shammat

The Syndicate of Artists in Damascus confirmed that Mohammad El Shammat died in the US, where he had been receiving treatment, at the age of 85 this week.

Shammat enjoyed a long career after rising to fame through his role as “the uncle Abou Riah” in Sah el-Nom alongside famous Syrian comedian Duraid Lahham.

Shammat’s acting began as a hobby in the fifties before it became his professional career, becoming among the stars of the small screen during the early days of television before moving to theater, TV, and cinema.

As well as his role as Abou Riah, Shammat is known for his roles in TV shows like Harat Al Qasr (1970), Wadi Al-Misk (1982), Trabeesh (1992), Ghorbal (2004) and Shawri el-Sham el Atika (2019).

On the big screen, he acted in Ghoar James Bond and Gharamiat Khasa (1974), Banat el Estaarad (1987), and Sawakat el Taxi (1989).

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Hundreds of Firefighters Battling Wildfire in Southern France

An Airbus H125 helicopter drops water over a wildfire in Saint-Julien Les Martigues, northwest of Marseille in southern France on July 18, 2025. (Photo by Christophe SIMON / AFP)
An Airbus H125 helicopter drops water over a wildfire in Saint-Julien Les Martigues, northwest of Marseille in southern France on July 18, 2025. (Photo by Christophe SIMON / AFP)
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Hundreds of Firefighters Battling Wildfire in Southern France

An Airbus H125 helicopter drops water over a wildfire in Saint-Julien Les Martigues, northwest of Marseille in southern France on July 18, 2025. (Photo by Christophe SIMON / AFP)
An Airbus H125 helicopter drops water over a wildfire in Saint-Julien Les Martigues, northwest of Marseille in southern France on July 18, 2025. (Photo by Christophe SIMON / AFP)

Nearly 1,000 firefighters and helicopters battled a wildfire about 40 kilometers (25 miles) northwest of France's second-largest city Marseille on Friday, but officials said lower temperatures and increased humidity had improved the situation.

The 240-hectare (593 acres) wildfire flared up a week after a separate conflagration reached the northwestern outskirts of Marseille, forcing people to evacuate or into lockdown and temporarily shuttering the area's airport.

Pierre Bepoix, the colonel of rescue operations and deputy director for the area's firefighters, said 150 people had been evacuated, but firefighters had managed to save 150 homes and portions of the area's forests.

"It was a fire that swept through relatively dense vegetation ... which made our work particularly complicated," Bepoix told Reuters. "Obviously, priority was given to the preservation and protection of these homes and the lives that could be in these buildings."

Local officials said in a statement that 120 homes had been threatened by the fire, adding that it was not possible yet to identify any possible damage to them, and that two firefighters had been injured.

Meanwhile in Spain, a wildfire that broke out on Thursday evening in the central Toledo province and could be seen from downtown Madrid, ravaged 3,200 hectares of woodland.

Regional emergency services said early on Friday firefighters had secured the perimeter, though there were concerns over strong winds and high temperatures forecast throughout the day.