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Life Returns Gradually to Normal at ‘Jemaa el-Fnaa’ Square in Marrakesh

A general view of Marrakesh's famous Jemaa el-Fnaa square, June 25, 2012. Reuters/File Photo
A general view of Marrakesh's famous Jemaa el-Fnaa square, June 25, 2012. Reuters/File Photo
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Life Returns Gradually to Normal at ‘Jemaa el-Fnaa’ Square in Marrakesh

A general view of Marrakesh's famous Jemaa el-Fnaa square, June 25, 2012. Reuters/File Photo
A general view of Marrakesh's famous Jemaa el-Fnaa square, June 25, 2012. Reuters/File Photo

Wandering in the Jemaa el-Fnaa Square these days can prompt mixed feelings: fatigue after a health crisis that lasted for months and affected tourism worldwide, and cautious optimism about the potential end of the pandemic.

This popular square has become a major tourism hub in Marrakesh over the past decades.

A visit to the Red City for tourism and relaxation could not be complete without hitting the square, not only to enjoy its restaurants, storytellers, and snake charmers, but also to explore the old city, old souks such as ‘Souk Samarin’, and the historic landmarks including the ‘Bin Youssef School’, the Museum of Marrakesh, and ‘Almoravid Qubba’.

Following the global coronavirus outbreak, and the lockdowns and restrictions that paralyzed local travel and closed the borders, the square missed many of its visitors for the first time since its establishment. However, it seems everything is recovering these days, and so does the square, which is gradually reoffering its visitors relaxation, storytelling, good food, skilled craftsmen, heritage, and art.

Before the emergence of the virus two years ago, Jemaa el-Fnaa was the only square in Morocco, and maybe in the world, in which life wasn’t affected by cold winters or scorching summer heats, the World Cup or Olympics, or local and international events. Only the pandemic, and the restrictions the authorities applied to control the spread of the virus, forced Jemaa el-Fnaa to change its habits and give up its vivid ambiances.

The tourism turnout in Marrakesh, and the Jemaa el-Fnaa Square, didn’t return to pre-COVID levels yet. The pandemic heavily affected the industry, but the square’s visitors believe that this slow economic activity and the limited flow of tourists are much better than the harsh lockdowns. The most important thing now is that the world manages to overcome the virus, so the square can fully recover and lure more tourists from Morocco and abroad.

The beginning of the economic and tourism recovery in the square and the city has coincided with Ramadan.

Wandering in the Jemaa el-Fnaa Square during the holy month offers a unique experience with the Ramadan-related traditions and rituals that people can see across Marrakesh, considered among the top tourism destinations for people from various cultures.

The Holy Month of Ramadan forces Moroccans to change many of their daily habits, however, foreigners can still enjoy the city committed, as a global touristic destination, to meeting the expectations of its visitors of various religions, origins, and cultural backgrounds. Many restaurants and coffee shops keep their doors open during Ramadan, and Jemaa el-Fnaa Square keeps providing its daily services and entertaining activities in the same rhythm.

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Varieties

Bear Goes on Rampage in Japan, Injuring Four People

A bear walks on the premises of an office in Fukushima, Japan, Tuesday, June 2, 2026. (Kyodo News via AP)
A bear walks on the premises of an office in Fukushima, Japan, Tuesday, June 2, 2026. (Kyodo News via AP)
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Bear Goes on Rampage in Japan, Injuring Four People

A bear walks on the premises of an office in Fukushima, Japan, Tuesday, June 2, 2026. (Kyodo News via AP)
A bear walks on the premises of an office in Fukushima, Japan, Tuesday, June 2, 2026. (Kyodo News via AP)

A bear attack left four people injured in two factories and a residential area in northern Japan's Fukushima on Tuesday, police and media reports said.

A record 13 people were killed by bears in Japan last year, and there has been a jump in sightings as the animals emerge hungry from hibernation.

"A bear-related human injury incident... occurred in Fukushima City, injuring four people," the prefectural police said in a statement, said AFP.

The bear was first spotted in a car parts factory, prompting an emergency call explaining that "employees had been bitten", the Yomiuri Shimbun daily reported citing police and fire department officials.

As the bear continued its rampage, two other people were injured, one in a residential area and the other on the premises of an electronic equipment manufacturer nearby, the Yomiuri said, adding that the animal was thought to have remained inside the factory.

The report said one of those attacked was heavily injured, while the rest suffered only mild injuries.

In the last fiscal year to March, bear sightings nationwide topped 50,000, more than double the previous record set two years earlier, according to official data.

The animals were seen entering homes, roaming near schools and rampaging through supermarkets and hot spring resorts on an almost daily basis.

Record sightings have been reported again this year as the bears emerge from their winter slumber, according to local media.

In April, bear attacks killed one person and injured five others, according to the environment ministry.

There have also been more than a dozen bear sightings reported on the outskirts of Tokyo this year, with a Russian man in his 30s reportedly mauled as he hiked in the city last month.

Varieties

Hawaii’s Kilauea Sets Record for Lava Fountaining Episodes in Any 1 Eruption for the Volcano

This image released by the United States Geological Survey shows lava fountains from Kīlauea volcano on Monday, June 1, 2026, in Hawaii. (L. Gallant/USGS via AP)
This image released by the United States Geological Survey shows lava fountains from Kīlauea volcano on Monday, June 1, 2026, in Hawaii. (L. Gallant/USGS via AP)
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Hawaii’s Kilauea Sets Record for Lava Fountaining Episodes in Any 1 Eruption for the Volcano

This image released by the United States Geological Survey shows lava fountains from Kīlauea volcano on Monday, June 1, 2026, in Hawaii. (L. Gallant/USGS via AP)
This image released by the United States Geological Survey shows lava fountains from Kīlauea volcano on Monday, June 1, 2026, in Hawaii. (L. Gallant/USGS via AP)

The on-and-off eruption of Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano broke a record Monday with the number of periods it has produced fountains of lava since it began erupting in December 2024, the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said.

Monday marked 48 fountaining episodes, setting the record for any one eruption on Kilauea, said Katie Mulliken, a geologist and spokesperson with the observatory.

Episodes are separated by periods during which little to no lava erupts. Since lava is coming from the same vents in a crater at Kilauea's summit, it is the same overall eruption, she said in an email.

There are several notable aspects of the current eruption, she said, including how accessible it is for viewing by residents and tourists.

An eruption during the 1980s, in which 47 lava fountaining episodes occurred over about 3 1/2 years, occurred in a more remote area, she said.

The ongoing eruption is also reshaping the topography at the summit, she said.

But the lava fountains also can impact neighboring communities with volcanic fragments and ash, known as tephra.

Kilauea, located on Hawaii’s Big Island, is one of the world’s most active volcanoes.

Varieties

Fears of Hunger Overwhelm Guatemalan Village as El Nino Approaches

As the drought spreads and forecasts for the El Nino phenomenon grow increasingly bleak, a fear of hunger grips the residents of the Indigenous village of Cunen in northern Guatemala. Johan ORDONEZ / AFP
As the drought spreads and forecasts for the El Nino phenomenon grow increasingly bleak, a fear of hunger grips the residents of the Indigenous village of Cunen in northern Guatemala. Johan ORDONEZ / AFP
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Fears of Hunger Overwhelm Guatemalan Village as El Nino Approaches

As the drought spreads and forecasts for the El Nino phenomenon grow increasingly bleak, a fear of hunger grips the residents of the Indigenous village of Cunen in northern Guatemala. Johan ORDONEZ / AFP
As the drought spreads and forecasts for the El Nino phenomenon grow increasingly bleak, a fear of hunger grips the residents of the Indigenous village of Cunen in northern Guatemala. Johan ORDONEZ / AFP

While drought expands through Cunen as the specter of El Nino climate instability approaches, one fear has seized this indigenous Guatemalan village: death by hunger.

The rains still haven't come here, where local farmers fear the lack of water could ruin the subsistence crops they need to survive.

"If there isn't rain, (the crops) won't come...If there isn't anything we're going to die of hunger," Cecilia Pasa Sarat, a 38-year-old woman who has planted a small amount of corn, told AFP in Xetzac, a village in Cunen.

Cunen is a hard-to-reach mountainous region where the majority of the approximately 47,000 residents are poor, and rely on water from wells that are now going dry.

This village in the Indigenous Maya department of Quiche lays in the heart of the Dry Corridor, an arid mountainous stretch running through Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua that's become vulnerable to extreme climatic events.

Quiche was one of Guatemala's most hard-hit regions during the El Nino related food crisis in 2023. Some worry the crisis could return due to a lack of government support.

The phenomenon now fueling local residents' hunger fears occurs every two to six years as part of a natural climatic cycle that affects the surface temperatures on the Pacific Ocean.

It's expected to start between June and August, creating monthslong planetary ripple effects.

- Prolonged damage -

Weeks of drought have desiccated the dusty streets of Xetzac, where the creeks that usually irrigate the town's patchwork of corn, potato, broccoli and bean fields are evaporating under the brutal sun.

Taking refuge in the tree shade where the resin-scent of pines drifts down the hillside, Elvira Pasa says the eventual loss of the village harvests will only end in "hunger."

"We farm, we don't sell it, we just eat it," the 27-year-old community leader and mother of a two and seven-year-old son told AFP.

"Whatever we plant is what we eat. What will happen if it doesn't rain?" 43-year-old Lucia Rojop asks herself.

Her fears are well-founded: around 2.5 million Guatemalans face potential food insecurity due to the drought and the high probability of a powerful El Nino weather cycle.

The Guatemalan government says it has 1.1 million rations ready to distribute in the face of an emergency.

According to experts, the chance that El Nino could spiral into a more dangerous event depends on numerous atmospheric factors.

Governments across the dry countries of Central America raised alert levels over the El Niño phenomenon.

But El Nino isn't the only reason the situation is worsening.

Just in Guatemala, the "dry corridor" expanded from 40 to 160 municipalities since 2004, meaning almost half of the country has been subjected to climate change-fueled drought, according to the government.

El Nino has reduced by half, according to Alex Guerra, the director of the Private Institute for Investigation on Climate Change (ICC).

Cecilia Pasa walks through a puny corn farm, a clear testimony of the drought. "The plants can't take it anymore, the ground is drier, it's not humid anymore like it used to be," she says categorically.

It means that only half of her neighbors planted corn this year. Everyone else, including Catarina Sica, didn't even bother.

"There isn't rain, and the time has passed for us to plant," Sica says while showing the black, white, and yellow seeds still on the cob of corn.

- Migratory impact -

The brutal challenges of working the fields in Cunen, for years, were eased with remittances migrants sent home from the United States. Yet Donald Trump's mass deportations have taken away that support.

Around 24,000 Guatemalans have been deported this year, many from Quiche.

The deportations have paralyzed the construction of homes - the great dream of many migrants - as well as the jobs that go with it.

Families now deal with the crisis by raising pigs, sheep, chickens and turkeys for sale.

Sica's husband returned two years ago after saving enough money to build a concrete house. Now he works occasionally in agriculture, though the $10 daily wage he earns means the family diet is limited to beans, herbs and potatoes, like most locals.

"We're seeing what to do, but it all depends on God," the woman says with resignation.