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Marrakech Declared Islamic World's Capital of Culture in 2024

ICESCO Director General Salim al-Malik (ICESCO)
ICESCO Director General Salim al-Malik (ICESCO)
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Marrakech Declared Islamic World's Capital of Culture in 2024

ICESCO Director General Salim al-Malik (ICESCO)
ICESCO Director General Salim al-Malik (ICESCO)

Rabat is the Culture Capital of the Islamic World for 2024, announced ICESCO Director General Salim al-Malik.

The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) announced the closing ceremony of its year-long program of activities, including artistic and cultural events and celebrations, such as the International Museum and Exhibition of the Prophet's Seerah and Islamic Civilization.

Malik reviewed the 260 key activities held during the celebration of Rabat as the Culture Capital in the Islamic World.

He thanked King Mohammed VI, Crown Prince Moulay El Hassan, the Ministry of Youth, Culture, and Communication, and all Moroccan ministries, institutions, bodies, associations, and individuals who did not hesitate to contribute to this celebration.

Minister of Youth, Culture, and Communication Mohammed Mehdi Bensaid, lauded the distinguished cooperation between the Ministry and ICESCO, which resulted in the organization of several activities as part of the celebration of Rabat as the Culture Capital in the Islamic World for 2022, and the inscription of 27 Moroccan heritage elements on ICESCO's Islamic World Heritage Lists.

Bensaid stated that after a year of distinguished cultural and artistic activities, the closing of Rabat Celebration as Culture Capital in the Islamic World for 2022 is an occasion to highlight the efforts aimed at making Rabat a metropolis at the international level.

The closing ceremony took place with the presence of high-profile Moroccan government officials, ambassadors accredited to the Kingdom, public figures, writers, thinkers, artists, and the general public.

Several artists performed at the event, such as Samira al-Qadri and Said Belkadi, who entertained the audience with traditional Moroccan poems. The Andalusian Music Choir, conducted by Amin al-Dubbi, and the Symphony Orchestra, by Samir Tamim, also played at the ceremony.

During 2023, Marrakech will host several groups of cultural, intellectual, and artistic events that highlight Islamic civilization.

It will be an opportunity to show the richness of the Red City, as Marrakesh is one of the cities included in UNESCO's list of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

The city is witnessing urban and cultural development, and the "Marrakech, Capital of Culture in the Islamic World" event will be an opportunity to highlight its attractions, intangible heritage, and archaeological sites.

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Varieties

Social Media Users Mobilize to Find Boro, a Dog Who Survived Spain’s Train Crash

A sign is pictured reading in Spanish, "Missing Boro. Lost during the Adamuz accident. Any information is helpful," about a dog that went missing during a train crash in Adamuz, southern Spain, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
A sign is pictured reading in Spanish, "Missing Boro. Lost during the Adamuz accident. Any information is helpful," about a dog that went missing during a train crash in Adamuz, southern Spain, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
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Social Media Users Mobilize to Find Boro, a Dog Who Survived Spain’s Train Crash

A sign is pictured reading in Spanish, "Missing Boro. Lost during the Adamuz accident. Any information is helpful," about a dog that went missing during a train crash in Adamuz, southern Spain, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
A sign is pictured reading in Spanish, "Missing Boro. Lost during the Adamuz accident. Any information is helpful," about a dog that went missing during a train crash in Adamuz, southern Spain, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Blanket draped over her shoulders and a bandage on her cheek, Ana García issued a desperate plea: she needed help finding her dog, Boro.

Hours earlier, 26-year-old García and her pregnant sister had been traveling with Boro by high-speed train from Malaga, their hometown in southern Spain, to capital Madrid. The tail of their train car jumped the rails for reasons that remain unclear, then was smashed into by a train coming in the opposite direction and that tumbled down an adjacent slope.

At least 42 people died in the crash and more than 150 were injured, including some right in front of García. Rescue crews helped her and her sister out of the tilted train car.
García saw Boro briefly, then he bolted.

After receiving medical treatment, a limping García told reporters she was going back to find him.

“Please, if you can help, look for the animals,” she said, choked up and holding back tears. “We were coming back from a family weekend with the little dog, who’s family, too.”

In the aftermath of one of Spain’s worst railway disasters, Spaniards on social media rallied to find Boro and major Spanish media outlets have reported on the search for the missing mutt.

Thousands amplified García’s call, sharing video of her interview. Photos of Boro, a medium-sized black dog with white eyebrows and a tuft of white fur on his chest, went viral alongside phone numbers for García and her family. The Associated Press was not able to reach anyone through these numbers.

Television broadcaster TVE’s filming of the crash site Monday afternoon brought a jolt of hope: for a few short seconds, a dog resembling Boro could be seen running through a nearby field — an area fenced off while investigators and rescuers continue their search for victims and evidence. But no one managed to locate the elusive pup.

Spain’s animal rights political party received permission from the Interior Ministry to send an animal rescue patrol inside the perimeter and will do so on Wednesday, its president, Javier Luna, said in a video posted on X.

“I want to send a message to the family, who are going through a very difficult time (...) I am giving you hope because I am sure we will find him,” Luna said.

Varieties

Former Flight Attendant Posed as Pilot, Received Hundreds of Free Flights, US Authorities Say

A United Airlines plane takes off from San Francisco International Airport on January 20, 2026 in San Francisco, California. (Getty Images/AFP)
A United Airlines plane takes off from San Francisco International Airport on January 20, 2026 in San Francisco, California. (Getty Images/AFP)
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Former Flight Attendant Posed as Pilot, Received Hundreds of Free Flights, US Authorities Say

A United Airlines plane takes off from San Francisco International Airport on January 20, 2026 in San Francisco, California. (Getty Images/AFP)
A United Airlines plane takes off from San Francisco International Airport on January 20, 2026 in San Francisco, California. (Getty Images/AFP)

A former flight attendant for a Canadian airline posed as a commercial pilot and as a current flight attendant to obtain hundreds of free flights from US airlines, authorities said.

Dallas Pokornik, 33, of Toronto, was arrested in Panama after being indicted on wire fraud charges in federal court in Hawaii last October. He pleaded not guilty Tuesday following his extradition.

According to court documents, Pokornik was a flight attendant for a Toronto-based airline from 2017 to 2019, then used fake employee identification from that carrier to obtain tickets reserved for pilots and flight attendants on three other airlines.

US prosecutors said Tuesday that Pokornik even requested to sit in an extra seat in the cockpit — the “jump seat” — typically reserved for off-duty pilots. It was not clear from court documents whether he ever actually rode in a plane’s cockpit, and the US Attorney’s Office declined to say.

The indictment did not identify the airlines except to say they are based in Honolulu, Chicago and Fort Worth, Texas. Representatives for Hawaiian Airlines, United Airlines and American Airlines — which are respectively based in those cities — didn’t immediately respond to emails from The Associated Press seeking comment.

Air Canada, which is based in Toronto, also did not respond to an email seeking comment.

The scheme lasted four years, the US prosecutors in Hawaii said.

A US magistrate judge on Tuesday ordered Pokornik to remain in custody. His federal defender declined to comment.

In 2023, an off-duty airline pilot riding in the cockpit of a Horizon Air flight said “I’m not OK” just before trying to cut the engines midflight. That pilot, Joseph Emerson, later told police he had been struggling with depression.

A federal judge sentenced him to time served last November.

The allegations against Pokornik are reminiscent of “Catch Me If You Can,” the movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio that tells the story of Frank Abagnale posing as a pilot to defraud an airline and obtain free flights.

Varieties

Wave of Low Temperature Brings Rare Snowfall to Shanghai

A woman holding an umbrella rides a bicycle amid snowfall in Shanghai, China January 20, 2026. (Reuters)
A woman holding an umbrella rides a bicycle amid snowfall in Shanghai, China January 20, 2026. (Reuters)
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Wave of Low Temperature Brings Rare Snowfall to Shanghai

A woman holding an umbrella rides a bicycle amid snowfall in Shanghai, China January 20, 2026. (Reuters)
A woman holding an umbrella rides a bicycle amid snowfall in Shanghai, China January 20, 2026. (Reuters)

A wave of low temperature sweeping southern China brought rare snowfall to ​Shanghai on Tuesday, delighting residents of the financial hub as authorities warned that the frigid weather could last for at least three days.

The city, on China's east coast, last ‌experienced a heavy snowfall ‌in January ‌2018. ⁠And ​just ‌last week, Shanghai basked in unusually high temperatures of 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit), which local media said had caused some osmanthus trees to bloom.

"The weather seems rather ⁠strange this year," said 30-year-old resident Yu Xin.

"In ‌general, the temperature ‍fluctuations have ‍been quite significant, so some people ‍might feel a bit uncomfortable," she said.

Chinese state media said other areas experienced sharp temperature drops, including Jiangxi and ​Guizhou provinces, which sit south of China's Yangtze and Huai ⁠rivers. Guizhou province is expected to experience temperature drops of 10 to 14 degrees Celsius, the Zhejiang News reported.

Across China, authorities have also shut 241 sections of major roads in 12 provinces including Shanxi, Inner Mongolia and Heilongjiang due to snowfall and icy ‌roads, state broadcaster CCTV said.