World Mourns Moroccan Child Rayan

The boy had been stuck in the well, located in the northern village of Ighran in Morocco's Chefchaouen province, since falling into it Tuesday. (AP
The boy had been stuck in the well, located in the northern village of Ighran in Morocco's Chefchaouen province, since falling into it Tuesday. (AP
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World Mourns Moroccan Child Rayan

The boy had been stuck in the well, located in the northern village of Ighran in Morocco's Chefchaouen province, since falling into it Tuesday. (AP
The boy had been stuck in the well, located in the northern village of Ighran in Morocco's Chefchaouen province, since falling into it Tuesday. (AP

The world mourned on Sunday the passing of Moroccan child Rayan, who was trapped in a well in northern Moroccan for five days and died before rescuers were able to reach him.

The saga had engrossed the Kingdom and the world and his death reverberated across the globe.

Rayan Awram, aged five, fell into the well at his village of Ighran in the hills near Chefchaouen on Tuesday, triggering a huge rescue effort.

Rescuers finally reached him late on Saturday after removing much of the adjacent hillside and delicately tunneling a horizontal passage into the well.

King Mohammed sent condolences to his parents, a statement carried by state media reported.

The well was only 45 cm (18 inches) wide at the top and tapered as it dropped 32 meters (100 feet) to the bottom, where Rayan was trapped, making it impossible for rescuers to descend directly.

Social media users had closely followed the rescue efforts. An outpouring of condolences came in from across the world, from as far as Yemen and the United States.

The Saudi embassy in Morocco offered its condolences to Rayan's family and the Moroccan leadership and people. It hailed the massive efforts that went towards saving him.

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry expressed the condolences of Egypt, saying it stands by Morocco during this sad time.

The entire saga created unprecedented global humanitarian solidarity, it noted.

AC Milan's Algerian player Ismaël Bennacer tweeted a cartoon of Rayan being lifted away to the sky by a heart-shaped balloon showing the Moroccan flag.

He said the child "will remain in our memories and will continue to inspire us."

French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted his condolences to Rayan's family and the Moroccan people.

Moroccan-American novelist Laila Lalami tweeted: "We all of us had been holding out hope that little Rayan would make it. This is all so tragic."

Egyptian actor Mohamed Henedy tweeted that Rayan will not be forgotten. Lebanese singer Ragheb Alameh expressed his sorrow over the sad end of "angel" Rayan's ordeal. Emirati singer Ahlam also offered her condolences to the family.

The hilly region around Chefchaouen is bitterly cold in winter and rescuers attempted to keep the boy alive by lowering food, water and oxygen through a tube.

Rescuers worked round the clock cutting a massive trench through the hillside, then tunneling horizontally towards Rayan, with a constant risk of triggering landslides.

In the final hours of the rescue effort, workers had to move with extreme caution as they attempted to dig through earth and rocks to where Rayan lay.

They were eventually able to access the well late on Saturday, and carried his body to a waiting ambulance.

Crowds had gathered in a vigil at the scene to watch the rescue effort as hundreds of workers toiled to save the child.



Israel’s Zamir: Lebanon is the Main Combat Arena

First responders gather at the site of an Israeli airstrike in the village of Habbouch, southern Lebanon on April 10, 2026. (Photo by Abbas FAKIH / AFP)
First responders gather at the site of an Israeli airstrike in the village of Habbouch, southern Lebanon on April 10, 2026. (Photo by Abbas FAKIH / AFP)
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Israel’s Zamir: Lebanon is the Main Combat Arena

First responders gather at the site of an Israeli airstrike in the village of Habbouch, southern Lebanon on April 10, 2026. (Photo by Abbas FAKIH / AFP)
First responders gather at the site of an Israeli airstrike in the village of Habbouch, southern Lebanon on April 10, 2026. (Photo by Abbas FAKIH / AFP)

The head of Israel’s military, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, has said that the “main combat arena is in Lebanon.”

The mission is to keep weakening Hezbollah, Zamir said.

He was speaking on Thursday to Israeli troops inside Lebanon, on the outskirts of the town of Bint Jbeil.

“Our main combat arena is here in Lebanon,” he stated.

Zamir said the army’s mission is to “continue deepening the damage and to continue weakening Hezbollah.”

He added that the objective is to remove the direct threat to residents of northern Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has offered a potential boost to ceasefire efforts in the region when saying he had approved direct talks with Lebanon.

The announcement came after Israel’s pounding of Beirut Wednesday killed more than 300 people. The negotiations are expected next week in Washington.


Macron Meets Pope Leo to Talk Lebanon, Middle East War

 French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron are welcomed as they arrive at the San Damaso courtyard to meet Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican, April 10, 2026. (Reuters)
French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron are welcomed as they arrive at the San Damaso courtyard to meet Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican, April 10, 2026. (Reuters)
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Macron Meets Pope Leo to Talk Lebanon, Middle East War

 French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron are welcomed as they arrive at the San Damaso courtyard to meet Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican, April 10, 2026. (Reuters)
French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron are welcomed as they arrive at the San Damaso courtyard to meet Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican, April 10, 2026. (Reuters)

French President Emmanuel Macron arrived Friday at the Vatican for his first meeting with Pope Leo XIV, a private audience expected to be dominated by the Iran war.

The French leader, who arrived with his wife Brigitte after flying to Rome on Thursday, will meet the US pontiff and the Vatican's secretary of state, Pietro Parolin.

Macron and the leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics were due above all to discuss "the resolution of the crisis in the Middle East", a spokesman for Macron's office told reporters.

They are particularly focused on Lebanon, where deadly Israeli strikes threatened this week's temporary truce between the US and Iran.

Leo XIV visited Lebanon late last year as part of his first trip abroad, which also included Türkiye, and has repeatedly prayed for the victims of conflict there.

Macron has also made numerous appeals for Lebanon to be included in the ceasefire.

He discussed the conflict on Thursday evening with representatives of the Catholic community of Sant'Egidio, an informal diplomatic channel of the Holy See that is very active on Middle Eastern and humanitarian issues.

"Macron is a man of peace," and "can do a lot" to "support" the Lebanese authorities, the community's founder, Andrea Riccardi, told reporters, adding that Lebanon "must not be left alone".

In recent days, both Macron and the Chicago-born pontiff have spoken out against US President Donald Trump over the war, which began with Israel-US attacks on Iran.

Leo condemned as "unacceptable" threats to civilian targets -- while not citing Trump by name -- while Macron said there was "too much talk, and it's all over the place".

Both welcomed the truce and have urged a diplomatic solution to the war, which has expanded across the Middle East and roiled the global economy.

The US government on Thursday denied a report that the Vatican's US envoy was summoned in January for a "bitter" dressing down over a speech by the pope condemning "diplomacy based on force", in remarks widely viewed as aimed at the Trump administration.

Macron is expected to invite Leo, a more reserved character than his predecessor, to visit France soon.

Friday's meeting at the Vatican comes three days before the pope's visit to the former French colony of Algeria, the first ever by a pontiff.


World Food Program Warns Lebanon Facing Food Security Crisis Due to Iran War

Volunteers carry World Food Program (WFP) boxes of aid supplies in a school-turned-shelter in Beirut, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, Lebanon, March 12, 2026. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
Volunteers carry World Food Program (WFP) boxes of aid supplies in a school-turned-shelter in Beirut, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, Lebanon, March 12, 2026. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
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World Food Program Warns Lebanon Facing Food Security Crisis Due to Iran War

Volunteers carry World Food Program (WFP) boxes of aid supplies in a school-turned-shelter in Beirut, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, Lebanon, March 12, 2026. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
Volunteers carry World Food Program (WFP) boxes of aid supplies in a school-turned-shelter in Beirut, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, Lebanon, March 12, 2026. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir

Lebanon is facing a food security crisis as the Iran war disrupts supplies of goods inside the country, the United Nations World Food Program said on Friday. 

A fragile two-day-old ceasefire has halted the campaign of US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran, but it has not so far calmed a parallel war waged by Israel against Iran's Hezbollah allies in Lebanon. 

"What we're witnessing is not just a displacement crisis, it is rapidly becoming a ‌food security ‌crisis," said World Food Program country director Allison ‌Oman, ⁠speaking via video ⁠link from Beirut. 

She warned that food was becoming increasingly unaffordable due to rising prices and demand among displaced families. 

PRICE OF VEGETABLES HAS SOARD 

The price of vegetables has soared by more than 20% and bread prices have increased by 17% since March 2, the WFP said. 

"What we're now seeing is ⁠a very worrying combination: prices are rising, incomes ‌are disrupted and demand is increasing ‌as displacement continues for many families," Oman stated. 

Lebanon faces a two-layered ‌crisis, in which some markets have fully collapsed - especially in ‌the south, where more than 80% of markets are no longer functioning - while those in Beirut are under increasing strain, Oman said. 

Many traders in conflict-affected areas in southern parts of Lebanon are reporting ‌less than one week of essential food stocks remaining, she added. 

The ability to deliver food ⁠aid into ⁠hard-to-reach areas in the south, which has faced heavy bombardment by Israeli airstrikes since March 2, was becoming increasingly difficult. 

While the Qasmiyeh bridge, which was previously struck, is now operational, movement remains difficult. Ten WFP convoys have reached the south to provide aid to some of the estimate 50,000 to 150,000 in need of humanitarian support in that part of the country. 

"This escalation is pushing vulnerable communities even closer to the edge," said Oman, adding that, due to this latest escalation, about 900,000 people across Lebanon were facing food insecurity - a number that was set to rise.